Hernando County is committed to protecting the privacy of visitors to our website. This policy describes what information we collect, how it is used, and how we protect your privacy. This policy applies to the Hernando County website at hernandocounty.us and its subdomains.

Email and Public Records

Email addresses are public records under Florida law and are not exempt from public-records requirements. If you do not want your email address subject to being released pursuant to a public-records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact the County department by telephone or in writing via the United States Postal Service.

Information Collected Automatically

When you visit our website, our web servers automatically collect limited technical information needed to deliver the site to your browser. This occurs regardless of your cookie preferences and does not identify you personally. This information includes:

•       The Internet domain and IP address from which you access our website

•       The type of browser and operating system used to access our site

•       The date and time you access our site

•       The pages you visit

•       If you arrived at our website from another website or social media service, the address of that referring site

This information is used solely to help us maintain and improve our website. We do not use server logs to track or identify individual visitors.

Cookie Use

Cookies are small text files stored by your web browser that help websites function properly and remember your preferences. Our website uses two categories of cookies:

Essential (Functional) Cookies

These cookies are required for the website to operate correctly. They do not collect any personal information and cannot be disabled. Our essential cookies include:

•       Cookie consent preference — remembers your choice on the cookie consent banner so you are not prompted on every visit

•       Alert and notification preferences — remembers when you close or dismiss alert popups and banners so they do not reappear when you navigate the site

These cookies store only simple preference values (such as whether an alert was dismissed) and do not track your browsing behavior or collect personal information.

Optional Analytics Cookies

We use Google Analytics 4 (GA4), a web analytics service provided by Google LLC, to help us understand how visitors use our site. These cookies are only placed on your device if you click "Accept All" on our cookie consent banner. If you click "Reject Optional Cookies," Google Analytics will not load and no analytics data will be collected.

When analytics cookies are accepted, Google Analytics may collect the following:

Browsing Activity

•       Pages visited and the order in which they were viewed

•       How long a visitor spends on each page

•       How a visitor arrived at our site (for example, from a search engine, a direct link, or a social media platform)

•       Site searches performed on the website

Technical Information

•       Browser type and version (for example, Chrome, Safari, or Firefox)

•       Operating system (for example, Windows, macOS, iOS, or Android)

•       Screen resolution and display size

•       Device type (desktop, tablet, or mobile)

•       Language settings

Location (General Only)

•       Approximate geographic location based on IP address (city or region level only — not a specific street address or precise location)

IP addresses are anonymized before being stored by Google Analytics, meaning the full IP address is never recorded.

Session Information

•       Whether a visitor is new or returning

•       Date and time of the visit

•       Duration of the visit

•       Number of pages viewed during the visit

What We Do NOT Collect Through Analytics

•       Names, email addresses, phone numbers, or any personally identifiable information

•       Login credentials or passwords

•       Payment or financial information

•       Precise physical location or home address

•       Information from other websites you visit

How Analytics Data Is Used

We use analytics data solely to understand how our website is being used and to make improvements that better serve Hernando County residents. For example, we may use this data to identify pages that are difficult to navigate, determine which services are most frequently accessed, or ensure our site works well across different devices and browsers.

Your Choice

You are not required to accept analytics cookies to use this website. If you decline optional cookies when visiting the site, Google Analytics will not load and no browsing data will be collected. You may clear your browser’s local storage at any time to reset your cookie preference, and the consent banner will appear again on your next visit.

Google Analytics retains event-level data for a limited period as configured in our account settings. After that period, the data is automatically deleted from Google’s servers. For more information about how Google handles analytics data, visit Google’s privacy policy at policies.google.com/privacy.

If You Send Us Personal Information

If you choose to provide us with personal information — such as in an email to County staff or by filling out a contact form on our website — we will use that information to respond to your message and to help provide you the information you have requested.

We treat emails the same way we treat letters sent to our office. We are required to maintain many documents for historical purposes and are subject to mandated retention policies. We do not regularly collect personal information for any purpose other than to respond to you. However, the information we receive may be considered public information subject to disclosure under Florida’s Sunshine Law.

Except for information disclosure required by Florida law, we only share the information you give us with another government agency if your inquiry relates to that agency or if the subject matter falls within the regulatory or prosecutorial jurisdiction of that agency. Hernando County does not collect information for commercial marketing.

Site Security

For site security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, this computer system employs commercial software programs to monitor network traffic and identify unauthorized attempts to upload, modify information, or otherwise cause damage.

Unauthorized attempts to upload information or alter information on this service are strictly prohibited and may be punishable under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986, the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act, and any applicable law.

Protection of Minors

We are especially concerned about protecting children’s privacy. We encourage parents to be involved in children’s Internet explorations. We ask that children get their parents’ permission before providing any information online — at our site or any other site — and recommend parents always be involved in those decisions.

Passwords

In certain instances, you may have the opportunity to receive or create a password to access information. You should not share your password with anyone, and Hernando County employees will never ask you for your password in an unsolicited phone call or email. When you are finished with applications that are password protected, you should log out and exit the page.

Links to External Websites

This website contains links to other governmental and non-governmental websites. In some cases, we link to private organizations. When you click a link to an external website, you will be prompted to acknowledge that you are leaving our site. Once confirmed, you are subject to the privacy policy of that external website. Hernando County is not responsible for the privacy practices of external sites.

Contact Us

If you have questions about this privacy policy or how your information is handled, please contact the Hernando County Web Services team.