Cookie policy

The term "cookie" refers to technologies based on the principle of storing and accessing information about the terminal (e.g. PC, laptop, tablet, mobile phone) used by a visitor to a website.

Cookies are text files that contain small amounts of information consisting of letters and numbers, which will be stored on the user's device.

Cookies are installed by request from a web server to a browser (eg Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome) and are completely "passive" (does not contain software, viruses or spyware and cannot access on the user's hard drive).

Cookies contain information that links a user of the website to a webserver (website). If a user accesses that website again, the webserver will read previously stored information and recognize that user on the next visit.

Cookies are mainly used to help the user navigate the website efficiently, perform certain functions and allow the website to remember the actions or preferences of the user over time (this information which can then be used for various purposes such as analysis, statistics or online advertising activities).

There are several types of cookies, depending on different classification criteria, respectively:

1. Depending on storage time : (i) session cookies (which expire immediately after the webpage visited is closed) or (ii) persistent cookies (which have a longer lifespan, they are retained and the stored information is reused each time the user returns to that website);
2. Depending on their role : (i) strictly necessary cookies, (ii) functional cookies, (iii) performance and analysis cookies, and (iv) cookies targeting and advertising;
3. Depending on their source : (i) first party cookies (placed by the Internet domain / website accessed by the user) and (ii) third party cookies (placed by an Internet domain / website other than the one accessed by the user - the accessed website also contains information from a third party website).

We use the following types of cookies:

In general, data about Internet browsing activity are collected and analysed anonymously. If a specific interest emerges from this analysis, a cookie is placed on the user’s computer, which determines which ad the user will see on a subsequent online visit; this is called interest-based advertising. Our cookies are set for a duration between 1-13 months.

Interest-based advertising is a way of delivering ads to the websites you visit and making them more relevant to your interests. Common interests are grouped according to previous browsing activity and users are only presented ads matching their interests (determined based on algorithms used by cookie technologies).

To better understand, here is an example of how these technologies work:

Imagine that you have accessed our website in search of a banking product. The next time you browse online, when accessing the Internet (another website) to read, for example, a news article, you will be served banking offers as an ad. If your browsing habits indicate that you are interested in a certain type of product (for example, if you have searched for a loan product both on our website and on other websites) you may receive advertising offers for such products.

You will receive these advertising messages because our advertising partners and their advertising servers (such as Google, Facebook) use cookies (placed on the device you use to access our website), which collect information about your visits on our website as well as on other websites. They analyse and determine whether you have shown an increased interest in certain content (in this case, a banking product), and then, this information is used so that they can provide you with ads matching these interests.

The table below shows more information about the cookies used on this website and the purposes for which we use them.

We use the following cookie providers:

1. Google services

BRD uses the technology provided by Google Inc., with headquarters in 1600 Amphitheater Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States ("Google") for online advertising services (Google Adwords, Google DoubleClick), as well as for plug-ins of socialization. 
The information collected by Google in connection with your use of this website (for example, the referring URL, our web pages you visit, your browser type, language settings, your operating system, screen resolution) will be sent on Google servers where they will be stored and analyzed.
Google Ads uses data from different sources (for example: (i) visitors to the BRD website and (ii) users of Google products who show interests and habits of interest to BRD (such as those who are interested in buying a house or who have searched in Google Search information about mortgages) to generate the audience relevant to BRD's interests. The configuration of the advertising campaigns involves the establishment by BRD of some segmentation criteria in order to achieve the objective. Thus, within each campaign BRD will segment the audience according to social data - demographics, interests and online behavior of users, according to which Google will serve BRD advertising content.The results of the campaigns are embodied in certain reports generated by Google that contain statistical and aggregated information about the events and actions taken by the users of these products/websites when they interact with the displayed advertisements (ie, clicks, impressions).

Details:

• https://business.safety.google/adscookies/
• https://policies.google.com/technologies/cookies 

2. Facebook Services

BRD uses technology provided by Facebook Inc, 1601 South California Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA ("Facebook") for online targeting and advertising services, as well as social media plug-ins. 
The data collected by Facebook is stored on servers located in the EU and outside the EU, respectively in the United States of America. For more details on how Facebook processes personal data, please see https://www.facebook.com/privacy.
Facebook Ads uses data from various sources to generate audiences relevant to BRD's interests. The configuration of advertising campaigns requires the establishment by BRD of some segmentation criteria in order to achieve the objective pursued. Thus, within each campaign, BRD will segment the audience according to socio-demographic data, interests and online behavior of the users, depending on which Facebook will serve BRD's advertising content. The results of the campaigns are embodied in certain reports generated by Facebook that contain statistical and aggregated information about the events and actions taken by the users of these products/websites when they interact with the displayed advertisements (ie, clicks, impressions).

