The premier privacy trust study in America cites the Postal Service as sixth among 200 of the "Most Trusted Companies for Privacy."

For the fifth year in a row, the U.S. Postal Service has been recognized by the Ponemon Institute for its best practices in safeguarding U.S. consumers' personal information among private sector companies. This year, the Postal Service moved up one position from last year's listing.

"Throughout our 230-year history, the Postal Service has placed a very high premium upon the security of the mail," said Loretta Tolliver, Manager of Customer Relations for the Gateway District of the U.S. Postal Service, adding, "We jealously guard the valued trust and respect we've painstakingly earned from our customers."

The study asked more than 6,000 adult U.S. consumers which companies they thought were most trustworthy in handling their personal information responsibly. Of the 706 companies consumer's cited, 211 businesses made it to the final list of most trusted. The Postal Service was sixth on the list.

"Consumers want to do business with brands they believe they can trust," said Dr. Larry Ponemon, chairman and founder, Ponemon Institute. "We believe our study is a strong indication of which brands have best earned that trust."

The Institute also has cited the Postal Service as the "Most Trusted Government Agency" for four years in a row. Increasing its privacy trust score every year since the survey began four years ago, the Postal Service has been recognized as the government agency that is best able to keep consumers' information safe and secure. Those scores are expected to be released early next year.