Thank you for visiting the Mobile County web site and reviewing our privacy policy. Our privacy policy is clear: We will collect no personal information about you when you visit our web site unless you choose to provide that information to us.

Information Collected and Stored Automatically

If you do nothing during your visit but browse through the web site, read pages, or download information, we will gather and store certain information about your visit automatically. This information does not identify you personally. We automatically collect and store only the following information about your visit:

1. The Internet domain (for example, "mydialup.com") and IP address (an IP address is a number that is automatically assigned to your computer whenever you are surfing the Web) from which you access our web site;
2. The type of browser and operating system used to access our site;
3. The date and time you access our site;
4. The pages you visit; and
5. If you linked to Mobile County's web site from another web site, the address of that web site.

We use this information to help us make our site more useful to visitors -- to learn about the number of visitors to our site and the types of technology our visitors use. We do not track or record information about individuals and their visits.

If You Send Us Personal Information

If you choose to provide us with personal information -- as in an e-mail to County staff, or by filling out a form with your personal information and submitting it to us through our web site -- we use that information to respond to your message and to help us get you the information you have requested. We treat emails the same way we treat letters sent to County offices. We are required to maintain many documents for historical purposes, but we do not collect personal information for any purpose other than to respond to you. However, information we receive may be considered public record which is subject to disclosure under Alabama law. Except for information disclosure required by Alabama law, we only share the information you give us with another government agency, if your inquiry relates to that agency. Moreover, we do not create individual profiles with the information you provide, or provide such information to any private organizations. Mobile County does not collect information for commercial marketing.

Protection of Minors

We are especially concerned about protecting children's privacy. We hope parents are involved in children's Internet explorations. It is particularly important for parents to guide their children when children are providing personal information on line. We specifically ask children to get their parents' permission before providing any information on line -- at our site or any other site -- and recommend parents always be involved in those decisions. Most importantly, when children do provide information through Mobile County's web site, it is only used to enable us to respond to the writer, and not to create profiles of children.

Cookie Use

Cookies may be used with some of the Mobile County web site interactive features. A cookie is a tiny piece of text that, with your permission, may be placed on your computer's hard drive. If your browser is set to notify you before accepting a cookie, you will receive a request for a cookie to be stored on your computer. This cookie, by itself, only tells us that a previous visitor has returned. It doesn't tell us private information about you, unless you want to give us the information; it's your choice.

We want to be sure you understand that accepting a cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any personal information about you. We know that some citizens have concerns about cookies, but the benefit we both gain from their proper use is worthwhile.