Respondent privacy notice

Who this notice is for

This notice is for people invited to, screened for or taking part in research that Valid N Research LLC helps recruit or deliver. That can include online surveys, professional interviews, group discussions and consumer research.

It explains the information Valid N handles. Read it alongside the invitation, any panel notice and the information shown before a particular study. Those materials should explain the study's purpose, who is responsible for it and any additional collection or use of your information.

If you are contacting us to buy research services, the website and business privacy policy covers that relationship.

Who invited you and who is responsible

If Valid N invited you directly

Valid N manages the contact details, profile information and invitation preferences you provide directly to us. Where you join a Valid N panel, we are responsible for the account information we use to manage that membership.

If a panel or recruitment partner invited you

That provider manages its own account, profile, invitations and rewards arrangements. We may receive a participant reference, screening information and study activity needed for our part of the research. We do not have your panel password or control your account with that provider.

Responsibility for research records

The organization deciding why and how personal information is used is called the controller. When a client makes those decisions about study data and we act on its instructions, Valid N acts as a processor for that work. When Valid N decides the purposes of its own panel administration or independent verification activities, Valid N is the controller for those activities.

Roles depend on the study and the processing involved. The study information should identify the responsible organization and how to contact it. Ask us if that information is unclear; we can help identify the right contact.

Taking part and receiving an incentive

Taking part is voluntary. You may decline an invitation or leave a study. Some questions are needed to establish eligibility or complete the research; if you choose not to answer them, you may be unable to continue.

An invitation does not guarantee a place in a study. Eligibility, available places and the study's disclosed quality requirements can affect whether a response is accepted. Check the invitation or panel terms for the incentive amount, qualification conditions, payment method and expected timing, including what happens if you leave early.

If a partner manages your incentive, contact that partner about points or payment. If Valid N manages it, contact respondents@validnresearch.com. We can help investigate a study status even when a partner handles payment.

Research participation is not permission to send you unrelated sales messages. Any separate marketing use requires its own explanation and a valid legal basis, including consent where required.

Information used in research

The information involved depends on the study and how you were recruited. It can include:

• Contact and recruitment details: your name, email, invitation preferences, participant reference and profile information relevant to recruitment.
• Screening and research answers: eligibility responses, ratings, choices and written comments. Some profile or eligibility details may come from the panel that invited you.
• Professional information: your reported role, employer, industry, experience and any work email or professional profile used in a disclosed verification check.
• Technical and activity information: IP address, approximate location inferred from it, browser and device characteristics, timestamps, completion status and signals used to check for duplicate or suspicious activity.
• Administration records: consent or invitation records, support correspondence, scheduling details and incentive status. Where Valid N arranges a payment, the payment process may require additional details that will be explained when requested.

Sources can include you, the organization that invited you, the research platform, the client, public professional information and providers used for disclosed verification checks.

Please avoid including passwords, account numbers, confidential employer information or another person's personal details in an open text answer. Provide identifying or sensitive information only when the study specifically asks for it and explains why it is needed.

Recordings and sensitive questions

A study involving audio, video, screen recording, photographs or transcripts needs additional information about what will be captured, who can receive it, how it will be used and how long it will be kept. Any consent required for recording must be obtained before recording starts.

Some research asks about health, ethnicity, political views or other information that privacy law treats as sensitive. The study information must explain that collection and the applicable permission or other legal condition before you provide it. For example, where explicit consent is required, a general panel registration does not replace it.

A recording can identify you through your face, voice or surroundings, even if your name is removed. Taking part does not give blanket permission to publish your identity or use a recording for unrelated purposes. Any proposed use outside the disclosed research needs its own explanation and lawful basis.

Why information is used

Research information is used to find suitable participants, check eligibility, arrange sessions, collect and deliver answers, maintain research quality, administer study status and incentives, and answer participant questions. Information may also be needed to meet legal obligations or handle a dispute.

Legal bases where UK or EEA rules apply

For work where a client is the controller, that client's study notice should explain the basis for its processing. When Valid N acts as a controller, the basis depends on the activity:

Where consent is the basis, you can withdraw it for future processing by using the study contact or contacting us. Withdrawal does not make earlier lawful processing unlawful. It may mean you cannot continue that activity. If information has already been made truly anonymous, it may no longer be possible to locate your contribution.

Verification and decisions about a response

Checks can compare a reported role with a work email domain or professional record, review whether an answer fits the claimed experience, and assess technical signals for duplicates, bots or location mismatches. A study involving a professional record check should explain it before collecting the relevant information.

Automated routing and quality tools may affect study eligibility or flag a response for exclusion. These decisions can also affect whether an incentive is due under the disclosed study or panel rules. A failed check is not, by itself, proof that someone deliberately gave false information.

If you think a decision about your response is wrong, email respondents@validnresearch.com. Include the study reference if you have it, approximate date and the panel or recruiter that invited you. You can explain the circumstances, ask to correct inaccurate information and request a review by a person. We will review the part of the decision we control and help direct you to the client or panel where it controls the decision.

