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Privacy notice

Your privacy

When you browse the web, you leave a digital footprint. It’s information about your device and the way you use it online.

We just want to let you know that we’ll collect this information about you. Most websites do this.

We use this information to deliver the website to you. We also use it for other things, which we think help you and us.

We’ve put this notice together to explain this.

By the way, when we say “we” this means the HSBC group of companies and our trusted partners who provide services to us.

These include our:

  • Technology providers
  • Cybersecurity companies
  • Social media partners

For the purposes of this privacy notice, the data controller is HSBC Holdings plc with its address at 8 Canada Square, London E14 5HQ, UK. We’ve also set out contact details towards the end of this notice.

Our privacy notices

This is our website notice.

We have other notices. Some of these may apply to you as well. It depends on how you choose to interact with us. If you’re an HSBC supplier, partner, Colleague or otherwise have a relationship with us, we may also have provided you with a separate privacy notice setting out how we use your personal information, which will also apply.

  • Public website notice (you are here): this notice covers parts of this website where you don’t need a password (like this page)
  • HSBC has a range of full privacy notices, which are relevant to a wider range of interactions and activities such as personal banking. These are our main privacy notices and contain more information to read alongside this notice. They are country/region/interaction specific and will tell you more details, such as the full company names of HSBC’s data controllers in those countries and regions, and the products and services they cover. They also tell you how HSBC uses your personal information in general for those products and services and in those countries and regions. You can read them by visiting the website for the relevant product or service, or you can contact your customer services team for a copy. You can find details of these websites on our Contact us page.
  • Cookie notice: this notice covers how we collect information from your web browser or mobile device.
  • Other notices: some HSBC apps or parts of our websites have their own privacy notices. For example, our mobile apps have privacy notices. There are also privacy notices that explain how HSBC will collect and use your personal information when you register an interest in/apply for a job in the different countries and regions where we operate.
  • HSBC Colleagues should read this notice in conjunction with the Global HR Data Privacy Notice available here Global - Global: HR Data Privacy Notice (service-now.com).

You can usually find our privacy notices in the footer of the webpage that you are on. If you’re using an app, it will usually be in the menu.

Information we may collect from you

Personal information collected by this website.

We collect information when you use our website. We also do this when you visit one of our social media sites.

When you view our website or social media sites, we can see:

  • What you click
  • What you view
  • How long you spend on pages
  • Your device and internet connection details such as: type of device you’re using, IP address and details about your internet connection, technical details such as your screen size and the software you’re using, such as your web browser
  • Your country or region (not exactly where you are unless we ask permission)
  • Your unique advertising or other identification numbers allocated to your browser or device

If you follow a link to this website, we know the last site you visited. If you follow a link from this website to another HSBC Group website, we know you have reached the new website from here.

To control our use of cookies or switch this off, please visit our Cookie notice at https://history.hsbc.com/index.php/cookie-notice and select “Manage cookie settings”.

You may also have reached this website by following a link from an e-mail. When you open an email from us, we may be able to tell:

  • That you’ve opened it
  • What links in the email you click on?

When you fill in a form on our website, we can see what you type.

If you send us a message or complete a form, we may collect information you tell us.

Some of this data is collected by:

  • Our partners: these may be website hosts or social media.
  • Cyber-security filtering technology: this keeps our website safe from fraud and crime.
  • Cookies and similar technology: these are set on your device by us and our trusted partners.

We don’t often know exactly who you are from this data. But sometimes we may connect this data with other information we hold about you.

For example:

  • If you browse our website and then access online banking, we may connect this data to you. The next time you visit, we may still link that data to you.
  • If you browse our website while logged into social media accounts, then our partners may be able to connect this data to those accounts.
  • It might be possible to connect your browsing data to personal data held by third parties.

We use your data when it is in our legitimate interests.

This means we need to have a valid and lawful reason to use your data and balance this with your interests.

Information from our archives

This website includes material from our archives. In some cases, this material might identify individuals, for example text or photographs that mention or show present or former HSBC colleagues, or public figures. We make this information available in the public interest.

If this includes your information, then in some cases, we may be able to remove your information from our site should you so wish. If you would like to discuss this, you can contact us here.

How we use this personal information

To deliver the website

We use your information to operate the website, monitor how well it is working and make improvements to it. Most websites do this.

To provide you with information

  • Respond to your questions.
  • Provide you with information, products or services you have requested or which we feel may interest you.
  • Provide you with alerts or updates if you sign up for them.

We may need to share your information with other companies within the HSBC Group to provide you with information you have requested (for example, if you have raised a question regarding your products and services). If we do this, the relevant full privacy notice will also apply to how we use your information.

To improve our business

We use your information to:

  • Understand how you use our services.
  • Make our services better for you.

Security and protection

We use your information to help protect you and ourselves against fraud or crime. For example, our service providers look at all use of our website to help block malicious activity. This helps keep you and us safe.

