Privacy Statement

This Privacy Statement discloses the privacy practices for catalyst.harvard.edu, the main Harvard Catalyst website. Please note that some Harvard Catalyst tools, Harvard Schools, Centers, and other Harvard units and affiliates may have separate privacy statements. By using this website, you are consenting to our collection and use of information in accordance with this Privacy Statement.

What information do we gather about you?

We and our third-party vendors collect certain information regarding your use of catalyst.harvard.edu, such as your IP address and browser type. Your session, the pages you visit on catalyst.harvard.edu, and third-party webpages to or from which you enter or leave the website will be tracked. We may use your IP address to identify the general geographic area from which you are accessing catalyst.harvard.edu. We connect data from different systems, including information received from social media advertising, but we do not link IP addresses to any personal information. We may also collect other information as described in this Privacy Statement.

The Harvard Catalyst website site does not collect personally identifiable information about individuals except when knowingly provided by such individuals. When provided, we may collect information such as name, HUID, degrees, e-mail address, and phone number.

What do we use your information for?

We use the information we gather from you for systems administration purposes, for abuse prevention, and to track user trends, to gauge user interest in and promote our programs, and for the other purposes described in this Privacy Statement. If you send us an email, the email address you provide may be used to send you information, respond to inquiries, and/or other requests or questions. We will not share, sell, rent, swap, or authorize any third party to use your email address for commercial purposes without your permission.

User information may be shared with third-party vendors to the extent necessary to provide and improve web services or other communications to users. For example, we use third parties such as Google Analytics to generate reports on site usage, web traffic, user behavior, and user interests in order to optimize our website for our visitors. We also use geographic, demographic, and interest-based reports of our website visitors to create custom audience lists. We prohibit any third parties who receive user information for this purpose from using or sharing user information for any purpose other than providing services for the benefit of our users.

We may also provide your information to third parties in circumstances where we believe that doing so is necessary or appropriate to satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process or governmental request; to detect, prevent or otherwise address fraud, security, or technical issues; or to protect our rights and safety and the rights and safety of our users or others.

How is this information collected and how can you opt out?

Google and other third parties may use cookies, web beacons, and similar technologies to collect or receive information from this website and elsewhere on the internet and use that information to provide measurement services and target ads. For more information on Google Analytics, consult their terms of use, privacy practices, and ads settings. You can opt out of the collection and use of this information through tools like the Network Advertising Initiative opt-out page.

Cookies

Cookies are small files that are stored on your computer (unless you block them). We use cookies to understand and save your preferences for future visits and compile aggregate data about site traffic and site interaction so that we can offer better site experiences and tools in the future. You may disable cookies through your individual browser options or you can opt out of the collection and use of this information through tools like the Network Advertising Initiative opt-out page.

Other Websites and Cookies

This website may contain links to other websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such websites.

Cookies may be set by parties other than us. These “third-party cookies” may, for example, originate from websites such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Soundcloud, or other social media services for which catalyst.harvard.edu has implemented “plug-ins.” Since the cookie policies of these sites change over time, you should determine their policies by visiting the privacy policy pages of these sites directly.

Information Protection

This site has reasonable security measures in place to help protect against the loss, misuse, and alteration of the information under our control. However, no method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure.

Users Located in the European Economic Area

If you are located in the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway (the “European Economic Area”), please click here for additional information about ways that certain Harvard University Schools, Centers, units and controlled entities, including this website, may collect, use, and share information about you.

Changes to this Privacy Statement

This Privacy Statement may be amended from time to time. Any such changes will be posted on this page.

Effective Date

The effective date of this Privacy Statement is January 25, 2023.