Internet Privacy Policy

The following information explains the Internet Privacy Policy which the City of Hampton has adopted for its website, www.hampton.gov (including all sub-domains within the website). This information is intended to explain our current Internet privacy practices, but shall not be construed as a contractual promise. We reserve the right to amend our Internet Privacy Policy statement at any time without notice.

Virginia Law (Code of Virginia, Section 2.1-377-386)
We protect our records in accordance with our obligations as defined by applicable Virginia statutes, including, but not limited to, the "Virginia Privacy Protection Act of 1976", the "Virginia Freedom of Information Act", and by any applicable U.S. federal laws.

Links to other websites
Our website may contain links to other public or private entities' websites, whose privacy practices we do not control.

Information we collect (Code of Virginia, Section 2.1-384)
The City of Hampton website does collect the following personal information:

• Routing, or client information: Internet domain and Internet address of the computer you are using.
• Essential technical information: The browser used by visitors to view our website and identification of the page or service you are requesting.
• Non-essential technical information: The Internet address of the website from which you linked directly to our website.
• Optional information: Information you provide by sending us an email or completing an on-line form.
• Cookies: The City of Hampton uses cookies (small text files transferred from our website to your hard drive) to facilitate your access to and use of our site. Cookies do not damage files or allow anyone to access your personally identifiable information - they simply allow us to tailor information and make your visits more enjoyable and meaningful.

How the collected information is used (Code of Virginia, Section 2.1-384)
Routing information is used to route the requested web page to your computer for viewing. We send the requested web page and the routing information to our Web Services Provider or other entities involved in transmitting the requested page to you. We do not control the privacy practices of those entities.

Essential and non-essential technical information helps us respond to your request in an appropriate format and helps us plan website improvements.

Optional information enables us to provide services or information tailored more specifically to your needs or to forward your message or inquiry to another entity that is better able to do so, and also allows us to plan website improvements.

No other information is collected through our website except when someone deliberately decides to send it to us.

Our Web Service Provider may keep your information, but they ordinarily delete the transaction routing information from their web server within 365 days after the web page is transmitted and they do not try to obtain any information to link it to the individuals who browse our website. However, on rare occasions when a "hacker" attempts to breach computer security, logs of routing information are retained to permit a security investigation and in such cases may be forwarded together with any other relevant information in our possession to law enforcement agencies.

Optional Information is retained in accordance with the records retention schedules at the Library of Virginia.

Under the "Virginia Freedom of Information Act", any records in our possession at the time of a "Freedom of Information Request" might be subject to being inspected by, or disclosed to, members of the public. However, all identifiable confidential/personal information will be removed prior to releasing the routing information.

Choice to provide information
There is no legal requirement for you to provide any information at our website. However, our website will not work without routing information and the essential technical information. Failure of your browser to provide nonessential technical information will not prevent your use of our website, but may prevent certain features from working. Failure to provide optional information will mean that the particular feature or service associated with that part of the web page will not be available to you.

Customer Comments and Review
If you have any questions about this privacy statement or the practices of this website, or if you choose to review or correct any information you previously submitted, please contact us at webmaster@hampton.gov.