International Investment firm EXANTE has made the bold move to remove unnecessary cookies from its website; leading the way for privacy protection and making the internet safer for its users.
The move comes as part of EXANTE’s drive in privacy protection, which is a core focus for the company.
Accountancy firm Deloitte says in its Building Consumer Trust report that companies who are willing to give their clients sufficient guarantees that their personal data is going to be dealt with ethically will have a significant advantage.
Whilst other websites typically use third-party solutions (based on cookies) to collect and process visitor data, which can lead to multiple vulnerabilities, EXANTE only collects the minimum data required in order to help its users. Users can browse the website without revealing their identity. EXANTE will only ask for information when the user chooses to sign-up and register to use the platform or other services which require the user’s information – putting the decision in their hands.
Furthermore, EXANTE’s web analytics service provider, Matomo, ensures that IP anonymization is implemented by default. This means that each new visitor IP address is stored with the last components removed to protect users’ privacy.
PwC’s research found that 69% of online users don’t trust that their data will be used ethically. Therefore, building that trust with users is key.
EXANTE has therefore established a separate department which reports directly to the board and can monitor the company’s privacy developments.
As part of that newly created team, Ivan Silin, Chief information security officer at EXANTE, commented: “At EXANTE we value our customers’ data and take every measure possible to secure it appropriately. Having reviewed the changes released last week by our development team I have found no ‘loose ends’ and am confident that the end-result is going to provide our customers with the best, and most secure user-experience possible.”
Anton Iospa, Head of Marketing at EXANTE added: “Each and every client has a right to be discreet when using financial service. In the last 20 years, however, people have lost this freedom and aren’t able to protect their right to use services privately. For many online businesses, data is the new black. Nevertheless, we are striving to help our clients to keep their data with them; at least when they’re using our services.”
In addition to deleting cookies EXANTE has cleaned up its email communications with clients by reviewing all emails and deleting any unnecessary personal and sensitive information.