Who we are
Our website address is: https://mitibmwatsonailab.mit.edu.
What personal data we collect and why we collect it
Comments
When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection.
An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.
Media
If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.
Contact forms
Cookies
If you leave a comment on our site you may opt-in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.
If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.
When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.
If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after 1 day.
Embedded content from other websites
Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.
These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.
Analytics
Who we share your data with
How long we retain your data
If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.
For users that register on our website (if any), we also store the personal information they provide in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.
What rights you have over your data
If you have an account on this site, or have left comments, you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including any data you have provided to us. You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.
Where we send your data
Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.
Your contact information
Additional information
How we protect your data
What data breach procedures we have in place
What third parties we receive data from
What automated decision making and/or profiling we do with user data
Industry regulatory disclosure requirements
Privacy Policy
Overview
Your privacy is important to MIT, and we are committed to respecting it.
This privacy statement applies to the main MIT website, which includes the MIT homepage at http://web.mit.edu (opens in new window) (also viewable at http://mit.edu (opens in new window) and http://www.mit.edu (opens in new window), as well as the following top-level pages: Education, Research, Innovation, Admissions + Aid, Campus Life, Alumni, About MIT, Visit, Contact, Accessibility, Privacy, and Feedback.
In addition to the main MIT website, MIT departments, labs, centers, and individuals publish many other websites and pages outside the scope of this privacy statement, which may post and adhere to their own privacy statements. Visitors are encouraged to review posted privacy statements for each MIT website they visit.
Your personal information
You can visit the main MIT website without telling us who you are and without revealing any personal information about yourself.
Voluntarily provided information
In using specific features, such as web forms, on the main MIT website, you may be asked to provide additional information, such as your name or email address, that may be needed to contact you or to subscribe you to updates. In such cases, it is our intent that your provided information will be used only to fulfill the request(s) you make of us, and to allow us to contact you if there are any problems with your request. We will not share, exchange, or sell your email address and other provided personal information to third parties.
Automatically collected information for visitor and traffic analytics
Cookies
A cookie is a short identifier, stored on your computer, that may contain site-specific settings or identify you to a site when you make a return visit. The main MIT website does not use cookies, with the exception of those used by Google Analytics, described below. All features of the main MIT website are designed to work without cookies. If you turn off cookies in your browser, you will still be able to fully experience the main MIT website.
Google Analytics
The main MIT website uses Google Analytics to gather anonymous statistics. The information gathered is used to improve web services for visitors. Google Analytics uses a browser cookie for statistical analysis related to your browsing behavior on these websites. If you choose, you can opt out by turning off cookies in the preferences settings in your browser, or download and install Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on(opens in new window). For more information, visit Google Analytics Solutions(opens in new window).
Basis for processing
We process your personal information collected on the main MIT website to facilitate our online interactions with you. We only collect and process your personal information in furtherance of MIT’s legitimate interests and/or to fulfill any contractual obligations with you.
If you have concerns about this privacy statement, any of these purposes, or how we communicate with you, please contact us at dataprotection@mit.edu(opens in new window). We will always respect a request by you to stop processing your personal information (subject to our legal obligations).
How your information is stored and secured
MIT uses risk-assessed administrative, technical, and physical security measures to protect your personal information. There are 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.
How long we keep your personal information
We consider our relationship with the MIT community to be lifelong. This means that we will maintain a record for you until such time as you tell us that you no longer wish us to keep in touch. After such time, we will retain a core set of information for MIT’s legitimate purposes, such as archival, scientific, and historical research and for the defense of potential legal claims.
Rights for individuals in the European Economic Area
You have the right in certain circumstances to (1) access your personal information; (2) correct or erase information; (3) restrict processing; and (4) object to communications, direct marketing, or profiling. To the extent applicable, the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation provides further information about your rights. You also have the right to lodge complaints with your national or regional data protection authority.
If you are inclined to exercise these rights, we request an opportunity to discuss with you any concerns you may have. To protect the personal information we hold, we may also request further information to verify your identify when exercising these rights. Upon a request to erase information, we will maintain a core set of personal data to ensure we do not contact you inadvertently in the future, as well as any information necessary for MIT archival purposes. We may also need to retain some financial information for legal purposes, including US IRS compliance. In the event of an actual or threatened legal claim, we may retain your information for purposes of establishing, defending against, or exercising our rights with respect to such claim.
By providing information directly to MIT, you consent to the transfer of your personal information outside of the European Economic Area to the United States. You understand that the current laws and regulations of the United States may not provide the same level of protection as the data and privacy laws and regulations of the EEA.
Additional information
The main MIT website may contain links to third-party sites located outside of MIT. MIT is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of these websites. We encourage you to review privacy statements and policies published by these third-party sites.
We may change this Privacy Statement from time to time. If we make any significant changes in the way we treat your personal information we will make this clear on our website or by contacting you directly.
The controller for your personal information is MIT. We can be contacted at dataprotection@mit.edu.(opens in new window)
MIT’s EU Representative can be contacted via MIT Press London, 1 Duchess Street, London W1S 6AN.