Intelligent Mail usage and privacy policy

Background

For more than two centuries, the United States Postal Service has been the nation’s preeminent provider of delivery services, connecting the people and businesses of America through their personal and business correspondence. Mail has earned its position as one of the most valuable, effective, and trusted means of communication. Mail is also private and secure. These qualities are at the core of the Postal Service brand. We are continuing our work to protect the privacy and security of the mail as new technology and processes, such as Intelligent Mail services, bring added value to this critical communications channel. Independent surveys consistently show that consumers place great trust in the Postal Service. We will work to maintain that trust.

To reflect its commitment to privacy, the Postal Service has developed a comprehensive privacy policy for its customers. The comprehensive privacy policy, which can be found on our website, USPS.com, reflects the best practices of both the public and private sector. In addition to that policy, and in keeping with its customary high standards of privacy, the Postal Service has developed the following additional privacy policy for Intelligent Mail services.

Intelligent Mail Program

The term “Intelligent Mail” refers to services offered by the Postal Service that allow for greater understanding of the location of mail as it moves through the mail stream. The purpose of the services is to improve the accuracy, timeliness, and convenience of mail delivery and services, while protecting the privacy and security of the mail. Through these services, the Postal Service intends to bring benefits to mailers, postal operations, and consumers.

To provide information about mail, Intelligent Mail services use machine-readable codes, such as bar codes. The codes contain an assortment of information, such as the date, time, serial number, delivery point, and sender of the mailing. The codes only contain information that the Postal Service or mailer already possess. The only new information that is collected is the location of mail in the postal system as it is scanned.

The Postal Service and mailers can apply the codes to mail containers and mail. The Postal Service then reads the codes via automated equipment during mail processing. One type of information that can be gathered concerns mail containers, which provides information about mail aggregates. This information is a significant value of Intelligent Mail services, improving knowledge about the movement of a container of mail to a common destination. Another type of information that can be gathered concerns individual mailpieces. The Postal Service does not, however, track individual mailpieces as part of an Intelligent Mail service, unless the mailer requests and pays for the service.

Mailers participate in Intelligent Mail services on a voluntary basis, and must register and qualify for the service. Once qualified, the Postal Service will provide Intelligent Mail information to a mailer, or its authorized designee, under appropriate security controls in near real time. The information provided to a mailer or designee will only concern its own mail. This includes information about the location of its outgoing mail, as well as incoming reply mail.

Under Intelligent Mail services, the Postal Service only knows the identity of a mailer if the mailer so chooses to participate and identify itself. For mailers that choose to participate, the information that they provide to the Postal Service is managed under comprehensive privacy protections based on the Privacy Act, as described below.

Mail Protections

The Postal Service protects the privacy and security of mail under a long-standing framework of federal statutes and regulations. The statutes and regulations specify strict safeguards for the cover, i.e. the envelope or wrapper, as well as contents of all mail sent through the postal system. These safeguards apply to the mailpiece itself, its contents, and all information on its cover. This includes all information about the recipient that is contained on the mailpiece. The Postal Service does not collect or store information that would allow the Postal Service to identify the recipient, except in accordance with these strict statutes and regulations.

Additional Protections for Intelligent Mail Services

The following describes additional protections for information that is part of Intelligent Mail services, beyond the mail protections described above.

1. Mailer information. Mailers may provide certain information to the Postal Service about themselves or their mail as they register for or participate in an Intelligent Mail service. Information collected from mailers is protected as follows:

   1. General. The Postal Service has developed comprehensive privacy and data management protections for information provided by the mailer. These protections are based on the Privacy Act, and have been integrated into the comprehensive Privacy Act systems of records that have been established for all Postal Service customers. They govern all aspects of managing data relating to the mailer, including:

      • What data is collected
      • Purposes of the collection
      • Specific and limited disclosures of information
      • Storage and security of information
      • Customer access to their information

      Click here for a description of Privacy Act protections for all Postal Service customers. Appendix to USPS Handbook AS-353, Guide to Privacy, the Freedom of Information Act, and Records Management. Protections for mailers using Intelligent Mail services are contained in Privacy Act systems 820.100, Mailer Services – Applications and Approvals, and 820.200, Mail Management and Tracking Activity.

   2. Mailer-assigned code. Mailers commonly assign codes to distinguish mailpieces today. The mailer may use these codes to identify an individual address or a group of addresses. Under Intelligent Mail services, mailers will have the opportunity to assign certain parts of the Intelligent Mail code to their own mailpieces. Consistent with our practices for all mail, the Postal Service will not have access to the information in the mailer-assigned portion of the code, except if mutually agreed upon by the mailer and Postal Service (such as for an added service benefit), or if requested by the Postal Service for security purposes. In those instances, these privacy policies will apply.

2. Containers. Containers of mail are coded with aggregate information only. Aggregate information cannot be tracked to an individual mailpiece, unless that mailpiece contains Intelligent Mail coding, and so is not covered by these privacy policies. Mailpieces that are tracked within the container, if any, are covered by these privacy policies.

Reply Mail Protections

Intelligent Mail services also offer privacy protections for reply mail. Intelligent Mail pieces from a mailer to a recipient may include a reply envelope and insert material that may be mailed back to the mailer. These reply envelopes and inserts may contain Intelligent Mail coding, just like they contain bar codes today. Just like mailpieces sent to a recipient, mail coding on a reply mailpiece may identify an individual address or group of addresses.

There are two parties who process reply mail: the Postal Service, and the mailer to whom the reply mail is directed.

