How we use your information
Ipsos KnowledgePanel Members have been invited to take part in a major national research effort. Members may complete surveys to provide feedback and opinions on a range of political, lifestyle, advertising and other questions, and may contribute other types of data along with other Panel Members. Active Panel Members receive certain benefits in exchange for participating in surveys.
Ipsos Limited, commonly known as Ipsos (“Ipsos”, ”we” or “us”), is a company incorporated and registered under the laws of Ireland with number 465448 and having its registered office at 39/40 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2. Ipsos Limited is part of the Ipsos worldwide group of companies. This privacy policy explains how we use any personal data we collect about you (“Panellist”, ”you” or “your”), when you join Ipsos KnowledgePanel (the “Panel”), take part in surveys or use the Panel websites (www.ipsosknowledgepanel.com) or Ipsos KnowledgePanel mobile application.
1. Why We Collect Information from You
The primary reason why we collect information from you is to conduct of market research. When you join our Panel, we enter into a contract with you, which is subject to this Privacy Policy as well as our Terms and Conditions.
In order to fulfill this contract by inviting you to appropriate surveys, we need to collect, process and leverage the information requested during recruitment or which you may subsequently add to your profile on the Panel Member website or by telephone interview, via profile surveys, or that we collect in accordance with this Privacy Policy and process it using automated means. This information will also be required to fulfill any rewards and to contact you concerning any surveys. This is also explained in more detail in our Terms and Conditions.
We then also collect information from you based upon your consent, in particular where you either respond to any survey invitations we might be sending you, or we may contact you via telephone, or that you may otherwise voluntarily provide. Your responses to such surveys are at your choice. There might also be situations where we are seeking your further or even explicit consent where this might be appropriate or required.
We also collect personal information from you based upon your Cookie consent (see also below at sections 5 and 6) about your device you may use whilst taking part in our online research activities for statistical purposes, quality control, validation, fraud prevention and fraud control.
During your Panel membership, in our online activities related to panel and/or research surveys, we automatically collect information about your device for protecting our legitimate interests or, subsequently, those of a third party (generally, a client or partner of us or other Panellists) for the purposes of preventing fraud and security checks.
The overall operation and how the Panel works is described in more detail in our Terms and Conditions.
2. What Personal Data Do We Collect?
We collect the personal data and other information you provide by email, phone and in completing our recruitment questionnaire when joining our Panel and through subsequent profile surveys (the “information”).
We also collect information when you voluntarily provide when completing any of the surveys we invite you to participate in via online or telephone, or when you provide feedback, comments or other information on our Panel Member website/app, support mailbox, or by post.
In case the registration process is not successfully completed, your information will not be retained by us, apart from some limited information to prevent any fraud or misuse.
We also collect the information you voluntarily provide when completing any of the surveys we invite you to participate in, or when you provide feedback, comments or other information via our website/app, or telephone.
When you participate in an online survey, we also collect some passive data for quality purposes as described below at sections 5 and 6.
In some instances, pertaining to our research, we may ask you to provide certain sensitive personal data, for example revealing your racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade-union membership or data concerning health or sex life. You do not have to answer these questions and such questions will always include either a "prefer not to answer" option or allow you to skip the question. Responses to these questions will remain confidential unless you explicitly and freely consent to your responses to these questions, together with your personal data, being passed to research clients for further in-depth research analysis.
When panel and/or research activities executed via online, we collect certain information about your device, and the hardware and software present on your device, by using Cookies (as defined below and as set out below at section 5).
We automatically also capture information about your IP address, the country where your device is located, operating system, screen display settings, browser type, use of Java and whether your device has a webcam.
3. How Will We Use the Information about You?
We will use the information you provide to:
- Fulfill our contract with you;
- Keep a record of all Panellists registered in our panel as member;
- Invite you to participate in surveys that are relevant to you based on the information you provided in response to our recruitment questionnaire(s) or as may be updated by you at a later stage. For the purpose of running the telephone studies we may use a third party which is one of our trusted providers (the list of trusted providers can be found here). This provider hosts (stores) data for us in the European Union;
- Implement our quality control, fraud prevention & control programs, security checks, identify if you are an existing member of the Panel or determine if your membership is a result from any paid for advertising. If applicable, for this we will share certain information about your device with our trusted providers to carry out the necessary checks (the list of trusted providers can be found here);
- When available, send you a SMS message to your mobile phone number containing a verification code, to verify your application, activate your Panellist account and verify your reward redemption. For this we will share your phone number with our trusted vendor providing us with such services, to contact you via SMS message on behalf of Ipsos (the list of trusted providers can be found here). For the SMS message, our trusted provider is based in the United States for which there currently is no data protection adequacy finding. Therefore, appropriate safeguard has been put in place, including Standard Contractual Clauses. A copy of the additional safeguard can be obtained by contacting us as set out in section 11.
