USPS Homepage Skip Navigation Home   |   Help   |   Sign In
Find a ZIP Code   /   Locate a Post Office   /   Track & Confirm   /   Calculate Postage   /   Change Address   /   Find a Form
Buy Stamps and Shop. Get stamps online and order shipping supplies. Grow Your Business. Here are effective ways to get more customers and keep them. Send Mail and Packages. We've made it easy to send and ship. Receive Mail and Packages. Hold and redeliver mail online. Send Money and Payments. Send money and pay your bills online. All Products and Services. Comprehensive list of what USPS has to offer. About USPS and News. Learn more about what USPS is doing.
Buy Stamps and Shop. Get stamps online and order shipping supplies. Grow Your Business. Here are effective ways to get more customers and keep them. Send Mail and Packages. We've made it easy to send and ship. Receive Mail and Packages. Hold and redeliver mail online. Send Money and Payments. Send money and pay your bills online. All Products and Services. Comprehensive list of what USPS has to offer. About USPS and News. Learn more about what USPS is doing.

Home > Privacy Policy
Policy on Cookies & Other Tracking Devices
Policy on Collection of Information from Children

Privacy Policy Printer FriendlyPrinter Friendly
For over two centuries, the Postal Service has valued your privacy, and built a brand that customers trust. Thank you for reviewing our privacy commitment to you.

Our privacy policy tells you about our information practices when you provide personal information to us, whether collected online or offline, and when you visit us online to browse, obtain information, or conduct a transaction. The Postal Service collects personal information from you in order to provide you certain products and services, and if needed to respond to your inquiries or requests for information. Personal information may include your name, email, mailing and/or business address, phone numbers, or other information that identifies you personally.

The policy includes detailed explanations of how we provide:

Notice of our privacy practices, including Privacy Act rights
Your choices and preferences
Security features and service provider controls
How you can access your personal information
Where to submit inquiries

Key aspects of our privacy policy include:

We do not sell or rent your personal information to outside parties.
We do not market other products or services to you without your consent.
We require that our service providers adhere to our privacy requirements.
We do not require you to register or provide personal information in order to visit our website.
We only use web analysis tools (e.g., cookies) for the limited purposes authorized in this policy.

Privacy Act Rights

The Postal Service follows the privacy requirements of the Privacy Act, which protects your personal information that we maintain in what is called a system of records. A system of records is a file, database, or program from which personal information is retrieved by name or other personal identifier. In other words, the Privacy Act applies when we use your personal information to know who you are and to interact with you – such as when you provide information to request a product or service, register on usps.com, or submit an inquiry or complaint. The Privacy Act provides comprehensive protections for your personal information. This includes how information is collected, used, disclosed, stored, and discarded.

When we collect and maintain personal information from you offline, a Privacy Act notice will be provided. For personal information collected online, the following provides notice of certain Privacy Act rights. Click below for detailed information on Privacy Act Protections.

Appendix of Handbook AS-353, Guide to Privacy and the Freedom of Information Act

Privacy Act statement: Your information will be used to provide you requested products, services, or information. Collection is authorized by 39 USC 401, 403, & 404. Providing the information is voluntary, but if not provided, we may not process your transaction. We do not disclose your information without your consent to third parties, except to facilitate the transaction, to act on your behalf or request, or as legally required. This includes the following limited circumstances: to a congressional office on your behalf; to financial entities regarding financial transaction issues; to a USPS auditor; to entities, including law enforcement, as required by law or in legal proceedings; and to contractors and other entities aiding us to fulfill the service (service providers).

Information Collected and Stored Automatically

We automatically collect certain information about your visit to usps.com. We limit this data collected to meet specific business needs and to fully protect your privacy. We thus may know what path(s) you took on usps.com, but we don’t know who you are. We do not use this information to identify you personally without your express consent.

We automatically collect and store the following information about your visit:

  1. General log information—Internet domain (for example, "xcompany.com" or "yourschool.edu"); Internet Protocol (IP) address; operating system; the browser used to access our Web site; the date and time you access our site; and the pages that you visited.
  1. Referral and statistical information where we have links or ad banners to or from usps.com. Such data may include aggregate data such as the number of click-throughs that occurred. It may also include specific data, such as whether you are a repeat visitor; whether you visited a page with a banner on it or clicked on an ad banner, and then used our site (for instance, to register or make a purchase); the value, date and time of any sale; and the identity of the site which you linked to or from usps.com. We do not use such data to identify you personally.
We use the general site information to help us make usps.com more useful to visitors. We use it to learn about how locations on our site are being used, what information is of most and least interest, and how we can enhance ease of use by ensuring usps.com can interface with the types of technology our visitors use. We also use such statistics to tell us of any possible site performance problems.

