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Security & Privacy
Your security and privacy are important to us.
Naturally, you want to feel secure in the knowledge that your personal details are safe, and we understand that. Your details are protected by the Data Protection Act 1998.
Our policies and procedures have been created to provide that level of assurance to you.
Privacy Policy
Site tracking
In order to enable us to review our content and improve site navigation we use site tracking services to collect anonymous information, such as the number of page views that occur on the website, the number of unique visitors and common ways of arriving on or leaving the site. We collect this information through the use of cookies and transparent GIFs.
In order for the tracking software to log this anonymous site traffic information, each of our web pages load a small invisible image from a tracking server.
Cookies
Cookies are text files that either sit on your computer hard drive, or your browser's cache memory. These files are not computer programs, and can't cause any damage to your computer. They form an essential part in the creation of good user experience on many websites.
Persistent cookies
These files are created and stored on your computer's hard drive for a period of time to identify it to the site tracking tool. The cookie is not able to identify you as the individual user and doesn't attempt to collect any personal information. They contain the following:
- A uniquely generated random number - this is how we differentiate visitors.
- The date and time of the last visit to the website
- The expiry date of the cookie
Session cookies
Tools such as our mortgage and savings applications are spread over a number of screens. In order to complete the process, your browser must remember the information that you entered into previous screens. Session cookies are created and store this information for the duration of your visit to the website. They do not store anything on your computer's hard drive. As soon as you leave the Britannia website, the cookie is deleted from your browser's cache memory.
Disabling cookies
By adjusting the settings of your browser, you can choose to accept persistent cookies from only the site that you are visiting (eg. britannia.co.uk), or third party sites (such as our web statistics tool as mentioned above), or both. You can also decide to be informed when one is about to be placed on your computer.
To find out how to change your browser's cookie settings, consult the help section on your internet browser.
Please note that if you disable cookies, you will not be able to use many of the tools within the Britannia website.
To disable your cookies please follow steps below according to your browser settings:
Microsoft Internet Explorer 6, 7 & 8
Select:
- Tools
- Internet Options
- Privacy
- Advanced
- Override Automatic Cookie handling
- Disable First Party Cookies
- Disable Third Party Cookies
- Untick Always allow session cookies
- Click OK
- Click OK again
Firefox 3
Select:
- Tools
- Options
- Privacy
- Set "Firefox will:" to Use custom settings for history.
- Untick Accept cookies from sites
Google Chrome
- Click the wrench icon tools menu on the browser toolbar. Mac users: If you don't see the wrench icon, go to the menu bar at the top of your screen and click Chrome.
- Select Options (Preferences on Mac and Linux; Settings on Chrome OS)
- Click the Under the Hood/Bonnet tab
- Click Content settings in the "Privacy" section
- Choose Block sites from setting any data
- Choose Block all third party cookies without exception
Opera11
Select:
- Tools
- Preferences
- Advanced
- Cookies
- Never accept cookies
Safari
Select:
- The cog icon tools menu on the browser toolbar
- Preferences
- Advanced
- Security
- Choose Never
Transparent GIFS
Small invisible images have been placed on a number of pages of our site. They allow the site tracking tool to recognise when a page has been visited. These images cannot collect data from your computer.
Securing your information
When you use our tools you need to be sure that your information is safe. This is why any forms that require you to enter personal information, such as mortgage quote, are run on a secure socket layer (SSL). This means that the information that you send to us via the forms is scrambled and can only be translated by us. So, if the data is intercepted by anyone else they will be unable to read it.
Our security certificate is provided by Verisign and can be checked by clicking the logo below.
"Spotlight" tags
Our online advertising agency uses pixels, or transparent GIF files, to help manage online advertising. These GIF files are provided by our ad management partner, DoubleClick. These files enable DoubleClick to recognize a unique cookie on your Web browser, which in turn enables us to learn which advertisements bring users to our website. The cookie was placed by us, or by another advertiser who works with DoubleClick. With both cookies and Spotlight technology, the information that we collect and share is anonymous and not personally identifiable. It does not contain your name, address, telephone number, or email address.
The address of the Spotlight server is doubleclick.net.

