Our Online Privacy Policy

When you visit a page on WhiteHouse.gov, the internet browser on your computer may download a small file from WhiteHouse.gov (commonly called a “cookie”) so that our website can recognize your computer when you use WhiteHouse.gov in the future. To learn how to manage or refuse cookies from Whitehouse.gov or any other site see USA.gov.

WhiteHouse.gov uses the following cookies (defined and organized per the Office of Management and Budget’s “Guidance for Online Use of Web Measurement and Customization Technologies” (OMB M-10-22):

Single-session cookies are used for technical purposes, such as enabling better navigation through the site, facilitating the use of user accounts, and generating aggregated statistics about how the website is used. Single-session cookies may use a unique identifier, but do not publicly expose personal information.
Under the framework of OMB M-10-22, this qualifies as a Tier 1 use.

Multi-session or persistent cookies are used to recognize a computer that has previously visited WhiteHouse.gov, which can improve a user’s experience, for example, by continuing preference settings from previous visits.
Under the framework of OMB M-10-22, this qualifies as a Tier 2 use.

WhiteHouse.gov currently uses the following cookies:

• Single-session cookies are used to ensure that WhiteHouse.gov displays correctly on your device. Cookies with the name “has_js” are used to track if a user’s browser has Javascript enabled and cookies with the name “d” are used to track if the website should present in a desktop or mobile format. These cookies do not use a unique identifier.
• When a visitor views a welcome, or “splash,” page, a persistent cookie prevents them from seeing that page repeatedly. This cookie does not use a unique identifier. These cookies begin with wh_splash.
• Several persistent cookies measure website metrics on WhiteHouse.gov, such as which pages are popular and how often people visit the website. These have a name that begin with _utm and are unique.

These cookies do not capture personally identifiable information, such as your name or email, or track interactions outside of WhiteHouse.gov and other White House sites/pages.

This list does not include cookies associated with third-party content or functionality included on WhiteHouse.gov (see Third-Party Cookies).

The White House uses a third-party analytics provider (currently Google Analytics) to analyze the data collected through the cookies with a name beginning _utm. The third-party analytics provider does not receive personally identifiable information through these cookies and does not combine, match, or cross-reference WhiteHouse.gov information with any other information. We have also limited the provider’s ability to see your full IP address (a process known as “IP masking”). Please review Google Analytics’s privacy policy for additional information.

In order to improve email subscribers’ experience and the overall quality of our services, we may use cookies to measure the effectiveness of our email communications and to better tailor email content. Specifically, we may connect the data showing that an email subscriber clicked a link in an email to a subsequent action taken by that individual on the White House website, such as completing a webform.

Because this links cookie data with an individual user, this would qualify as a Tier 3 use under the framework of OMB M-10-22. We would therefore only connect cookie data to individual users who have consented and opted in to receiving emails. We would also dispose of such cookie data after 13 months.

For data captured in this manner, we would restrict access to individual-level information to employees, contractors, and vendors subject to non-disclosure requirements who require access to this information in order to perform their official duties and exercise controls to limit what data they can view based on the specific needs of their position.

If you would like to receive content that is posted using one of these third-party providers without utilizing the third-party provider, please contact us at WhiteHouse.gov/Tech/Feedback.

These third parties may use web measurement and customization technologies (such as cookies) in conjunction with the provision of this content or functionality. You should consult the privacy policies of these third parties for further information. We do not knowingly use third-party tools that place a multi-session cookie prior to the user interacting with the tool, for example by playing an embedded video. If you become aware of a third-party tool on WhiteHouse.gov that places a multi-session cookie prior to any user interaction, please contact us at WhiteHouse.gov/Privacy/Feedback.

Visitors can control aspects of website measurement and customization technologies used on WhiteHouse.gov and still have access to comparable information and services on WhiteHouse.gov.

You can choose not to accept cookies from any website, including WhiteHouse.gov, by changing the settings of your browser. You can also delete cookies stored in your browser at any time.

For more information about cookies, including how to delete them from your computer and configure your browser to refuse them from WhiteHouse.gov or any other site, visit the following resource, or refer to your individual browser settings for additional information on disabling cookies:

• USA.gov

Another form of website measurement and customization technology is the use of “flash cookies” which are created by Adobe Flash, a technology that powers web content such as videos. To manage these, visit the Website Storage Settings Panel on Adobe.com. WhiteHouse.gov does not currently use first-party flash cookies, but they may be used by embedded third-party technologies.