What is a cookie?
Cookies are small pieces of information, stored in simple text files, placed on your computer by a website. Cookies can be read by the website on your subsequent visits. The information stored in a cookie may relate to your browsing habits on the web page, or a unique identification number so that the website can “remember” you on your return visit. Generally speaking, cookies do not contain personal information from which you can be identified, unless you have furnished such information to the website.
If you do not want to allow cookies [or only allow the use of certain types of cookies], please refer to your browser settings, which should allow you to accept or deny cookies (for more information on this, see ‘How to manage and disable cookies’ below). You can also use the browser settings to withdraw your consent to the use of cookies at any time.
By disabling certain categories of cookies, you may be prevented from accessing some of the features on our website.
How does Bank of Ireland Group use cookies?
Bank of Ireland Group uses the following cookie types:
| Cookie type | Cookie purpose |
|---|---|
| Functionality | These cookies allow Bank of Ireland Group’s websites to remember choices you make (such as your preferred language) and provide enhanced, more personal features. These cookies can also be used to remember changes you have made to text size, fonts and other parts of web pages that you can customise. They may also be used to provide services you have asked for such as watching a video or commenting on a blog. Other examples include cookies that keep track of your progress when filling online application forms. |
| Performance | These cookies collect information about how visitors use a website, for instance which pages visitors go to most often, and if they get error messages from web pages. These cookies don’t collect information that identifies a visitor. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. Bank of Ireland Group uses first-party analytics cookies for this purpose. |
| Targeting Cookies | Targeting cookies remember individual websites you have visited and help Bank of Ireland Group to present relevant and targeted online advertising to you. Targeting cookies may be placed on your machine when you visit a Bank of Ireland Group website page. When targeting cookies have been placed on your device, they can be recognised by subsequent websites you visit, and this allows those sites to present targeted Bank of Ireland Group and third party advertising to you. While targeting cookies can track your visits around different websites and identify if you are a user of Bank of Ireland Digital Banking, the information collected is anonymous. Users can set their browsers to accept or reject all, or certain, cookies. If you would like more information about how to manage cookies, please see the section below headed, ‘How to manage and disable cookies’. |
| Expiration (How long cookies last)* | |
|---|---|
| Session Cookies | These cookies are added when a visitor starts to browse our website or interacts with a specific feature and are deleted when the browser is closed. |
| Persistent Cookies | These cookies are added when a visitor starts to browse our website or interacts with a specific feature, but may remain stored on your device until a certain termination date is reached (in terms of minutes, days or years from the creation/update of the cookie). |
Please take note of the following information with regard to the Google third party cookies used on our website:
Google Universal Analytics
What is Google Analytics?
Google Analytics is a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. Google Analytics uses cookies in order to evaluate your use of Bank of Ireland Group’s website. Browsers do not share cookies across domains.
How Google Analytics Works
Google does not collect or store personal information. Google Analytics prohibits the tracking or collection of personal information or association of personal information with web analytics information. Google Analytics does not report the actual IP address information to Google Analytics customers.
What Google Analytics features are enabled by Bank of Ireland Group?
The following Google Analytics Advertising features are enabled in respect of Bank of Ireland’s use of Google Analytics:
User ID -This allows Bank of Ireland Group to associate multiple sessions (and any activity within those sessions) with a unique ID, in this case an ID derived from online interactions with Bank of Ireland Group. When the unique ID and any related engagement data is sent to Google Analytics, all activity is attributed to one anonymous user who is not personally identifiable in the reports.
With the unique ID, Bank of Ireland Group can get a more accurate user count, analyse the signed-in user experience, and get access to the new cross-device reports.
In addition with a unique ID, Bank of Ireland Group can present more relevant Bank of Ireland Group and third party advertising to a user as the unique ID can indicate if an anonymous user is an existing user of Bank of Ireland Group on line services without removing the anonymity of that user.
While Google Analytics cookies are targeting cookies which use a unique ID and can track your visits around different websites, the information collected is anonymous and you will not be personally identifiable to either Google or Bank of Ireland Group
Demographics and interests reporting – Understand how Bank of Ireland Group’s site audience breaks down by age, gender, and interests.
Google analytics data sharing settings enabled: – Google products & services – Bank of Ireland Group shares Google Analytics data with Google to help improve Google’s products and services.