- Contact you via phone or email to remind you of open survey opportunities or occasionally invite you to participate in surveys;
- Append existing personal information about you to your responses to any surveys you participate in, such as geographical location, ethnicity, occupation categories, etc. for survey analysis of the responses and producing anonymous, statistical research results;
- With your explicit consent, which might be sought in a specific survey and limited thereto, to pass your individual survey responses to the client who commissioned the survey. The client will use this information only for research purposes and under a limited retention period as explained in the relevant survey;
- To create anonymous, statistical profiles of the Panel membership based on the information provided by Panellists;
- Send you by email or by post newsletters, announcements and other communications as set out in the Terms and Conditions; We are using our trusted providers for this purpose (the list of trusted providers can be found here). For the online mailout, our trusted provider is based in the United States for which there currently is no data protection adequacy finding. Therefore, appropriate safeguard has been put in place, including Standard Contractual Clauses. A copy of the additional safeguard can be obtained by contacting us as set out in section 11.
As part of our online research and internet usage research studies, we may also:
- Send you invitations by text message or phone to take part in research;
- Detect if your computer or mobile device has a webcam attached so that we can send you invitations to take part in research that requires use of a webcam if you choose and consent to participate.
We will take all reasonable steps to ensure that any personal data we process are accurate, adequate, relevant and not excessive, given the purpose for which they were obtained. We will not process personal data obtained for one purpose for any unconnected purpose unless you have consented to this.
We will NEVER use your information for any purpose other than research or as described in this policy. Other than in relation to this Panel (like participating in further surveys), we will NOT try to sell you anything, nor use your information for marketing purposes. Nor will we ever pass your information to third parties for marketing or advertising purposes.
For more information about our Panel, Panel membership or information related to your membership of our panels, please contact our Panel Support Team as provided in section 11.
4. Children
Based on the information you provided, we might wish to invite any children under 16 years of age you indicated are in your household, and for whom you are the parent or legal guardian, to participate in a survey. In those cases, we will always require prior consent from you, as a parent or legal guardian.
5. Use of Cookies and Similar Code
By joining our Panel and by taking part in our research activities via online, you agree to our use of cookies and similar technologies (“Cookies”) and the collection of information from your PC/Laptop or other computing device you may use while taking part in our online research activities as outlined below.
Our Panel websites and online surveys collect information using 'cookies' and functionally similar technologies. Cookies are small files stored on your computer. Specifically, in respect of cookies, further details of what cookies are can be found by visiting www.aboutcookies.org.
To view the KnowledgePanel Cookie Policy (including list of cookies), click here.
6. Use of Digital Fingerprinting, Device Data and Other Information on Your Device for Answering Online Surveys
We also use digital fingerprint technology, also known as "Machine Identification", to gather certain information about your computer, hardware and software, for example, your IP address, the display settings of your monitor, the type of browser used, the type of operating system, etc. This information is sent to one of our trusted providers who converts it into a unique serial number (the digital "fingerprint") and determines if it matches previous fingerprints. The data collected in this process and the digital fingerprint created are not tied to any of your answers provided inside the research surveys, is used only for quality control and fraud prevention purposes, to help prevent Panelists from completing the same survey more than once, and for no other purpose.
We also gather certain information about your PC/Laptop, mobile device, or other device, and the hardware and software present on your device. For example, this includes the IP address of your internet connection, the display settings of your monitor, the type of browser used, the type of operating system, the country where your device is located, whether your device has a webcam etc. This information is sent to our trusted provider who converts it into a unique serial number (the digital "fingerprint") and determines if it matches previous fingerprints.
The data collected in this process and the digital fingerprint created are not tied to any of your survey answers, is stored on secured servers, and is only used for quality control and fraud prevention purposes and to help prevent Panellists from completing the same survey more than once, and for no other purpose.
We also use your mobile device ID to identify if you are an existing member of the panel and to determine if your membership is a result from any paid for advertising.
7. How Long Will We Keep the Information You Provide?
We will keep the information you provided for as long as you remain a Panellist. You can leave the Panel at any time you wish by unsubscribing (for unsubscribing the panel see Termination/Inactivation section in our Terms and Conditions). Participation in the Research is entirely voluntary and can freely withdraw your consent for survey participation at any time.
If we terminate your membership, we will delete your personal information within thirty (30) days or as otherwise set out in this section. If you terminate your Panel membership, we will delete your personal information as soon as possible, and no later than thirty (30) days following your request.
The only exceptions to these rules are as follows:
- If you redeemed your points for a reward, then we will retain your information associated specifically to reward fulfilment for a period of up to two (2) years.
