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Third-Party Websites and Applications (TPWA)

NEI conducts a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) for each use of a third-party website as they may have a different functionality or practice. For further information about NEI privacy policy, please contact the NEI Privacy Coordinator.

You may also wish to view our Social Media and Discussion Forum Commenting Policies.

Facebook

NEI currently has a Facebook page. On the NEI Facebook page, NEI staff posts information, resources, and news related to eye health and vision research. If you have a Facebook account or ‘like’ the NEI Facebook page, you can post comments or click on the ‘like’ option for individual entries. If you comment or click on the ‘like’ button, personally identifiable information (PII) will be visible to NEI staff and other Facebook users. The amount of visible PII will depend on your own Facebook privacy settings. You can avoid displaying any personally identifiable information by not creating an account, not posting comments and not clicking on the ‘like’ options in Facebook. NEI staff does not collect, use or disclose any information about visitors who comment on or ‘like’ the NEI Facebook site. Facebook collects and reports non-identifying information about activities on Facebook pages. This type of information from the NEHEP Facebook page is password protected and only available to the NEI communications and web teams, and other designated staff who require this information to perform their duties. Read the Facebook privacy policy.

LinkedIn

NEI currently has a company page on LinkedIn. On the NEI LinkedIn page, NEI staff posts information, resources, and news related to eye health, vision research, employment opportunities, and funding announcements. If you have a LinkedIn account or ‘follow’ the NEI company page, you can post comments or click on the ‘like’ option for individual entries. If you comment or click on the ‘like’ button, personally identifiable information (PII) will be visible to NEI staff and other LinkedIn users. The amount of visible PII will depend on your own LinkedIn privacy settings. You can avoid displaying any personally identifiable information by not creating an account, not posting comments and not clicking on the ‘like’ options in LinkedIn. NEI staff does not collect, use or disclose any information about visitors who comment on or ‘like’ the NEI LinkedIn site. LinkedIn collects and reports non-identifying information about activities on LinkedIn pages.

NEI also uses the “groups” feature on LinkedIn to engage with current and past employees and members of the public. In order to join the NEI group on LinkedIn, you must register for a LinkedIn account and provide your first and last name and e-mail address. Upon confirmation of your email address, you must provide LinkedIn with information regarding your employment, country, zip code, job title, etc. The amount of visible personal information will depend on your LinkedIn user privacy settings. You can completely avoid displaying any PII by not creating a LinkedIn account, not joining the NEI LinkedIn group, or not interacting with the NEI LinkedIn group in any way (i.e., private messaging, posting on group pages, etc.). Although NEI staff managing LinkedIn may view the information you provide when you submit a request to join, NEI staff does not collect, use, or disclose any of this information. Read the LinkedIn Privacy Policy

Twitter

We use Twitter to send short messages (up to 140 characters) or ‘Tweets’ to share National Eye Institute (@NatEyeInstitute) messages with visitors and respond to comments and inquiries sent via Twitter. While visitors may read the NEI Twitter feed without subscribing, visitors who want to subscribe to (or follow) NEI's Twitter feed must create a Twitter account. To create an account, you must provide some personally identifiable information (PII), such as name, user name, password and email address. Visitors have the option to provide additional personal information including a short biography, location or a picture. Most information you provide for a Twitter account is available to the public, but you can modify how much of your information is visible by changing your privacy settings at the Twitter.com website. NEI staff members monitor the number of subscribers and respond to comments and queries via Twitter, but the staff never takes possession of the personal information belonging to Twitter followers. NEI does not collect, maintain, disclose or share any information about people who follow NEI on Twitter. Read the Twitter privacy policy

YouTube

NEI posts videos on its YouTube channel. You do not need to register with either YouTube or Google (YouTube’s parent company) to watch NEI videos. Whenever you watch a video, YouTube may record non-personally identifiable information about your viewing experience, such as channels used, videos watched, and data transfer rates to improve its services. If you log on to the YouTube site before watching NEI videos, YouTube may associate information about your site use with your YouTube account. If you log on to YouTube and comment on a NEI video, any personally identifiable information (PII) you included when registering for your account will be visible to visitors who click on the comment. If you do not log in before watching NEI videos posted on YouTube, your site use will not be associated with you or a YouTube account. Read the YouTube privacy policy.

Last updated: June 28, 2023