One of our security providers is Google reCAPTCHA. Google asks us to tell you that this is subject to the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Use

Personalising our website

When you visit our website, we may use data we collect to make the site reflect you. This could include:

  • Tailoring our website content and services for you.
  • Showing your information or updates that might be useful for you.

Social media platforms may let you choose what advertising you receive. You should contact them for more information.

Meta

When you are in the European Union and use an HSBC page on Facebook, Meta Platforms Ireland Limited (‘Meta Ireland’) and HSBC collect information about you. When you are in the UK and use an HSBC page on Facebook, Meta Platforms, Inc. (‘Meta Platforms’) and HSBC collect information about you. This includes:

  • What you click on: if you start a messenger conversation.
  • What you view: when you hover over a link or have an event page on screen.
  • What you say: like comments or reactions.
  • Your actions: like sharing or recommending.
  • Your activity: how long you spend on pages, date and time of actions or websites you visited before you took the action.
  • Your location: country or region. This is not your precise location unless you have provided this in your user profile and you are logged-in.
  • Your device and internet connection.
  • Your Facebook profile details and user ID.

HSBC has access to this information to use for reporting, insights and marketing purposes and so do Meta Ireland and Meta Platforms.

This helps HSBC improve our offering on Facebook and create better marketing. HSBC may also see this information if HSBC has communicated with you on Facebook. HSBC does this because it helps us know who we’re speaking to.

If you’ve allowed us to use cookies that support our marketing, HSBC and Meta Ireland or Meta Platforms as applicable can collect this information when you use HSBC’s site too. To learn more, or to switch this off, please visit our Cookie notice at https://history.hsbc.com/index.php/cookie-notice You can control which cookies you allow by selecting “Manage cookie settings”.

Within the European Union, Meta Ireland is a ‘joint controller’, and within the UK, Meta Platforms is a ‘joint controller’, with us in law for processing where we collect information about you:

  • From your actions on our Facebook page.
  • Through the Facebook pixel on our website.

We and Meta Ireland and Meta Platforms respectively have agreed to share some responsibilities to protect your personal data, by:

  • Making sure we each have a legal basis for joint processing.
  • Honouring your legal rights in respect of your data.
  • Ensuring security of joint processing.

You can contact HSBC about how we do this. You can also contact Meta Ireland if you are in the EU or Meta Platforms if you are in the UK about what they do. This includes exercising your legal rights in respect of the data Meta Ireland and Meta Platforms, respectively collect and retain themselves.

Further details of how Meta Ireland and Meta Platforms process your personal information, the legal basis it relies on, your rights and Facebook’s contact details can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy

Your rights

We think carefully about how we use your information. We always aim to use it in a way that’s fair to you. You might prefer us not to use it for some purposes.

You have a legal right to:

  • Ask us to provide you with copies of your personal information, make corrections or sometimes ask us to delete it.
  • Object to our processing of your information in some circumstances. For example, to ask us not to share your personal information for online advertising.
  • Complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office by visiting ico.org.uk or to the data protection regulator in the country or region where you are.

We may not always be able to stop processing your information, such as if we’re using it to help protect you or others.

If you object to the processing of any of your information from HSBC’s archives (for example because the processing is likely to cause you substantial damage or substantial distress) please notify us by using the ‘Contact’ form on the site.

More details about your information’ section below. We will carefully consider your objection, but note that there may be situations where we’re entitled to continue processing your information for this purpose.

Other important information

We have three more things to tell you.

  • Transfers: This website is operated by HSBC Group Management Services, which is registered in the United Kingdom. We will process your information in accordance with applicable data privacy law, including UK data privacy laws. We may transfer your information outside of the United Kingdom and the European Economic Area. If this happens your information may be transferred to a country or region whose laws do not have the same level of protection, but we will put appropriate safeguards in place
  • Security: we’ll use a range of measures to keep your information safe and secure, such as encryption
  • Storage: we keep your information in line with our data retention policy. We do this to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, and for our legitimate purposes

If you object to the processing of any of your information from HSBC’s archives (for example because the processing is likely to cause you substantial damage or substantial distress) please notify us by using the ‘Contact’ form on the site or by contacting us using the details set out in the ‘Contact us’ section of this privacy notice.

More details about your information’ section below. We will carefully consider your objection, but note that there may be situations where we’re entitled to continue processing your information for this purpose.

Website accessibility

HSBC is committed to ensuring that the information on this website, including this privacy notice, is accessible to the widest possible audience and by those using assistive technologies. For more information, please visit our Website accessibility page.

Contact us

We’re always happy to hear from you.

You can contact our Data Protection Officer at:

For the attention of: the DPO
HSBC Holdings plc
Customer Service Centre
BX8 1HB

This privacy notice may be updated from time to time, and you’ll always be able to find the most recent version on this site.

Last updated: May 2024

Thank you for reading this Privacy Notice.