Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how GS Pay Scales ("we," "us," or "our") handles information when you visit gspayscales.com. We respect the privacy of our visitors and aim to collect only the information reasonably necessary to operate, maintain, secure, and improve the website.

By using this website, you acknowledge the practices described in this Privacy Policy.

Information We Collect

You can browse most of GS Pay Scales without directly providing personal information. We do not require visitors to create an account to view our salary tables, locality pay information, guides, or calculators.

Some information may be collected automatically when you use the website. This may include information such as your browser type, device type, operating system, referring page, pages visited, approximate geographic region, date and time of access, and other standard website usage data.

Our hosting provider, security services, analytics providers, or other technical services may also process IP addresses and similar technical information as part of normal website operation, security, fraud prevention, and traffic measurement.

Contact Form Information

If you contact us through our Contact page, we may receive the information you choose to provide, such as your name, reply address, subject, and message.

We use information submitted through the contact form to review and respond to inquiries, investigate reported data or technical problems, consider feedback, and protect the website from spam or abuse.

Please do not submit sensitive personal information through the contact form.

GS Pay Calculators

Our GS pay calculators generally use selections such as pay year, locality, GS grade, and step to display salary information. These selections are not intended to identify an individual user.

Some calculator selections may appear in the page URL so that the website can display the selected result. You should not enter confidential or sensitive personal information into calculator fields or URL parameters.

Cookies and Similar Technologies

GS Pay Scales and services used by the website may use cookies, local storage, or similar technologies. These technologies can support essential website functionality, remember preferences, measure website usage, maintain security, and support advertising where applicable.

You can control or delete cookies through your browser settings. Blocking certain cookies may affect the operation of some website features or third-party services.

Analytics

We may use analytics services to understand how visitors find and use GS Pay Scales. Analytics information can help us understand which pages are useful, identify technical problems, measure website performance, and improve our content and navigation.

Analytics providers may use cookies or similar technologies and may process technical and usage information according to their own privacy policies.

Advertising

GS Pay Scales may display advertising provided by third-party advertising partners, including Google. Advertising services may use cookies or similar technologies to serve, measure, personalize, or limit advertising in accordance with applicable settings, consent requirements, and the advertising provider's policies.

Google and its advertising partners may use cookies to serve ads based on a visitor's interactions with this website or other websites, where permitted. Depending on your location and applicable law, you may be provided with choices regarding personalized advertising and the use of certain technologies.

You can learn more about how Google uses information from sites and apps that use its services by visiting Google's information about partner sites and apps.

Third-Party Links

GS Pay Scales contains links to external websites, including official government resources such as the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. External websites operate independently from GS Pay Scales and may have their own privacy practices and policies.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices, security, availability, or content of third-party websites. We encourage visitors to review the privacy policy of any external website they use.

How We Use Information

Information collected through the website may be used to operate and maintain GS Pay Scales, provide requested website functionality, understand website usage, improve our pages and calculators, respond to contact form messages, detect abuse, maintain security, diagnose technical problems, and support advertising where applicable.

Data Sharing

We do not sell personal information submitted through our contact form. Information may be processed by service providers that help us operate the website, such as hosting, analytics, security, advertising, and contact-form services.

We may also disclose information when reasonably necessary to comply with applicable law, legal process, enforce our terms, investigate abuse, protect the security of the website, or protect our rights or the rights of others.

Data Retention

Information is retained only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, website operation, security, legal obligations, dispute resolution, or other legitimate operational purposes. Different types of information may be retained for different periods.

Data Security

We take reasonable measures to protect information associated with the website. However, no website, internet transmission, or electronic storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

Your Privacy Choices

Depending on where you live, applicable privacy laws may provide rights or choices concerning certain personal information. These may include rights to request access, correction, deletion, or information about certain data practices, subject to applicable exceptions.

You can also manage cookies and similar technologies through your browser settings and, where available, consent or advertising controls presented by the website or relevant service provider.

If you have a privacy-related request concerning information you submitted through this website, please use our Contact page.

Children's Privacy

GS Pay Scales is a general informational resource about federal pay and is not directed specifically to children. We do not knowingly request personal information from children through the website.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy when our website, services, legal requirements, or privacy practices change. The updated version will be published on this page.

We encourage visitors to review this page periodically for changes.

Contact Us

If you have a question about this Privacy Policy or the privacy practices of GS Pay Scales, please use our Contact page.

Independent Website

GS Pay Scales is an independent informational website. It is not an official U.S. government website and is not operated by, endorsed by, or affiliated with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management or any other federal agency.