Privacy Policy

Effective date: September 13, 2025

This Privacy Policy explains how the Benton County, Washington website located at bentonwa.org (“we,” “us,” “our,” or the “Site”) collects, uses, and shares information when you visit or interact with our Site. Our goal is to help residents and visitors quickly find official tools, services, department resources, and contact information for Benton County, WA. We are committed to protecting your privacy and being transparent about our practices.

Scope and Consent

This Policy applies to your use of bentonwa.org and any subpages that link to this Policy. It does not apply to third-party websites or services that we link to, including other Benton County department websites that may maintain their own privacy policies. By using the Site, you consent to the practices described here.

Information We Do (and Do Not) Collect

No account registration. The Site does not require you to create an account or submit personal information such as your name, email address, phone number, or mailing address to use our content.

Information you choose to provide. If you voluntarily submit information through forms on the Site (for example, feedback or requests routed to a department site or service), we will receive the information you provide and use it to respond and route your inquiry. Please avoid including sensitive personal information in free-text fields unless it is necessary for your request.

Automatic device and usage information. When you visit the Site, we and our service providers may automatically collect certain information about your device and interaction with the Site, including:

IP address and approximate location inferred from it
Browser type and settings, device type, operating system, and language
Referring/exit pages and general navigation paths
Date/time stamps and pages viewed
Cookie identifiers and similar tracking technologies

We do not use this information to identify you by name. It is used for security, reliability, and to understand how the Site is used so we can improve it.

Cookies and Similar Technologies

The Site uses cookies and similar technologies (like local storage) to operate the Site, remember preferences, analyze traffic, and support advertising services provided by third parties. You can manage cookies through your browser settings. Note that disabling cookies may affect Site functionality.

Analytics

We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors engage with the Site. Google Analytics collects information such as pages visited, time spent on pages, browser and device information, and interactions with Site content. Google uses cookies and may process this data on servers in the United States and elsewhere. Google may also combine this information with other data it holds about you from your activity across different sites and apps.

We use analytics data to:

Diagnose performance and reliability issues
Understand aggregate visitor behavior and trends
Improve search and navigation so users can find information faster
Guide site design and content updates

You can learn about Google’s data practices and opt-out options (including browser add-ons and ad settings) by visiting Google’s privacy resources. Your browser may also support controls to limit analytics cookies.

Advertising

The Site uses Google AdSense to display advertisements. AdSense may use cookies and similar technologies to serve ads and to measure their performance. Depending on your settings, ads may be contextual (based on the page content) or personalized (based on your activity across sites and apps). Personalized advertising involves the use of identifiers and inferences about your interests and may be considered a “share” of data under certain privacy laws.

Your choices for advertising include:

Adjusting ad personalization in your Google account’s Ad Settings

Opting out of interest-based advertising through industry programs (for example, Digital Advertising Alliance and Network Advertising Initiative)

Managing cookies in your browser settings, including blocking third-party cookies

Even if you opt out of personalized ads, you may still see ads; however, they may be less relevant.

How We Use Information

We use the information described above to:

Operate, maintain, and secure the Site
Improve site content, search relevance, and navigation
Monitor performance, detect abuse, and troubleshoot issues
Produce aggregated statistics that help us plan improvements
Comply with applicable laws, regulations, and legal processes

We do not sell or rent personal information. We do not build individual profiles for marketing purposes. Advertising and analytics services operate according to their own privacy practices as described above.

How We Share Information

We may share information:

With service providers who support Site operations (e.g., hosting, analytics, and advertising partners) and are contractually bound to use data only to provide services to us.

For legal reasons if we believe disclosure is reasonably necessary to comply with the law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request; to protect the safety, rights, or property of the public, Site users, or Benton County; or to detect, prevent, or address security, fraud, or technical issues.

In aggregated or de-identified form that does not reasonably identify you.

Links from the Site to other websites are provided for convenience. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party websites. Please review the privacy policies of those sites.

Data Retention

We retain information only as long as necessary to achieve the purposes described in this Policy, including Site security and improvement, and to comply with legal obligations. Retention periods for analytics and advertising data are determined by our configuration and by the policies of the service providers (e.g., Google).

Security

We employ administrative, technical, and organizational measures designed to protect information we handle. Nevertheless, no website or internet transmission is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. Please use the Site responsibly and avoid transmitting sensitive information unless required for a specific service.

Your Choices and Controls

Browser controls: Most browsers allow you to block or delete cookies, limit third-party cookies, and set preferences for website data. Refer to your browser’s help pages for instructions.

Do Not Track (DNT): Some browsers offer a DNT signal. Because there is no industry consensus on how to interpret DNT, our Site does not respond to DNT signals. You may still use other controls described in this section.

Ad preferences: Manage ad personalization in your Google account and through industry opt-out pages. Blocking or clearing cookies may reset your preferences, so you may need to reapply them.

Analytics opt-out: Tools such as the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on can limit analytics collection on supported browsers.

Children’s Privacy

The Site is intended for a general audience and is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided personal information through the Site, please send us an email so we can address the issue.

Public Records and Government Transparency

As a government website, some communications that you submit to the County may be subject to disclosure under applicable public records laws. This Policy does not limit any obligations or rights under those laws. Please use discretion when sharing information in forms that may be public records.

International Visitors

The Site is operated in the United States. If you access the Site from outside the United States, you understand that information may be processed and stored in the U.S. and may be subject to U.S. laws.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in technology, our services, legal requirements, or for other operational reasons. When we make material changes, we will revise the “Effective date” above and, where appropriate, provide additional notice on the Site. Your continued use of the Site after an update indicates your acceptance of the revised Policy.

Contact

If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us using the Contact or Feedback options available on bentonwa.org. We will route your inquiry to the appropriate team and respond as soon as practicable.

By using bentonwa.org, you acknowledge that you have read and understand this Privacy Policy.