- If you have filed a specific “do-not-contact” request, then we will retain only that information required to honour your request.
Apart from your profile information, we also gather the answers you give in any survey. The answers provided by you will be pseudonymised by us for security reasons and will only be shared with our clients in an anonymised form, unless you have given your explicit consent to you being identified. We will also remove the link between your profile information and the answers you provided within twelve (12) months of the end of the research project, to ensure that these answers cannot be traced back to you. In case we may need to keep your survey answers longer (beyond the 12 months), you will be informed in the survey.
Information shared with our third-party suppliers (such as the digital fingerprint supplier, for example) is pseudonymised to ensure that this information cannot be traced back to your account by them or by any other third party. In addition, while the device information itself may be stored on our side for longer periods of time, the recipients of such information are required not to retain the data itself or the link between this information and Ipsos for more than 180 days.
8. Automated Individual Decision-Making, Including Profiling
With regard to any decisions based solely on automated processing, including the creation of a profile, you have certain rights. In certain situations, within the purposes mentioned above, we process your personal data including through automatic processing mechanisms (including by creating the profile). If we refuse, suspend or discontinue the provision of a product, reward or service as a result of any automated decision, we will inform you about this, and you will be able to obtain relevant information about the logical mechanism which is the basis for making that decision. You will also have the right to obtain human intervention from us, to express your point of view and to challenge that decision. In order to do so, please contact us as set out in section 11.
Specific decisions about your account that are based on automated processes are listed below. In case you disagree with any such decision that may have been made, please contact our Data Protection Department as set out at section 11.
- Panel Registration leading to the final resolution of registering you as a Panel member.
- Sample selection, to be invited as respondents to the specific research survey as per the survey sampling specifications.
- Incentives’ allocation according to the applicable incentives program.
- Our Panel quality program ensures the Panel and sample quality and accuracy as set out in our Terms and Conditions.
9. How Can You Access Your Personal Data and/or Correct It and/or Request Its Transfer and/or Erasure?
You have the right to request a copy of all the personal data we hold about you. You also have the right to request the correction of any personal data we hold about you. Furthermore, you have the right for all the personal data you have provided to us, to be transferred to another party. In various circumstances, you also have the right to request from us the deletion or erasure of the personal data we hold about you, subject to the limitation set out above under section 7.
In all of these cases, please contact our Data Protection Department, via email sent to: surveysIE@eu.ipsosknowledgepanel.com with “Ipsos - KnowledgePanel” as the subject line,
Or by letter sent to:
Ref: Ipsos - KnowledgePanel
Data Protection Department
Ipsos Limited
Address: 39/40 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2
Please quote your Panel membership number (if known) or your email address used for KnowledgePanel in your email or letter.
10. How Do We Ensure Your Personal Data Is Secure?
We take our responsibilities to keep your personal information secure very seriously. As such we take every reasonable precaution to ensure your information is protected from loss, theft or misuse. These precautions include appropriate physical security of our offices, controlled access to computer systems, and use of secure, encrypted internet connections when collecting personal information.
11. How to Contact Us and Complaints
For more information about our panels, Panel membership or information related to your membership on one of our panels, please contact our Panel Support Team. They can be contacted by:
Email sent to: surveysIE@eu.ipsosknowledgepanel.com with “Ipsos - KnowledgePanel” as subject line
Or by letter sent to:
Ref: Ipsos - KnowledgePanel
Ipsos Limited
Address: 39/40 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2
If you have any questions or require further information on our Privacy Policy, our compliance with data protection laws or information we hold about you, please contact our Data Protection Department. They can be contacted:
By email sent to: surveysIE@eu.ipsosknowledgepanel.com with “Ipsos - KnowledgePanel” as subject line.
Or write to us at:
Ref: Ipsos - KnowledgePanel
Data Protection Officer
Ipsos Limited
Address: 39/40 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2
Please quote your Panel membership number (if known) or your email address/username used for KnowledgePanel in your email or letter.
If you have any complaints, we will appreciate if you give us an opportunity to resolve any issue first, by contacting us as set out above.
You are, however, always entitled to contact our regulatory body, The Data Protection Commission at: https://www.dataprotection.ie/ or
Address:
21 Fitzwilliam Square South
Dublin 2
D02 RD28
Ireland
Tel: 01 7650100 / 1800437 737
12. Changes to Our Privacy Policy
We keep our Privacy Policy under regular review, and we will place any updates on our webpage or app. We will also inform you of any material changes via email, when you log-on after any change or via postal communication.
13. Useful Links
:World organization for market research - ESOMAR: www.esomar.org
Ipsos: www.ipsos.com