We collect referral statistics from links to let us know which links are useful, both to and from usps.com. Likewise, we collect data from ad banners to let us know which ads are effective. This allows us to determine which ads may be of most interest and to help us control how many times a specific ad is displayed.

This explains what information is collected automatically. For information about how this data is collected, click below on our policy on cookies and other Web analysis tools.

See Postal Service Use of Cookies and Web Analysis Tools.

Information Collected from Emails and Online Forms

Many of our programs and websites allow you to send us an email. We will use the information you provide to respond to your inquiry, provide information, or to fill your order for postal products and services in which you have expressed an interest.

Remember that email may not necessarily be secure against interception. If your email communication is very sensitive, or includes information such as your bank account, charge card, or social security number, you should send it by mail unless the Web site indicates the particular site is secured.

Choice

We do not sell, rent, or otherwise provide your personal information to outside marketers. You will only receive marketing about products and services of the Postal Service or its partners, other than products and services you already receive or are registered for, under the following conditions.

If you are a consumer, we use an opt-in standard. If you have provided personal information to register for or purchase a product or service, we will not use that information to contact you in the future about another product or service, unless you have provided express consent.

If you are a business, we use an opt-out standard. We assume you are interested in other products and services that could aid you in your business, and so we will provide information to you unless you tell us you do not want to receive it.

Consumers may opt-in, and businesses may opt-out, when they register on usps.com and create a customer profile. These preferences in the profile can be changed at any time. Please contact the privacy office at the addresses below with any questions about your preferences.

Security

In those instances where we secure your personal information in transit to us and upon receipt, the Postal Service uses the industry standard encryption software, Secured Socket Layer (SSL). The URL in your browser will change to “HTTPS” instead of “HTTP” when this security feature is invoked. Your browser may also display a lock symbol on its bottom task bar line to indicate this secure transmission is in place.

For site security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, this computer system employs software programs to monitor network traffic in order to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. Except for authorized law enforcement investigations, no other attempts are made to identify individual users or their usage habits other than those uses identified in this policy. Unauthorized modification or misuse of information stored in this system will be investigated and may result in criminal prosecution.

Service Providers

The Postal Service enters into relationships with service providers in order to provide the highest quality product or service. Service providers may include an entity that provides assistance for the program, such as a call center; a provider of advertising services; or a partner for the program. The USPS holds service providers to the same rigorous standards of privacy that apply to the USPS, including being made subject to the Privacy Act, as applicable, and USPS privacy policies. Service providers that have access to personal information are also subject to security review.

Access

If you have provided personal information to us, you may request to review the information that we have maintained. Please contact the program that provided you the product or service, the office that handled your inquiry, or the privacy office at the addresses below. We will correct or delete any inaccurate information upon your request.

Inquiries

We would like to hear from you if you have any questions or complaints regarding our privacy policy or use of your information.

Please contact us at privacy@usps.gov, or mail us at:

PRIVACY OFFICE
US POSTAL SERVICE
475 L’ENFANT PLZ SW RM 10407
WASHINGTON DC 20260-2200

We will investigate and respond to your inquiry. Your inquiry will be treated confidentially, and will not be shared with external parties, except as authorized by the Privacy Act.

Information from Children

From time to time as part of a special Postal Service promotion, such as stamp collecting, we may request information from children under 13 years of age. We will do so only with parental notice and consent. We will take all necessary steps to protect the privacy and safety of any child participating, in accordance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

See Postal Service Collection of Information from Children
 
POSTAL INSPECTORS Web Page POSTAL INSPECTORS
Preserving the Trust
INSPECTOR GENERAL Web Page INSPECTOR GENERAL
Promoting Integrity
site map    contact us    government services    jobs   
National & Premier Accounts  
No FEAR Act EEO Data
Copyright © 1999-2004 USPS. All Rights Reserved.   Terms of Use   Privacy Policy