Scotiabank

How many clicks to find the privacy policy from the homepage?

One click into a real privacy hub. The footer link “Privacy” lands on “Scotiabank’s Privacy Commitment”, which names each document and says in a sentence what it covers before you open it. The Privacy Agreement itself is the second click. Of the five banks measured, this is the only landing page that behaves like an index rather than a security-tips page or a country picker.

Is there a meaningful choice about cookies and tracking before data is collected?

A Reject All, and it is the only one. “Accept All” is a solid red button and “Manage Preferences” is outlined beside it; behind that sits a preference centre with four categories and a working Reject All. RBC, TD, BMO and CIBC have no such button anywhere. Declining is still a step behind agreeing, which is what holds this at 3 rather than 4, but it is one step and not four toggles.

How hard is the policy to read, how much of it is there, and can you get it in one piece?

Grade 13.8 across 6,959 words, in two documents. Difficulty 1, length 2, access 2. The hardest prose of the five banks by a clear margin. Access is 2 because the Privacy Agreement and the Digital Privacy and Interest-Based Advertising Policy are separate pages the reader assembles, though the hub makes them far easier to find than RBC’s three. Measure it yourself.

How many clicks to reach data settings, and can you delete your account yourself?

Online to look, in writing to ask, and a fee either way. The Agreement says much of your information “is already accessible by you” including “by accessing your account online”, which is a documented online route and scores 2. Anything beyond that needs a written request to the Escalated Customer Concerns Office, and Scotiabank “may charge you a nominal access fee depending on the nature of your request”. It is the only policy of the five to attach a price to access in its own text.

Find the support page. How many clicks, and is there a way to speak to a human?

A human in one click, no login. “Contact Us” sits in the homepage top navigation and 1-800-472-6842 is on the page when you arrive. The chatbot wants you to be a client with the app; the phone number does not care.