Polk County Privacy Policy

Effective date: February 7, 2024

What information Polk County collects

“User Personal Information” is any information about one of our Users which could, alone or together with other information, personally identify them or otherwise be reasonably linked or connected with them. Information such as a username and password, an email address, a phone number, a real name, an Internet protocol (IP) address, and a photograph are examples of “User Personal Information.”

User Personal Information does not include aggregated, non-personally identifying information that does not identify a User or cannot otherwise be reasonably linked or connected with them. We may use such aggregated, non-personally identifying information for research purposes and to operate, analyze, improve, and optimize our Website and Service.

Registration information

We require some basic information at the time of account creation. When you create your own username and password, we ask you for a valid email address. The Website or Service may also request your phone number for receiving SMS/MMS messages.

Profile information

You may choose to give us more information for your Account profile, such as your full name, an avatar which may include a photograph, your biography, your location, your company, and a URL to a third party website. This information may include User Personal Information. Please note that your profile information may be visible to other Users of our Service.

Usage information

If you’re accessing our Website or Service, we automatically collect the same basic information that most services collect, subject, where necessary, to your consent. This includes information about how you use the Service, such as the pages you view, the referring site, your IP address and session information, and the date and time of each request. This is information we collect from every visitor to the Website or Service, whether they have an Account or not. This information may include User Personal Information.

Cookies and similar technologies information

As further described below, and subject, where applicable, to your consent, we automatically collect information from cookies and similar technologies (such as cookie ID and settings) to keep you logged in, to remember your preferences, and to identify you and your device.

Device information

We may collect certain information about your device, such as its IP address, browser or client application information, language preference, operating system and application version, device type and ID, and device model and manufacturer. This information may include User Personal Information.

Information we collect from third parties

Polk County may collect User Personal Information from third parties. Polk County does not purchase User Personal Information from third party data brokers. We do not sell your User Personal Information for monetary or other consideration.

How Polk County uses your information

We may use your information for the following purposes:

1. We use your Registration Information to create your account, and to provide you the Service.
2. We use your User Personal Information, specifically your username, to identify you on the Service.
3. We use your Profile Information to fill out your Account profile and to share that profile with other Users.
4. We use your email address and phone number to communicate with you.
5. We use User Personal Information to respond to support requests.
6. We may use User Personal Information to invite you to take part in surveys, beta programs, or other research projects, subject, where necessary, to your consent.
7. We use Usage Information and Device Information to better understand how our Users use the Service and to make improvements.
8. We may use your User Personal Information if it is necessary for security purposes or to investigate possible fraud or attempts to harm Polk County or our Users.
9. We may use your User Personal Information to comply with our legal obligations, protect our intellectual property, and enforce our Terms of Service.

We limit our use of your User Personal Information to the purposes listed in this Privacy Policy. If we need to use your User Personal Information for other purposes, we will ask for your permission first. You can always see what information we have, how we’re using it, and what permissions you have given us.

How Polk County shares your information

We may share your User Personal Information with third parties under one of the following circumstances. User Personal Information will not be shared with third parties, except where its release is required in accordance with Florida’s Public Records Law.

With your consent

We share your User Personal Information, if you consent, after letting you know what information will be shared, with whom, and why. Additionally, you may direct us through your actions on the Service to share your User Personal Information.

With service providers

We share User Personal Information with a limited number of service providers who process it on our behalf to provide or improve our Service, and who have agreed to privacy restrictions similar to the ones in our Privacy Policy by signing data protection agreements or making similar commitments. Our service providers perform payment processing, customer support ticketing, network data transmission, security, and other similar services. While Polk County processes all User Personal Information in the United States, our service providers may process data outside of the United States.

For security purposes

Polk County may share your username, Usage Information, and Device Information associated with your Account to investigate or respond to a security incident that affects or compromises the security of the Service.

For legal disclosure

Polk County strives for transparency in complying with legal process and legal obligations. Unless prevented from doing so by law or court order, or in rare, exigent circumstances, we make a reasonable effort to notify users of any legally compelled or required disclosure of their information.

Polk County may disclose User Personal Information or other information we collect about you in accordance with Florida’s Public Records Law, or when we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to comply with our legal obligations, to protect our property or rights, or those of third parties or the public at large.

Aggregate, non-personally identifying information

We share certain aggregated, non-personally identifying information with others about how our users, collectively, use our Service, or how our users respond to our other offerings.

We do not sell your User Personal Information for monetary or other consideration.

Our use of cookies and tracking

Cookies

Polk County uses cookies to make interactions with our Service easy and meaningful. Cookies are small text files that websites often store on computer hard drives or mobile devices of visitors. We use cookies and similar technologies to keep you logged in, remember your preferences, and provide information for future development of Polk County Services. For security purposes, we use cookies to identify a device. By using our Website or Service, you agree that we can place these types of cookies on your computer or device. If you disable your browser or device’s ability to accept these cookies, you will not be able to log in or use Polk County’s Services.

Tracking and analytics

We use a number of third party analytics and service providers to help us evaluate our Users’ use of Polk County’s Services, compile statistical reports on activity, and improve our content and Service performance. We only use these third party analytics providers on certain areas of our Website, and they are limited in the type of User Personal Information they can collect and the purpose for which they can process the information.

Some browsers have incorporated “Do Not Track” (DNT) features that can send a signal to the websites you visit indicating you do not wish to be tracked. Polk County responds to browser DNT signals and follows the W3C standard for responding to DNT signals.

How Polk County secures your information

Polk County takes all measures reasonably necessary to protect User Personal Information from unauthorized access, alteration, or destruction; maintain data accuracy; and help ensure the appropriate use of User Personal Information.

Transmission of data on the Service is encrypted using SSH, HTTPS (TLS), and sensitive content is encrypted at rest.

No method of transmission, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure. Therefore, we cannot guarantee its security.

Changes to our Privacy Policy

Although most changes are likely to be minor, Polk County may change our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will provide notification to Users of material changes to this Privacy Policy through our Website at least 30 days prior to the change taking effect by posting a notice on our home page or sending email to the primary email address specified in your Account.

Questions

Questions about the Privacy Policy should be sent to support@polk-county.net.