Privacy Policy

As of 19 February, 2024

Harvard Medical School (“we”, “our”) operates the PIC-SURE application (“site”). Protecting your privacy is very important to us. The following information establishes how we will use information gathered from your visit.

Information Collected and Stored Automatically

If you do nothing during your visit but browse through the website, 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:

• When you use the site, we automatically collect usage data such as the IP address (an IP address is a number that is automatically assigned to your computer whenever you go on the Web) of the device or internet service you use to connect to the Internet.

• The domain from which you access the Internet (for example, Google.com, if you are connecting from a Google account)

• The Internet address of the website, if any, from which you came to our site (for example, https://avillach-lab.hms.harvard.edu if you come to our website by clicking on a link on the Avillach Lab website)

• The date and time you arrived at our site and how long you spent visiting the site

• The name and version of your computer's operating system and browser; for example, Windows 95/Netscape Navigator 4.5 (this information is supplied automatically by your computer)

• The pages you visit

We use Google Analytics to collect your information. This is used to make our site more useful to visitors. This includes learning about the number of visitors to our site and the types of technology our visitors use. Unless specifically stated otherwise, no additional information will be collected about you. To learn more about how Google uses information from sites, please visit www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners. To learn more about the use of Cookies by Google for analytics and to exercise choice regarding those Cookies, please visit the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

We share Personal Data with the following categories of recipients:

Service Providers

We may rely on various third-party service providers and contractors to provide services that support the site and our operations, including, without limitation, maintenance of our databases, distribution of emails and newsletters on our behalf, data analysis, payment processing, and other services of an administrative nature. Such third parties may have access to your Personal Data for the purpose of performing the service for which they have been engaged.

Vendors and Service Providers

We use various third-party service providers, such as Splunk, that assist us in providing the site. For example, we may use third-party vendors to store and authenticate account credentials, store and analyze system logs, send email communications, and for hosting and storing information collected through our site. We may need to share your information with these vendors and service providers to enable them to provide these services to us. These service providers and vendors are required to only use your information to provide their services to us and in a manner consistent with this Policy.

Registration

Before you can use certain features, you must register. Personal information such as name, address, email, and institution are collected during the registration process and are used to confirm access to advanced features, such as access to controlled access data. Once approved, this information will be used to contact you in response to requests you have specifically made regarding the site. Your personal information may be used to audit your activity on the system in order to ensure compliance with policies.

We collect and use Personal Data through your use of the site in the following ways:

1. User Account Information/Personally Identifiable Information

   • When you register with us through the site and during your use of the site, we will ask you for Personal Data such as: your name, company or organization name, title, or email address.

   • When you register, cookies are set up by an identity provider during login and at local storage entry, and after login. The identity provider stores certain information so you no longer have to re-type certain information such as email address, first and last name. If you choose to opt out of these cookies while you are logged into the site, you will lose access to the site and will need to re-login.

2. Information You Provide

   • When you interact with the site, you may supply certain Personal Data, such as when you submit a request or fill out a form. The information will vary depending on your interactions but may include your name and email address and other information you include in the body of your request, post, comment, or other interaction. Some requests and form contents are sent over the Internet as free text and are not secure from interception by unauthorized third parties.

   • By sending us an e-mail message, you may be sending personal information (e.g., your name, address, and e-mail address). We will store this information in order to respond to your request or otherwise resolve the subject matter of your e-mail. Please note, however, that e-mail messages are sent over the Internet as free text and are not secure from interception by unauthorized third parties.

Cookies

When you visit any website, its server may generate a piece of text known as a "cookie" to place on your computer. The cookie allows the server to "remember" specific information about your visit while you are connected.

The cookie makes it easier for you to use the dynamic features of web pages. Cookies only collect information about your browser's visit to the site; they do not collect personal information about you.

There are two types of cookies: single session (temporary) and multi-session (persistent). Session cookies last only as long as your Web browser is open. Once you close your browser, the cookie disappears. Persistent cookies are stored on your computer for longer periods.

Session Cookies

We use session cookies for technical purposes such as to enable better navigation through our site. These cookies let our server know that you are continuing a visit to our site.

If you do not wish to have session or persistent cookies placed on your computer, you can disable them using your web browser. If you opt out of cookies, you will still have access to all information and resources on this site. Instructions for disabling or opting out of cookies in the most popular browsers are located at https://www.usa.gov/optout-instructions. Please note that by following the instructions to opt-out of cookies, you will disable cookies from all sources, not just those from this site.

Links and Third-Party Applications

On the site, we may provide links to websites or applications maintained by third parties, which we believe you may find useful. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these other websites or applications and we encourage you to review the privacy policies of each of those other websites or applications before using such websites and applications. If you click on these third-party links, these other websites or applications may place their own cookies or other files on your computer, collect data, or solicit Personal Data from you. Other websites and applications will have different policies and rules regarding the use or disclosure of the Personal Data you submit to them. We make no representation with regard to the policies or business practices of any websites or applications to which you connect through a link from the site, and are not responsible for any material contained on, or any transactions that occur between you and any such website or application.

Privacy Policy Changes

The Privacy Policy may be updated periodically. We will notify you of any material changes to this Privacy Notice by posting the revised policy on the site. You are advised to periodically review this page to ensure continuing familiarity with the most current version of our Privacy Policy. Any changes to our Privacy Policy will become effective upon our posting of the revised Privacy Policy on the site. Use of the site following such changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised Privacy Policy then in effect. You will be able to determine when this Privacy Policy was last revised by checking the date information that appears at the top of this page.

If you have questions about the privacy policy, please e-mail them to [e-mail].