The Town of Groton is committed to protecting your privacy and developing technology that gives you the most powerful and safe online experience. This Statement of Privacy applies to the Town of Groton Website and governs data collection and usage. By using the Town of Groton website, you consent to the data practices described in this statement.

Collection of your Personal Information

Town of Groton collects personally identifiable information, such as your e-mail address, name, home or work address or telephone number. Town of Groton also collects anonymous demographic information, which is not unique to you, such as your ZIP code.

There is also information about your computer hardware and software that is automatically collected by the Town of Groton. This information can include: your IP address, browser type, domain names, access times and referring Web site addresses. This information is used by the Town of Groton for the operation of the service, to maintain quality of the service, and to provide general statistics regarding use of the Town of Groton Website.

Please keep in mind that if you directly disclose personally identifiable information or personally sensitive data through Town of Groton public message boards, this information may be collected and used by others. Note: Town of Groton does not read any of your private online communications.

The Town of Groton encourages you to review the privacy statements of Web sites you choose to link to from the Town of Groton so that you can understand how those Web sites collect, use and share your information. The Town of Groton is not responsible for the privacy statements or other content on Web sites outside of the Town of Groton website.

Use of your Personal Information

Town of Groton collects and uses your personal information to operate the Town of Groton Website and deliver the services you have requested. The Town of Groton may also contact you via surveys to conduct research about your opinion of current services or of potential new services that may be offered.

Town of Groton does not sell, rent or lease its customer lists to third parties. In addition, the Town of Groton may share data with trusted partners to help us perform statistical analysis. All such third parties are prohibited from using your personal information except to provide these services to the Town of Groton, and they are required to maintain the confidentiality of your information.

The Town of Groton does not use or disclose sensitive personal information, such as race, religion, or political affiliations, without your explicit consent.

Town of Groton keeps track of the Websites and pages our customers visit within the Town of Groton, in order to determine what Town of Groton services are the most popular. This data is used to deliver customized content within the website to customers whose behavior indicates that they are interested in a particular subject area.

The Town of Groton website will disclose your personal information, without notice, only if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to: (a) conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal process served on the Town of Groton or the site; (b) protect and defend the rights or property of the Town of Groton; and, (c) act under exigent circumstances to protect the personal safety of users of the website, or the public.

Use of Cookies

The Town of Groton Web site use "cookies" to help you personalize your online experience. A cookie is a text file that is placed on your hard disk by a web server. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. Cookies are uniquely assigned to you, and can only be read by a web server in the domain that issued the cookie to you.

One of the primary purposes of cookies is to provide a convenience feature to save you time. The purpose of a cookie is to tell the Web server that you have returned to a specific page. For example, if you personalize Town of Groton pages, or register with Town of Groton site or services, a cookie helps Town of Groton recall your specific information on subsequent visits. This simplifies the process of recording your personal information, such as addresses and other contact information. When you return to the same Town of Groton site, the information you previously provided can be retrieved, so you can easily use the Town of Groton features you customized.

You have the ability to accept or decline cookies. Most Web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. If you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to fully experience the interactive features of the Town of Groton services or Web sites you visit.

Security of your Personal Information

Town of Groton secures your personal information from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. Town of Groton secures the personally identifiable information you provide on computer servers in a controlled, secure environment, protected from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. When personal information (such as a credit card number) is transmitted to other Web sites, it is protected through the use of encryption, such as the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol.

Changes to this Statement

Town of Groton will occasionally update this Statement of Privacy to reflect company and customer feedback. Town of Groton encourages you to periodically review this Statement to be informed of how Town of Groton is protecting your information.

Contact Information

Town of Groton welcomes your comments regarding this Statement of Privacy. If you believe that Town of Groton has not adhered to this Statement, please contact Town of Groton at itdept@townofgroton.org. We will use commercially reasonable efforts to promptly determine and remedy the problem.