Cookies

Cookies are small pieces of information contained within the pages on our websites, our apps and emails and are placed on your computer, smartphone or tablet.

There are different types of cookies:

• Session cookie – these are set to collect and send information to us for the length of time your browser is open on our website or app
• Persistent cookie – these stay on your device for longer to help us identify your device in the future and allow a user’s actions to be remembered. They each have their own timeframe for staying on your device.
• First party cookie – these are placed on your device directly by Nationwide (a first party cookie)
• Third party cookie – these are placed by a third party, such as an ad network, social media platform or search engine. It may result in additional cookies being set by that third party for their purposes.

Depending on whether we have the permission to do so and the digital service you are using, we will use cookies to collect and retrieve the following:

• Unique values so that our digital services know that they are talking to your device
• The time and date that a device has used our websites or apps, the content that you viewed and how you reached us (e.g. via a search engine)
• The type of device you are using (e.g. a tablet or a computer)
• The brand of device or browser (e.g. Apple, Android, Safari, Edge)
• Inputs made and values submitted
• General geographical location that people access from (e.g. city/town)
• Your settings for our site
• Identifiers such as Customer Number, Application Number, Device ID or IP Address that may allow the information collected to be linked to an individual

Where cookies collect information, which may be used to identify you, it will be used in accordance with our privacy policy.

Please be assured that none of our cookies will collect or store any secure information about you (e.g. your Internet Bank password or memorable data).

Nationwide has 4 main categories of cookies:

• Essential cookies
• Customisation cookies
• Cookies to help us improve our website
• Targeting cookies

You’ll find out more about these in the following sections.

These are the cookies which make our websites work and keep you safe by:

• Keeping your browsing sessions private
• Allowing you to complete an application form
• Making your time on our digital services run smoothly and securely
• Remembering your device when using our banking app to ensure member security
• Letting us know whether cookies will work on your device
• Ensuring we apply your preferences consistently

Whilst our Privacy preferences centre won’t allow you to stop these cookies, your browser may. If your browser settings prevent these cookies we can't guarantee or predict how our websites will perform during your visit, and you won't be able to use any secure parts of the websites such as the Internet Bank or Banking app. We may also use these cookies to understand whether you intended to access our digital services if you clicked on a link from a partner website.

These cookies help us to gain insight and improve how we do things by:

• Understanding how our users engage with Nationwide’s digital services (e.g. how you move through our website pages) and what technology they use (e.g. do more people use their phone than a computer)
• Measuring and understanding the performance of our digital services and their content to continuously make improvements
• Testing different versions of our digital services with different user groups to understand which is more favourable
• Linking interactions online with activity via our other channels (e.g. branch and telephone) to ensure we make the user’s online experience easier
• Analysing individual and aggregated browsing actions and patterns (e.g. links that are clicked on and) to better understand our users
• Informing our digital strategy
• Completing activities required as part of our terms and conditions with our trusted partners (e.g. paying our partners for content they have displayed on our behalf, based on actions taken on our digital services).

We use Adobe, AppDynamics and Decibel Insight to support us with these activities. Whilst these trusted third parties place and store the cookie on your device, they work like first party cookies and the information collected on behalf of Nationwide is only used by us. Some of the cookies are persistent cookies and the information collected from these cookies is retained and used for up 2 years. After this time, it is securely deleted.

These cookies help personalise your experience by:

• Remembering information such as your username when you log into certain pages
• Managing when our online surveys are presented
• Understanding when you may find it useful to start a live chat with us and making our live chat functionality work
• Customising how we display information online, based on what we learn about our users and their experience.

We use Adobe and LivePerson to support us with these activities. Whilst these trusted third parties place and store the cookie on your device, they work like first party cookies and the information collected on behalf of Nationwide is only used by us. Some of the cookies are persistent cookies and the information collected from these cookies is retained and used for 2 years. After this time, it is securely deleted.

These cookies help us target our advertising and tailor our marketing both online and via other channels, so it is as relevant and helpful as possible by:

• Sharing or highlighting specific content to you on our digital services
• Displaying Nationwide adverts on other companies’ digital services based on the content you have viewed on our digital services
• Ensuring you are shown our marketing at an appropriate time
• Informing our marketing strategy by understanding how you interact with our online adverts

We use the trusted third parties in the following table. They deliver online advertising services by analysing the information collected to ensure the adverts we display on social media platforms; search engines and other websites are relevant to you and other users who may engage with our marketing in similar ways. They do this by collecting details of when you viewed our website content after seeing one of our online adverts or using information about the products and services you have taken out with us or shown interest in when browsing our digital services.

You can also turn off targeting cookies from a wide range of specific companies by visiting www.youronlinechoices.com/uk/your-ad-choices (opens in a new window)

Just so you know, if you choose for us not to use targeting cookies, you may still see our adverts on social media, search engines and other websites, we just won’t have used cookies to tailor them to you.

You can manage your cookie settings at any time.

In addition, however, most web browsers allow some control of most cookies through the browser settings.

Find out how to manage cookies on popular browsers:

• Google Chrome (opens in a new window)
• Microsoft Edge (opens in a new window)
• Mozilla Firefox (opens in a new window)
• Microsoft Internet Explorer (opens in a new window)
• Opera (opens in a new window)
• Apple Safari (opens in a new window)

You can also choose to:

• Opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics across all websites by visiting https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout (opens in a new window).
• Turn off targeting cookies from specific companies by visiting www.youronlinechoices.com/uk/your-ad-choices (opens in a new window) or our Targeting information.

Nationwide adds pixels to the emails that we send. These help us to understand whether an email has been delivered, whether it has been opened and whether you clicked on any of the links contained within the email.

We do this so we can gain insight and improve our communications. It also supports us in evidencing compliance with Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) requirements when we need to send you mandatory communications about your account or our service.

You may be able to prevent these pixels either through your web browser or the email provider you use (e.g. Outlook).