Privacy Policy

Privacy and Security

General Information

This Web site is operated and maintained by the Samueli Institute. The Institute is a nonprofit organization providing objective research, analysis and effective solutions that address complementary, alternative and integrative medicine practices and usage around the world.

The Institute respects the privacy of users of its Web site, www.SamueliInstitute.org. The Institute does not disclose, give, sell, or transfer any personal information about visitors to www.SamueliInstitute.org unless required to do so by law.

The Institute automatically collects a limited amount of information about the use of its Web site, primarily for statistical purposes (that is, to measure the numbers of visitors to various sections of the site). This information may also be helpful when considering changes to www.SamueliInstitute.org, to make the site more useful to visitors.

Information Collected and Stored Automatically

The following information about users of our Web site is collected and stored automatically:

• The Internet domain from which a user has accessed the Internet. For example, if a user connects to the Internet through America Online, the domain is aol.com.
• The Internet protocol (IP) address of the computer that was used to access the Internet. An IP address is a number that is assigned to a user's computer when he/she logs onto the Internet. When a Web page is requested, the user's IP address is included in the message, and the recipient of the request can respond to it by sending another message using that IP address.
• The name and version of the user's computer operating system and Internet browser. For example, Windows 2000 (operating system) and Internet Explorer 6.0 or Netscape Navigator 7.1 (Internet browsers).
• If a user comes to www.SamueliInstitute.org from another Web site, the Internet address of the "referring" Web site.
• The date, time, and duration of the user's visit to www.SamueliInstitute.org, and the pages visited.
• Cookies

When a user visits a Web site, the Web site's server generates a piece of information known as a "cookie" and places it on the user's computer. Some cookies remain on a user's computer after the user has ended his/her Web site visit. These types of cookies are called "persistent" cookies. They collect personal information about a user and allow the user's computer to be recognized in the future. Nonpersistent cookies, or "session cookies," are erased by a user's computer after a period of inactivity or when the user closes his/her Internet browser. Session cookies do not collect any personal information about a user. They serve technical purposes, such as allowing seamless navigation through a Web site. Session cookies are stored in memory and are only available during an active browser session.

Registration

Some features of our site require users to register and provide certain personal information in order to have access to services, or to join our mailing lists. If you are not comfortable with this, you can choose not to use this part of the site. When the registration form is presented to you, we clearly indicate what information is required for the particular feature, and what information is optional.

E-mail Messages Sent to the Institute Web Site

When inquiries are sent to the Institute Web site by e-mail, the question(s) and the e-mail address of the sender are stored electronically to allow time for a response to be researched, written, and sent. Unless otherwise required by law, the Institute will not identify anyone who sends questions or comments to its Web site. The Institute does not collect information that will allow users to be identified personally, unless they choose to provide such information.

Links to Other Web Sites from the Institute Web Site

The Samueli Institute Web site has links to other Web sites. The Institute cannot guarantee the privacy or security of information users provide to linked, external Web sites.

To assure the integrity of information on this server, we reserve the right to monitor system access if malicious actions are taken to disable online services or intentionally gain unauthorized access to Samueli Institute Systems.