INTRODUCTION
The American Museum
of Natural History (also herein referred to as “AMNH” or “the Museum”) is
strongly committed to protecting the privacy of its online guests, customers,
members, donors, and friends. We believe that maintaining privacy on the Web is
very important, and that informing our visitors about the types of information
we collect and how we use it is crucial.
TYPES OF INFORMATION COLLECTED
The American Museum
of Natural History does not collect any personal information about
individuals—such as names and postal or e-mail addresses—except when such
information is knowingly provided to the Museum. Personal information might be
obtained from online transactions such as purchases, subscriptions,
registrations, or membership pledges. Additionally, personal information may be
transmitted as part of a form submission or in connection with other
activities, services, or resources made available on our site. Any personal
identification information retrieved by the Museum must be voluntarily
submitted by the user.
The Museum’s Web site does collect some anonymous
“non-personally identifiable” aggregate information about visitors
automatically when pages on our Web site are requested through a browser. This
information is used for statistical purposes and to help us monitor how guests
navigate our site, allowing us to tailor our services for the majority of
visitors. Non-personally identifiable information may refer to information
about our visitors’ browsers (e.g., Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer),
operating systems (e.g., Windows or Macintosh), Internet Service Providers
(e.g., AOL or NET.COM,) and other similar information.
The Museum’s Web site collects IP addresses as a component
of the non-personally identifiable aggregate information. An IP address is a
number assigned to your computer by a Web server when you’re on the Internet.
This information is used only for non-user-specific purposes such as
determining how many users visited a specific area of our site. Such
information could, if necessary, be used to identify a user in order to comply
with safety and/or security issues or with legal requirements.
HOW INFORMATION IS USED
Any personal information provided to the American
Museum of Natural History is
maintained and accessible only by the Museum unless the Museum explicitly
states otherwise.
The following are examples of how the Museum might use the
personal information it collects:
- If you made a purchase at the Museum’s online
store, the required personal information (similar to that provided during
a telephone or mail-order purchase) will be used to complete your order.
- If you indicated that you were interested in
receiving Museum-related news and information, you might receive e-mails
that we feel may be of interest to you.
The following is an example of how the Museum may use the
non-personally identifiable information it collects:
- Aggregate data could be analyzed to describe
the collective characteristics and behaviors of online visitors and
subsequently be used to further optimize the effectiveness of our site.
WITH WHOM INFORMATION IS SHARED
The Museum will never intentionally disclose any personal
information about you as an individual user (such as your name, street address,
telephone number, credit card number, or e-mail address) to any third party
without having received your prior permission.
THIRD PARTY PARTNERS
The American Museum
of Natural History has teamed up with reputable third-party vendors in order to
provide certain services to its online users. The Museum has taken all possible
precautions to insure that the privacy of its online visitors is protected by
any online partners. In cases when users leave the Museum’s site to visit one
of its partners’ sites, users are encouraged to become familiar with the
privacy statements of each site they visit.
SECURITY
The American Museum
of Natural History protects all personal and non-personally identifiable
information that it receives via the Internet against unauthorized access.
In addition, the Museum’s Web site uses Secure Sockets
Layer (SSL) encryption to process purchases made on its online store and
ticketing systems. By using this technology, online customers can feel
confident that their personal information is protected from interception by any
third party. Sensitive credit card information is not permanently stored on any
AMNH Web server and though your order information is retained for our records,
this information is never shared with other companies or persons.
What is a secure
connection?
When a secure connection is established between your browser and a Web site,
any data that is transferred over the connection will be encrypted to prevent
it from being viewed by a third party. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption,
the standard for most browsers and servers, makes it very difficult for anyone
to intercept or decode messages exchanged over this type of secure connection.
Browsers such as Netscape Communicator and Internet
Explorer display an image of a locked padlock in their status bar when connected
to a secure site. Secure transactions are also indicated when the prefix in the
location bar of your browser switches from http:// to https://. If you do not
see the padlock at the bottom of your browser’s window, if the padlock is
unlocked, or the protocol in the location bar is not listed as https://, then
any data exchanged with the Web site is potentially visible to others.
Depending on your browser, you may be able to view
authentication information about a secure page by double-clicking on the locked
padlock in the status bar. For more information on how your software
establishes a secure connection, see the help files for your particular
browser.
COOKIES
A cookie is a small text file that is sent to your browser
from a Web site and stored on your computer’s hard drive. Cookies can’t read
data from your hard disk or read cookie files that were created by other
sites—the Web site that creates a cookie is the only one a browser will permit
to access it.
Examples of ways in which the American
Museum of Natural History might use
cookies would be to control access to certain user features, to customize
content areas, or to analyze site activity and user behavior. The Museum also
reserves the right to use cookies in the future in conjunction with new content
or extended functionality.
If you are concerned about the use of cookies, the Museum
suggests that you explore your browser’s options to notify you whenever a
cookie is set, or to disallow cookies altogether. Users should be aware, however, that prohibiting the use of cookies may
restrict the user’s access to certain types of content or features.
LINKS TO OTHER SITES
Users may find content on the Museum’s site that links to
the sites and services of our partners, sponsors, or other third parties. In
many cases, these links represent cooperative projects or are established with
persons or entities that have a significant connection to or relationship with
our site. Although every effort is made to ensure that any referrals are to
reputable and relevant sources, the Museum does not control the content or
links that appear on these sites. In addition, these sites or services,
including their content and links, may be constantly changing. These sites and
services may have their own privacy policies and customer service policies, or
no policy at all. The Museum maintains a policy against the non-consensual
collection or sharing of personal information and encourages visitor’s
to review the privacy policies of any sites they visit to insure their personal
information is being protected.
CHILDREN
The Museum does not knowingly collect personal information
from children under 13 years of age. Kids should always ask parents for
permission before providing personal information to any Web site or purchasing
any products or services online. The AMNH urges all parents to participate in
their children’s exploration of the Internet and to teach them about protecting
their personal information while online.
PROMOTIONAL E-MAIL, NEWSLETTER AND LIST-SERVE POLICY AND “OPT-IN/OPT-OUT”
ELECTIONS
If you give us permission, we may use any personal
identification information you submit for Museum marketing and promotional
purposes. For example, on occasion the Museum may wish to send e-mails to
inform users of new exhibitions or other events we think might be of interest
to them. You will not receive such communications unless you have willingly
provided the personal information required. In some cases, you will be required
to “opt-in” by joining a newsgroup or mailing list. If you do “opt-in,” you
will always have the option to “opt-out” at any time by “unsubscribing” to that
particular list or following the “opt-out” instructions included within the
body of the e-mail message.
If for any reason you do not wish to receive e-mail from the
Museum, please follow the instructions for “unsubscribing” included within the
body of the message that was sent to you.
POLICY CHANGES
Occasional changes may be made to this document as new
services and content are added to our site or to reflect changes in the
Museum’s policies. Visitors to the Museum’s Web site are encouraged to check
this document periodically to stay informed of current AMNH privacy guidelines.
ACCEPTANCE OF TERMS
By using any of the American Museum of
Natural History Web site(s), you signify your acceptance of our Privacy
Policy. If you do not agree to this policy, please do not use our sites. Your
continued use of any AMNH site following the posting of changes to these terms
will indicate your acceptance of those changes.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Web Site
American Museum
of Natural History
79th Street @ Central Park West
New York, New York 10024
webmaster@amnh.org