Privacy Statement

Privacy Statement American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and ACOG Foundation Web Sites

Your privacy is important to us. This statement is intended to explain how we use your data, how we communicate with you, and the terms and conditions of use or access of internet properties of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists or ACOG Foundation (collectively “ACOG”). By accessing or using any ACOG internet properties including, without limitation, www.acog.org and any others released by ACOG (collectively referred to as the “ACOG Websites”), you agree to comply with and be bound by ACOG’s Privacy Statement and ACOG’s Terms and Conditions of Use (“Terms of Use”) that is incorporated herein by reference. If you do not agree to these Terms of Use and the Privacy Statement, you must immediately terminate use of the ACOG Websites. If you have questions, concerns, or requests concerning your data or privacy, please email privacy@acog.org.

Information Collection and Use – Collection, retention, and use of personal information may occur if users interact with the ACOG Websites, by registering with the site or participating in an ACOG service or event. Member users may be required to provide their name, address, telephone number, email address, ACOG member id number, and/or other identifying information to verify member status with the ACOG membership database and to respond to inquiries and/or requests. Non-member users may be required to provide an email address for ACOG to respond to inquiries and/or requests. Additionally, personal information will be requested when purchasing products or services, requesting additional information, signing up for newsletters or listservs, submitting questions, or registering for webinars or other events.

ACOG does not sell email addresses or phone numbers to third parties for commercial purposes. ACOG may occasionally share limited member information with other medical societies, like-minded organizations or trusted third-party vendors in connection with ACOG programs or initiatives, or when providing benefits to ACOG members. Members may receive third-party marketing and/or relevant women’s health care information by U.S mail. ACOG may use mailing and email addresses provided by members to notify them of ACOG and District and Section news, educational events and other relevant opportunities or information. Member users can opt-out or change their preferences for receiving such information at any time by updating their communication preferences. If you have questions, concerns, or requests concerning your data or privacy, please email privacy@acog.org.

Information Collected Through Technology: IP Address and Cookies – Each time users connect to the internet, their computer is assigned a unique number called an IP address. When users connect to the ACOG Websites, their IP address provides ACOG with non-personally identifiable information, such as the internet service provider used and the frequency of visits to the website. This information is used to understand how users digitally interact with the ACOG Websites. ACOG servers may also collect the IP addresses and domain names of visitors for site administration purposes.

Cookies are standard features in internet browser software that allow websites to track certain user activities by assigning each of our visitors a unique number that resides on your computer. ACOG does not extract personal information during this process. ACOG may use this digital information to provide you with information about products and services that may be of interest to you.

More specifically ACOG uses cookies for analytics and marketing.

1. Analytical Purposes: We use cookies from Google Analytics, Lucky Orange and other third-party partners to analyze user activity to improve the ACOG Websites. For example, using cookies we can look at aggregate patterns like how many pages users visit, how long they visit, what link brought them to the ACOG Websites, and how visitors interact with the ACOG Websites through behavioral metrics, heatmaps and session replays. We use this data to gain insights about how to improve the functionality and user experience of the ACOG Websites. Lucky Orange uses first-party cookies to collect anonymized data on page visits and user interactions. For more information or to opt out of tracking, please visit https://privacy.luckyorange.com/.
2. Marketing: We use cookies from Google AdWords and other third-party partners for marketing purposes. These cookies allow us to display promotional material to you on other sites you visit across the web.

ACOG collects data about your activities when you visit the ACOG Websites or other websites that display ACOG advertisements or content. The information we collect may include the content you view, the date and time you view this content, the products you purchase, and the location information associated with your IP address. We use this information to serve you more relevant advertisements (referred to as retargeting). We also collect information about where you saw the advertisements and whether you engaged with them.

For more information about how Google uses data collected from the ACOG Websites visit Google’s Privacy Policy. Users can opt out of Google’s use of cookies by visiting Google’s Ads Settings. Alternatively, users can choose to opt out of a third-party vendor’s use of cookies by visiting the Network Advertising Initiative opt-out page.

Public Forums – The ACOG Websites make public forums and discussion boards available to members. Any information disclosed in these areas becomes public information and users should use caution when disclosing personal information. ACOG cannot ensure the security of any information transmitted in the public forums.

External Links – The ACOG Websites contain links to external websites that do not fall under its domain. ACOG is not responsible for the privacy practices and the content of external websites.

Third Party – ACOG may disclose your personal information if required to do so by law or in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary to (1) conform to legal requirements or comply with legal process served on ACOG, (2) protect and defend the rights or property of ACOG, or (3) protect the personal safety of ACOG personnel or members of the public in urgent circumstances.

ACOG reserves the right to amend the Privacy Statement at any time for any reason. This Privacy Statement only applies to information collected by ACOG through the ACOG Websites.

Advertisements on the ACOG Websites – Online advertisements on the ACOG Websites do not collect personally identifiable information on individual visitors. ACOG does collect aggregate data on visitors such as time of day and web browser type. Such information may be shared with advertisers to determine their advertising effectiveness.

Children under 13 – We do not knowingly solicit data online from, or market online to, children under the age of 13.

No guarantee – Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. Accordingly, and despite our efforts, ACOG cannot guarantee or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us, or to or from our online products or services.

Need help? Have questions? Email us at privacy@acog.org.

Last updated: October 2024