Data You Give Us Directly
Search Queries
A name or location entered in a search box is sent directly to the outside company operating that tool. The provider processes the query and supplies its results. Branch County Criminal History does not retain or separately log those search terms.
Messages and Contact Submissions
An email or other direct message may be kept long enough to respond and maintain the related correspondence. It remains within the site’s operation unless disclosure is required by law.
Data We Gather Automatically
When a page loads, server systems automatically receive basic technical and usage details:
- Page-view dates, times, and visit duration
- The pages opened during the visit
- Device type and operating system
- Browser name and version
- The referring website, when available
- The device’s assigned IP address
Cookies and Analytics
Cookies are small files placed on a device. They and analytics services help measure aggregate traffic, popular pages, and points where visits end. Browser controls can block or remove cookies, although doing so may change how some site functions behave.
What We Do With This Data
- Operating the site and maintaining reasonable performance
- Routing a submitted search to the selected partner service
- Measuring which reference pages visitors use
- Diagnosing errors and other technical problems
- Displaying advertising that may reflect user interests
No Criminal-Record Data on File
Branch County Criminal History does not maintain, assemble, or sell a database of individual criminal records. It provides general directions to the Branch County Sheriff’s Office, 3-A District Court, 15th Circuit Court, Michigan State Police Criminal Justice Information Center and ICHAT, and the Michigan Public Sex Offender Registry. Visitor information is not turned into a consumer report or a record about another person. This site is not a consumer reporting agency under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Third-Party Search Partners
Independent companies provide the search boxes. Information submitted to one of those tools is governed by that company’s privacy policy. The partner, not Branch County Criminal History, sets its retention, processing, and disclosure practices. Users should read those terms before sending a query.
Links to Other Websites
Links may lead to Branch County offices, Michigan agency portals, courts, legal-aid resources, or commercial search services. Opening an external link leaves this website, and the destination’s privacy policy then controls. Review it before providing personal information.
Advertising companies may use their own systems to recognize activity across websites and select targeted ads. Their tracking is governed by their practices.
Who Might See Your Data
Personal data is not sold. Information may be disclosed or transmitted only to these categories of recipients:
- A selected search provider that processes a submitted query
- Analytics vendors measuring traffic and site performance
- Advertising networks serving ads on the pages
- A government or law-enforcement body acting under a valid legal order
How We Protect Your Data
Reasonable, standard safeguards are used for information collected through the website. No internet system can be guaranteed completely secure, however, and the site cannot promise that unauthorized access or a breach will never occur.
Users Under 18
The website is intended for adults and does not knowingly collect personal information from anyone younger than 18. Personal data shown to have been knowingly collected from a minor will be deleted.
Your Data Rights
Applicable law may provide additional rights based on a user’s residence. Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act, MCL 15.231 et seq., governs access to nonexempt records held by public bodies, not data held by this private site. Michigan’s criminal-identification statutes, including MCL 28.241a and MCL 28.242, govern state criminal-history functions and likewise do not convert this website into a government record keeper. Subject to applicable law, a user may:
- Request access to personal information maintained about that user
- Request correction of inaccurate personal information
- Request deletion where the law permits it
- Opt out of processing where an applicable law creates that right
Updates to This Policy
This policy may be revised. Any new version becomes available on this page and carries a replacement effective date, allowing users to review the practices then in force.
Effective date: July 27, 2026