Any additional rights relating to automated decisions under applicable privacy law remain available. This notice does not ask you to waive them.

Who can receive your information

• The research client and its research partners can receive the study data needed for the disclosed research. Depending on the study, that may be coded answers, screening details, contact information needed for an interview, or recordings described in the study notice.
• Your panel or recruitment provider can receive a participant reference, study status and relevant quality or eligibility information to administer its records, invitations and incentives.
• Research and support providers can process information needed for hosting, routing, scheduling, communications, verification, security or payments where those services are used.
• Professional advisers and authorities can receive information where needed for legal obligations, a lawful request, advice or a claim.
• Parties to a business transaction may receive relevant records as part of an acquisition or transfer, subject to applicable privacy and confidentiality requirements.

Using a participant code instead of a name reduces direct identification, but it does not automatically make a response anonymous. Personal details can also appear in answers or recordings. We cannot promise that every study is anonymous; the information supplied for that study should make the expected level of identification clear.

Sharing information for research can still involve personal information under privacy law. Your rights depend on the applicable law and the arrangement; see Your privacy rights.

Where information is handled

Valid N operates in the United States. Information may be handled there and in other countries where the research client, panel provider or service providers operate. Privacy laws differ between countries.

When a transfer is subject to restrictions under applicable privacy law, a permitted transfer mechanism is required. Depending on the destination and arrangement, this can be an adequacy decision or approved contractual safeguards. This notice does not provide consent to an international transfer. Contact privacy@validnresearch.com for the countries involved in your information and details of the transfer mechanism, including how to obtain a copy of any applicable safeguards.

How long records are kept

Retention depends on the type of record, who controls it and the study requirements. The criteria include:

When personal information is no longer needed, we delete it or make it anonymous so that you are no longer reasonably identifiable. Removing a name or participant code alone may not achieve that. Truly anonymous research findings may be kept because they no longer identify an individual.

A panel provider or client may keep its own records under its own notice. You can ask us about the records we hold and the organization responsible for any others.

Your privacy rights

Your rights depend on the law that applies to you and to the information. They can include the right to:

• Find out whether we hold personal information about you, access it and receive a copy.
• Correct inaccurate information or ask for deletion.
• Restrict certain uses or object to processing based on legitimate interests.
• Receive eligible information in a portable format.
• Withdraw consent for future processing that relies on it, without changing the lawfulness of earlier processing.
• Opt out of a sale of personal information, sharing for advertising across businesses, targeted advertising or certain profiling, where the relevant law gives you that right.
• Limit certain uses of sensitive personal information where that right applies.

Email respondents@validnresearch.com to make a request. We will not penalize you for exercising a privacy right. Some requests have legal exceptions, for example where records are needed to meet a legal obligation or resolve a claim.

For a Valid N panel account, use the email address associated with your account. If a partner invited you, include the panel name, approximate study date and any study or participant reference you have. Do not send a password or identity document with your first message. We may need the partner's help to match a coded record to you.

Where a client controls the research records, we will explain our role and help route the request to the responsible organization. Contact your panel provider directly to close its account or change its invitation settings. To stop invitations from Valid N or close a Valid N panel account, contact us.

For requests that require identity verification, we will ask only for information reasonably needed to confirm the request and locate the records. An authorized agent may contact us with evidence of their authority where applicable law allows. We will respond within the deadline that applies to your request and explain any permitted extension or reason we cannot fulfill it.

If applicable law gives you a right to appeal a refusal, reply to our decision or email respondents@validnresearch.com with the subject “Privacy request appeal.” You may also complain directly to the relevant privacy regulator. In the UK this is the Information Commissioner's Office; in the EEA it is your national data protection authority. You do not have to contact us before making a complaint.

Security and research platforms

We use administrative, technical and organizational measures intended to reduce the risk of unauthorized access, loss or misuse. We limit access to people who need the information for their work. No website, email service or storage system can eliminate every risk.

If a security incident triggers a legal duty to notify you or a regulator, we will provide the required notice. Please avoid sending sensitive documents in an initial email; ask us how to provide them first.

A panel, survey host or interview platform may use cookies, device information or similar technologies under its own notice. Review the information presented by that service. Our website privacy policy explains the technology used on the Valid N business website.

Age requirements

The research covered by this notice is intended for adults aged 18 or over. We do not knowingly recruit children for these studies. If you believe a child has participated, contact respondents@validnresearch.com with the study details. We will investigate and take appropriate steps regarding information collected contrary to this notice, subject to legal retention requirements.

Changes to this notice

We will update this notice as our practices or relevant requirements change. The date at the top identifies the revision. If a change requires further notice or consent, we will provide it before making the relevant change. A general notice update does not replace the information or consent required for a particular study.

Get help from Valid N

Valid N Research LLC
Study, incentive or panel questions: respondents@validnresearch.com
Privacy questions: privacy@validnresearch.com

Include only the details needed to identify the study or request. If you do not know whether Valid N, the client or a panel provider holds the relevant information, tell us what happened and we will help identify the right contact.