BAY COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF WATER AND SEWER
SMS PRIVACY POLICY
Updated 8/14/2024
SMS Privacy Policy
The Bay County Department of Water and Sewer (“DWS”) is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy (the “Policy”) governs how we treat the Personal Information that we collect and receive from you in the event that you send a text message (SMS, or Short Message Service) to the DWS or any DWS staff member.
“Personal Information” is information that individually identifies you, such as your mobile phone number or user/screen name, as well as the any Personal Information that you choose to include in messages you send through an SMS.
What Personal Information is Collected About You
Through the use of SMS, the DWS will receive the following information: your mobile phone number when you send a text message to us, the text of messages that you send to other users of the DWS, any user or screen name that you select in connection with the Service, as well as any comments or feedback regarding the Service that you send to us.
How the DWS Uses Personal Information About You
We use Personal Information to (a) provide you with customer support, (b) process and respond to inquiries, (c) improve our services, and (d) if necessary, contact you with important announcements or messages. Each message that you send through SMS is retained, as required by law. Personal information is not sold or shared with third parties without consent, except as required by law.
Security
The DWS takes precautions to ensure the security of your Personal Information. However, we cannot guarantee that hackers or unauthorized personnel will not gain access to your Personal Information despite our efforts. You should note that in using SMS, your information will travel through third party infrastructures which are not under our control (such as a third-party SMS delivery platform or your carrier network). We cannot protect, nor does this Policy apply to, any information that you transmit to other users. Users are encouraged to safeguard their devices. You should never transmit sensitive or identifying information to the DWS through SMS.
Opt-Out Options
The DWS gives you the ability to opt out of receiving SMS messages for any reason. You can opt out by texting “STOP” to any message received from the DWS.
Data Retention
The DWS retains personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this privacy policy, unless a longer retention period is required by law.
Updates to Privacy Policy
The DWS reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify or change this Policy at any time with or without prior notice to you. The date of the last update will be posted at the top of this Policy for your convenience. This Policy, and any changes, are effective as soon as posted. Your continued use of SMS following the posting of any changes to the Policy constitutes your full acceptance of those changes.
Consent Confirmation
After users send an email to helpdesk@baycodws.org stating that they would like to communicate to the DWS through SMS, they will get details of the terms of SMS messaging, how to opt-out, and contact information for inquiries. Users will then be required to consent to the terms in this policy via email.
Contact Information
If you have any additional questions regarding this Policy, please feel free to contact us any time by emailing helpdesk@baycodws.org, or by calling 989-684-3883.
What Personal Information is Collected About You
Through the use of SMS, the DWS will receive the following information: your mobile phone number when you send a text message to us, the text of messages that you send to other users of the DWS, any user or screen name that you select in connection with the Service, as well as any comments or feedback regarding the Service that you send to us.
How the DWS Uses Personal Information About You
We use Personal Information to (a) provide you with customer support, (b) process and respond to inquiries, (c) improve our services, and (d) if necessary, contact you with important announcements or messages. Each message that you send through SMS is retained, as required by law. Personal information is not sold or shared with third parties without consent, except as required by law.
Security
The DWS takes precautions to ensure the security of your Personal Information. However, we cannot guarantee that hackers or unauthorized personnel will not gain access to your Personal Information despite our efforts. You should note that in using SMS, your information will travel through third party infrastructures which are not under our control (such as a third-party SMS delivery platform or your carrier network). We cannot protect, nor does this Policy apply to, any information that you transmit to other users. Users are encouraged to safeguard their devices. You should never transmit sensitive or identifying information to the DWS through SMS.
Opt-Out Options
The DWS gives you the ability to opt out of receiving SMS messages for any reason. You can opt out by texting “STOP” to any message received from the DWS.
Data Retention
The DWS retains personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this privacy policy, unless a longer retention period is required by law.
Updates to Privacy Policy
The DWS reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify or change this Policy at any time with or without prior notice to you. The date of the last update will be posted at the top of this Policy for your convenience. This Policy, and any changes, are effective as soon as posted. Your continued use of SMS following the posting of any changes to the Policy constitutes your full acceptance of those changes.
Consent Confirmation
After users send an email to helpdesk@baycodws.org stating that they would like to communicate to the DWS through SMS, they will get details of the terms of SMS messaging, how to opt-out, and contact information for inquiries. Users will then be required to consent to the terms in this policy via email.
Contact Information
If you have any additional questions regarding this Policy, please feel free to contact us any time by emailing helpdesk@baycodws.org, or by calling 989-684-3883.