Details:

• https://www.facebook.com/privacy/policy/?entry_point=data_policy_redirect&entry=0
• https://www.facebook.com/privacy/policies/cookies/?entry_point=cookie_policy_redirect&entry=0 
   

3. Hotjar Services

BRD uses Hotjar technology to better understand the needs of our users and to optimize content and user experience on the site. Hotjar is a service that helps us better understand the experience of our users (eg how much time they spend and on which pages, which links they choose to click,.) and this allows us to build and improve our site based on user feedback. Hotjar uses cookies and other technologies (eg heatmap tools and session recordings) to collect data about the behavior of our users and their devices, without users being able to be identified based on this data. The Session recordings function generates a video recording of a user's session on our website. This function allows the recording and viewing in an anonymous way of the mouse movements, clicks and scrolls on one or more pages of our website, made by the users. These records are used to understand how they interact with the BRD website, as well as to fix problems on the website and optimize its graphical interface. Hotjar can process the following categories of data on behalf of its customers, beneficiaries of analysis services:

a) the IP address of the terminal from which they access the BRD website (stored in a form that does not allow identification of the user);

b) screen resolution;

c) the type of terminal (based on the unique identifiers of the terminal);

d) the geographical location from where the website was accessed (at country level);

e) events performed by the user (mouse movements, mouse location on the page and clicks made);

f) pressing the keys;

g) URL, domain;

h) pages visited;

i) the date and time the website/page was visited Details: https://www.hotjar.com/legal/policies/privacy/ https://help.hotjar.com/hc/en-us/articles/6952777582999

4. Matomo

BRD uses services provided by Matomo to better understand the needs of our users and to optimize content and user experience on the BRD website.

Matomo offers services (using cookies) that help us to better understand the experience of our users when they visit our website (for example: the number of interactions/visits on our website, the time of the user’s first visit, the length of time between successive user interactions with our website, etc...), by generating statistics regarding user interaction with our website. Based on them, we can improve our website / optimize the way in which the information is presented on the website.

Matomo processes the following categories of data on behalf of its customers, beneficiaries of the analytical services:

• User IP address (anonymized)
• Optional user ID
• Date and time of access
• Title of the page being viewed (Page title)
• URL address of the page being viewed (URL address of the page)
• URL of the page that was viewed before the current page (Reference URL)
• Screen resolution
• Time in local user time zone
• Files clicked and downloaded (Download)
• Links to an external domain that was clicked (Outlink)
• Page generation time (time taken for web pages to be generated by the web server and then downloaded by the user: page speed)
• User location: country, region, city, approximate latitude and longitude (Geolocation)
• Main language of the browser used (Accept-Language header)

In order to configure and launch online advertising campaigns, we use a media agency. BRD has the initiative to launch the campaigns. The media agency has independence in choosing the tools according to the objective pursued by BRD through the launched advertising campaign.

You can change your cookie usage settings (except for required cookies) at any time through the cookie control menu below:

Cookie settings panel

Of course, you can also set your browser to block all types of cookies, including the required ones. However, in this case, the web page may not work properly. Also, deactivating other types of cookies (other than those required) could impact the operation or your experience when using the web page.

Details of browser settings for blocking or deleting cookies are listed below:

Internet Explorer cookie settings 

Set cookies in Firefox 

Cookie settings in Chrome

Cookie settings in Safari 

We use analytical tools such as pixel or web beacons in our online advertising activity. The pixel is an analytical tool that allows us to measure the effectiveness of our advertising activities carried out through our providers of such solutions by understanding the actions performed by users on our website. These technologies are normally used in conjunction with cookie technology. We use the pixel-provided data to ensure that our ads are shown to the right people or to build audiences for advertising.

Our providers of such solutions are as follows:

1. Google, including Google DoubleClick;
2. Facebook;
3. YouTube.

BRD may use or implement social media plug-ins. In general, your interaction with a plug-in enables the third-party operator of that social media platform to collect some information about you, including your IP address, page header information, and browser information.

BRD has implemented the following social media buttons:

• Facebook 
• YouTube 

In general, browsers have integrated privacy settings that provide different levels of cookie acceptance, validity period and automatic deletion after the user has visited a certain website.

The user must ensure that the browser is always updated to the latest version. Many of the cookie-based computer attacks are carried out by exploiting the vulnerabilities of old versions of browsers. With a clear understanding of how cookies work and their benefits, you can take the necessary security measures so that you can browse the Internet with confidence.

[1] According to Article 4(6)(b) of Law no. 506/2004 regarding the processing of personal data and privacy protection in the field of electronic communications.