Benchmarking – Bank of Ireland Group contributes anonymous data to an aggregate data set to enable features like benchmarking and publications that can help Bank of Ireland Group understand data trends. All identifiable information about Bank of Ireland Group’s website is removed and combined with other anonymous data before it is shared with others.
Technical support – Google technical support representatives have access to Bank of Ireland Group’s Google Analytics data and account when necessary to provide service and find solutions to technical issues.
Opt-out: Users may opt out of Google Universal Analytics’ use of cookies by visiting the Google Universal Analytics opt-out page.
Storage Location: Google stores the information collected by the cookie on secure Google servers.
Google Adwords
What is Google Adwords?
Google Adwords is an advertising analytics service provided by Google, Inc.
How Google Adwords Works
Adwords uses temporary cookies that are stored on a user’s computer for a limited period. Only pages that a user has visited containing the Google conversion code are tracked.
Google does not collect or store personal information. Conversions are not isolated: This means that Google or Bank of Ireland cannot match conversion data to specific customers. Instead Google or Bank of Ireland Group can just see overall data for ads and keywords.
Opt out: There is no opt out available for this third party cookie. If you do not wish for this third party cookie to be on your computer, please do not click on Google Ads.
Storage Location: Google stores the information collected by the cookie on secure Google servers.
Google Adwords Remarketing
What is Google Adwords Remarketing?
AdWords Remarketing is a remarketing and behavioural targeting service provided by
Google Inc.
How Google Adwords Remarketing works
This website uses the Google AdWords remarketing service to advertise on third party websites (including Google) to previous visitors to Bank of Ireland Group’s site. It means that Bank of Ireland Group advertises to previous visitors who haven’t completed a task on a Bank of Ireland Group site, for example not completing a product application. This could be in the form of an advertisement on a site in the Google Display Network. Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on someone’s past visits to Bank of Ireland Group websites.
Google does not collect or store personal information.
Opt out: Users may opt-out of Adwords Remarketing use of cookies by visiting the Adwords Remarketing opt-out page.
Storage Location: Google stores the information collected by the cookie on secure Google servers.
DoubleClick by Google
What is DoubleClick?
DoubleClick leverages a 64-bit persistent cookie tied to the doubleclick.net domain. The contents of the cookie consist exclusively of a single string of random characters. DoubleClick cookies expire two years after they are placed on the web browser. Only pages that a user has visited containing the DoubleClick code are tracked. DoubleClick also uses Remarketing pixels – a pixel is a small, invisible piece of code that tells DoubleClick to save visitors’ cookies to Bank of Ireland websites on a list. Third-party vendors, including DoubleClick (owned by Google), then use the cookies to serve ads on sites across the internet based on someone’s past visits to Bank of Ireland Group websites.
DoubleClick does not collect or store personal information.
Opt-out: Users may opt-out of Double Click cookies by visiting the Doubleclick opt-out page.
Storage Location: Google stores the information collected by the DoubleClick cookie on secure Google servers.
For more information go to Privacy Policies and Privacy Ads.
How to manage and disable cookies?
For instructions on blocking and deleting cookies, see the privacy and help documentation of your specific browser’s website. If you use more devices and/or browsers you will need to disable cookies on each device and on each browser separately. Here are the locations of the cookie settings for all major web browsers:
- Internet Explorer – Tools > Internet Options > Privacy tab.
- Mozilla Firefox – Tools > Options > Privacy menu.
- Safari users – Edit > Preferences > Privacy menu.
- Chrome users – Settings > Content Settings > Privacy > Cookies.
If you limit the ability of our websites to set cookies, this may prevent you from using certain features of our website properly and your user experience – which will no longer be personalised for you – may deteriorate. You may also be able to opt out from certain cookies through third party cookie management sites. Disabling cookies may prevent you from using certain parts of our website. If you delete your cookies from the browser, you may need to remember to re-install opt-out cookies.
For more information about how to manage cookies, including opting-out of different types of cookies please visit: www.aboutcookies.org
You can also find more information about how to opt-out of targeting cookies by visiting: www.youronlinechoices.com
Please note: Bank of Ireland’s 365 online banking service, including Mobile Banking, requires cookies to be enabled in order for the service to function properly. If you disable cookies, you will not be able to use our online and mobile banking services.