Privacy Policy

Albemarle County Internet Privacy Policy (Virginia Code § 2.2-3803(B)) 

Our Commitment to Your Privacy

Albemarle County, VA, is committed to protecting your personal information to the best of our ability. In accordance with the policy of the Commonwealth of Virginia, information is only collected to the extent necessary to provide the service or benefit that you request. We collect only appropriate information and are transparent about why it’s collected and how it is used. This internet privacy policy applies to all websites maintained or managed by Albemarle County local government.  

What Information We Collect

Automatically Collected Information

When you visit our website, we may collect technical data and analytics to ensure secure and effective operation. These data points do not identify the visitor personally.  The data and demographics are used in anonymous reports to improve site functionality and performance and to detect potential security issues. This may include:

  • IP address
  • Browser type and operating system
  • Date, time, and duration of visit
  • Pages visited

Voluntarily Provided Information

You are not required to provide data that identifies you personally to browse the site, download files, or view public pages. However, if you choose to participate in engagement activities or complete a form, such as submitting a survey, signing up for updates, or requesting a service, we may collect:

  • Your name, email address, or other contact details
  • Demographic information you choose to share
  • Your comments or responses to engagement tools

If you choose not to provide personally identifiable information, some services may not be available to you. 

How We Use Your Information

We use the information collected to:

  • Improve website performance and user experience
  • Boost County results in search engine optimization
  • Communicate about County services, events, or updates you’ve signed up for
  • Respond to your requests or inquiries
  • Facilitate participation in surveys, discussions, or other engagement tools
  • Create anonymized reports or summaries to inform County decision-making for programs, initiatives, and public messaging 

Your personally identifiable information will not be shared with any other person, entity, or organization without your consent, unless required by law, court order, or other valid legal process. Albemarle County does not sell or rent visitor information, including email addresses, to any outside company or organization.  

Public Records Notice

Any email or correspondence you send to Albemarle County in the transaction of public business may be considered a public record under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and could be disclosed unless exempted by law. 

Third-Party Links, Third-Party Vendors, and Embedded Content 

This website may contain links to or embedded content from external websites or vendors. Albemarle County is not responsible for the privacy practices of these third-party sites, vendors, or their embedded content. We encourage you to review their respective privacy statements. 

Cookies  

A cookie is a small text file that is stored on your computer or other device when a website is loaded on your browser. A cookie is widely used to "remember" you and your preferences. Cookies cannot access any information on your computer, and most web browsers automatically accept cookies. 

We may use cookies to record anonymous information about your visits to Albemarle County websites to measure engagement interest. We may also collect anonymous information about your visit to our website, based on your browsing (click stream) activities. This information includes pages browsed, projects viewed, tools used, and other analytical data. We use these details to improve how our website functions and understand how users interact. 

We use different third-party applications and services to enhance the experience of website visitors. These include social media platforms or embedded content. As a result, cookies may be set by these third parties and used by them to track your online activity. We have no direct control over the information that is collected by these cookies. 

We use the following cookies:

  • Essential Cookies: These cookies are necessary for enabling the core functionality of the site. The website cannot function properly without these cookies.
  • Analytical Cookies: Analytical cookies help us to analyze user behavior, mainly to see if the users are able to find and act on things that they are looking for. They allow us to recognize and count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it.
  • Third-Party Cookies: Third-party cookies may be on our webpage due to external services embedded on our website, such as social media sites, and are used by those third parties for tracking the behavior of users across websites.  

Security 

We maintain reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect your information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. While no system can guarantee complete security, we actively monitor and maintain our systems to minimize risk. 

Requesting access or correcting your personal information

Subject to applicable local laws and regulations, you may have some or all of the following rights with respect to your personal data:

  • to access your personal data and to rectify any inaccuracies within that personal data;
  • to request the erasure of your personal data residing with us;
  • to request your personal data in a portable, machine-readable format; and
  • to withdraw your consent to our processing of your personal data.

If you wish to contact us with a request relating to personal information we hold about you, please contact us at the email address below, including your name and contact details. We may need to verify your identity before providing you with your personal information.

In some cases, we may be unable to provide you with access to all your personal information, and where this occurs, we will explain why. We will deal with all requests for access to personal information within a reasonable timeframe. To request or ask questions about this privacy statement, please contact us at webmaster@albemarle.org. 

Governing Law

Virginia statutes, including, but not limited to, the Virginia Privacy Protection Act of 1976, the Government Data Collection and Dissemination Practices Act, and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, govern our maintenance of public records and access to personally identifiable information in public records. Other sections of the Virginia Code, as well as certain federal statutes, address confidentiality issues.