Privacy Policy
Harris Central Appraisal District Website and Affiliate Application Privacy Policy (the "Privacy Policy")
Effective as of August 14 , 2024
Harris Central Appraisal District (collectively "us", "we", "our", or "HCAD") manages hcad.org (the "Website") and the Homestead Exemption Filing mobile application (the "App") (collectively, the "Services"). This page informs you of our policies regarding the collection, use and disclosure of Personal Information when you use our Services.
We will not use or share your information with anyone except as described in this Privacy Policy. We use your Personal Information for providing and improving the Service. By using these Services, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. Unless otherwise defined in this Privacy Policy, terms used in this Privacy Policy have the same meanings as in our Terms and Conditions.
Information Collection And Use
While using our Service, we may ask you to provide us with certain personally identifiable information that can be used to contact or identify you. Personally identifiable information may include, but is not limited to, your name, address, driver’s license number, and date of birth ("Personal Information"). We collect this information for the purpose of providing the Service.
HCAD does not sell, trade, or rent your Personal Information to others unless otherwise required by judicial or administrative proceedings or other law. We may share generic aggregated demographic information not linked to any personal identification information regarding visitors and users with our business partners, trusted affiliates and advertisers for the purposes outlined above. We may also use third party service providers, vendors, or contractors to help us operate our business and our Services or administer activities on our behalf.
By providing certain Personal Information to us, you acknowledge and signify that HCAD has your consent to use your Personal Information for the conduct of HCAD's official business, to include sharing your Personal Information with certain third parties for the these limited purposes. By uploading, transmitting, or otherwise providing your Personal Information to us or any of our managed Services, you further acknowledge and signify that such information was provided voluntarily and that you consent to your Personal Information being shared, if necessary, with certain third parties for the official conduct of HCAD business. You agree that by providing us with your Personal Information, HCAD shall not be deemed liable for any consequent use or misuse of your Personal Information by third parties except to the extent as required by law.
All information collected or maintained by HCAD is subject to the Texas Public Information Act (chapter 552, Texas Government code) which regulates what is permitted and prohibited from disclosure to the public. Questions regarding the Texas Public Information Act may be directed to the Office of the Attorney General’s hotline at (877) 673-6839.
Log Data
When you access our Services by or through a mobile device, we may collect certain information automatically, including, but not limited to, the type of mobile device you use, your mobile device unique ID, the IP address of your mobile device, your mobile operating system, the type of mobile Internet browser you use and other statistics ("Log Data").
Cookies
Cookies are files with a small amount of data, which may include an anonymous unique identifier. Cookies are sent to your browser from a web site and transferred to your device. We use cookies to collect information in order to improve our services for you.
You can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. The Help feature on most browsers provide information on how to accept cookies, disable cookies or to notify you when receiving a new cookie.
If you do not accept cookies, you may not be able to use some features of our Services and we recommend that you leave them turned on.
For more information on cookies, please see the U.S. Department of Energy's report on cookies located at https://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/bulletins/i-034.shtml.
Compliance With Laws
We will disclose your Personal Information where required to do so by law or subpoena or if we believe that such action is necessary to comply with the law and the reasonable requests of law enforcement or to protect the security or integrity of our Service.
Security
The security of your Personal Information is important to us, and we strive to implement and maintain reasonable, commercially acceptable security procedures and practices appropriate to the nature of the information we store, in order to protect it from unauthorized access, destruction, use, modification, or disclosure.
In general, you can determine whether you are on a secure site by looking at the symbol at the bottom of your browser screen. You can be sure you are using a secure server if the key is unbroken or the lock is locked.
We limit employee access to personally identifiable information to only those employees who need access to perform a specific job. All employees are kept up-to-date on our security and privacy practices.
However, please be aware that no method of transmission over the internet, or method of electronic storage is 100% secure and we are unable to guarantee the absolute security of the Personal Information we have collected from you.
External Links and Third-Party Websites
Our Services may contain links to other sites that are not operated by us. These links are provided for visitors' convenience and information. HCAD does not control or guarantee the accuracy, timeliness, or completeness of any linked information from any website or application not directly managed or owned by HCAD. Linking to a third-party’s website does not constitute an endorsement by HCAD of the content, viewpoint, accuracy, opinions, policies, products, services or accessibility of or contained in the third-party website.
If you click on a third-party link, you will be directed to that third party's site. We strongly advise you to review the Privacy Policy of every site you visit. HCAD has no control over, and assumes no responsibility for, the content, privacy policies or practices of any third-party sites or services, even if affiliated with HCAD but not directly managed by HCAD or HCAD personnel.
This Privacy Policy only applies to the Services directly managed by HCAD, including this Website. When you follow a link to another site, even the sites of state agencies, local governments, and local Harris County officials, this policy will not apply. These sites and services may have their own privacy policies and customer service policies. Browsing and interaction on any other website, including websites which have a link to our Site, is subject to that website’s own terms and policies.
You should check the privacy policy of each of these sites if you have concerns about how they handle personally identifiable information.
Service Providers
We may employ third party companies and individuals to facilitate our Services, to provide the Services on our behalf, to perform Service-related services and/or to assist us in analyzing how our Services are used.
These third parties have access to your Personal Information only to perform specific tasks on our behalf and are obligated not to disclose or use your information for any other purpose.
Children's Privacy
Only persons aged 18 or older have permission to access our Service. Our Service does not address anyone under the age of 13 ("Children"). We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children under 13. If you are a parent or guardian and you learn that your Children have provided us with Personal Information, please contact us. If we become aware that we have collected Personal Information from a child under age 13 without verification of parental consent, we will take steps to remove that information from our servers.
Changes to Our Privacy Policy
HCAD reserves the right to update or change our Privacy Policy at any time for any reason, including on a periodic basis to reflect new practices or legal obligations. You acknowledge and agree that it is your responsibility to review this Privacy Policy periodically and become aware of any changes or modifications.
User Consent
By using our Services, including this Website, you acknowledge and signify your acceptance of this Privacy Policy in its entirety. Continued use of our Services following the posting of any changes to this Privacy Policy shall constitute your acknowledgment of the modifications and your consent abide and be bound by the modified Privacy Policy.
This Privacy Policy has an effective date as specified at the top of this notice and will remain in effect except with respect to any changes in its provisions in the future, which will be in effect immediately after being posted on this page.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please feel free to contact us.