1. Postal Service and Reply Mail. The Postal Service has developed strict standards of privacy for reply mail, which will continue under Intelligent Mail services. The Postal Service will not collect, store, or retrieve any information based on the name or other identifier of the sender of a reply mailpiece that would allow the Postal Service to identify the sender, except in accordance with strict federal statutes and regulations.
2. The Mailer to whom the Reply Mail is directed. Mailers have, or are developing, a relationship with recipients who send reply mail. Upon receipt, the mailer has access to the reply mailpiece, including whatever sender information is in or on the envelope, and the envelope’s contents and codes. As always, whether or not they participate in Intelligent Mail services, mailers can place codes on the envelope, such as to enable in-house mail processing. Intelligent Mail services do not, however, enable the mailer to add any information to the codes that the mailer did not possess already. What Intelligent Mail services add is greater understanding and confirmation of where the reply mailpiece is in the postal system.

In addition, mailers provide privacy and security protections to their customers in accordance with laws and policies that they may follow. For instance, many financial mailers offer privacy and security protections under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and other safeguards.

Law Enforcement and Security

Intelligent Mail services were designed to provide greater operational efficiency for the Postal Service and mailers who register for the services. Intelligent Mail services were not developed as a law enforcement tool. However, the services should add to the security of the mail stream. As mailers register, there will be an increase in the percentage of known senders using the mail. Also, the Postal Service will learn more about the path of mail in the event of a law enforcement or public safety investigation. Intelligent Mail services will thus improve the Postal Service’s ability to address identity theft, mail theft, and other abuses, under strict existing safeguards described below.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, a federal law enforcement agency within the Postal Service, is charged with enforcing federal criminal statutes governing mail. These federal statutes include such areas as mail theft, identity theft, mail fraud, prohibited mailings, and the protection of Postal Service assets and employees. In order to protect the mail and the public, the Inspection Service investigates mail and mailers under existing laws and regulations, which place strict controls on when and how investigations take place.

Information gathered under an Intelligent Mail service will only be used for law enforcement and security purposes under these existing laws and regulations. This includes how Intelligent Mail data is provided to law enforcement agencies. Information relating to mailpieces, including the cover and contents, is only available to law enforcement under strict federal statutes and regulations. Information supplied by mailers may only be disclosed in accordance with Privacy Act regulations. Users of Intelligent Mail services are covered by the same, narrowly defined general standard for external disclosures that applies to customers of other Postal Service services. Information collected from Intelligent Mail users may only be disclosed to appropriate law enforcement agencies if there are suspected illegal activities against the Postal Service, or as required by law.

The Corporate Information Security Office within the Postal Service monitors Postal Service systems to ensure Postal Service compliance with federal information security laws, regulations, and policies to protect Postal Service and customer information. The platforms and technologies used by Intelligent Mail services undergo an extensive information security assurance process to ensure appropriate security controls are in place.

Under Intelligent Mail services and this policy, the Postal Service will provide enhanced privacy and security protections for mail, mailers, and recipients, while improving the safety and security of the mail.

Federal Statutes and Regulations Relating to the Privacy and Security of Mail

The Postal Service has a long tradition of protecting both the cover and contents of mail. Mail protections are grounded in the 4th Amendment, federal criminal and civil statutes, postal statutes and regulations, and court decisions.

Title 18 of the U.S. Code (Crimes and Criminal Procedure) contains all federal criminal laws, including those enforced by the Postal Inspection Service. Title 39 (Postal Service) contains federal civil laws relating to the establishment of the Postal Service and its authority. Other relevant laws are also listed below. The major postal regulations protecting mail are contained in the USPS Administrative Support Manual, Domestic Mail Classification Schedule, Domestic Mail Manual, International Mail Manual, and Postal Operations Manual.

Below are some of the more significant federal laws and regulations that pertain to the privacy and security of the mail.

TITLE 18, U.S. Code:  CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

• Section 1114: Protection of officers and employees of the United States
• Section 1701: Obstruction of mails generally
• Section 1702: Obstruction of correspondence
• Section 1703: Delay or destruction of mail or newspapers
• Section 1708: Theft or receipt of stolen mail matter generally
• Section 1709: Theft of mail matter by officer or employee (of USPS)
• Section 1716: Injurious articles as non-mailable
• Section 3061: Investigative powers of Postal Service personnel

TITLE 39, U.S. Code: POSTAL SERVICE

• Section 410:   Application of other laws (disclosures)
• Section 412:   Nondisclosure of lists of names and addresses
• Section 3003: Mail bearing a fictitious name or address
• Section 3004: Delivery of mail to persons not residents of the place of address
• Section 3623: Mail Classification (mail sealed against inspection)

OTHER LAWS

• Title 5: (Government Organization and Employees), U.S. Code, Section 552a, The Privacy Act of 1974
• Title 19: (Customs Duties), U.S. Code, Section 1583, Examination of outbound mail
• Title 49: (Transportation), U.S. Code, Section 44901, Screening passengers and property

USPS Administrative Support Manual (ASM)

• Section 213: Mail Covers
• Section 274: Mail Security
• Section 274.1: Importance
• Section 274.2: Opening, Searching, and Reading Mail Generally Prohibited
• Section 274.3: Permissible Detention of Mail
• Section 274.4: Mail Reasonably Suspected of Being Dangerous to Persons or Property
• Section 274.5: Disclosure of Information Collected from Mail Sent or Received by Customers

How to Contact Us

We would like to hear from you if you have any questions or comments regarding this privacy policy.

Please contact us at privacy@usps.gov or mail us at:

PRIVACY OFFICE
US POSTAL SERVICE
475 L’ENFANT PLAZA SW RM 9431
WASHINGTON DC 20260-1101