Participant Privacy Policy

Introduction

This Privacy Policy describes how Poocho and Researchers collect, store, transfer, process, access, use and/or disclose personal information in connection with your use of the Platform, services, and other online products available from us, and online and offline services related thereto that refer to and incorporate this Privacy Policy (collectively, the “Services”).

This Privacy Policy applies only to personal information that is collected and/or processed by or on behalf of Poocho. The types of data that we collect and how that data is processed may vary depending on your relationship to us, as further described below. The terms ‘data’, ‘personal data’, ‘information’ or ‘personal information’ as used in this Privacy Policy shall mean and include any personal and sensitive personal information belonging to an individual person (including personal and sensitive information of Participants collected by Poocho or by Researchers), recognised and protected under applicable laws. The information includes but is not limited to, name, contact details including email address, mailing address, street address and/or telephone number, etc.

1. Who We Are

Weare a user research platform that enables Researchers (either directly or throughPoocho and/or the Platform) to post Studies and to source Participants toapply to Studies in the form of scheduled Sessions. Duringthese Sessions, Participants provide valuable feedback and interact directlywith the Researchers. It's important to note that any personal data orinformation collected during these Sessions will be collected by Researchers and not by Poocho. However, Poocho may act as the data processor in relation tosuch personal data or information for the purposes of processing, storing, orotherwise using such personal data or information in the manner contained inthis Agreement (as described in the Terms & Conditions).

2. Information We Collect

Poocho may gather personal data pertaining to you through the following methods: when you create an account, use the Platform, directly utilize our Services or engage in communication with us; via automated technologies like cookies; and from third-party sources, including Researchers, our customers and business partners.

We may collect the following personal data from you:
-Contact details, such as your name, email address, telephone number, and social media handle;
-The city, state, and/or country where you are located;
-Demographic information, such as your date of birth, gender, race, and ethnicity;
-Educational, employment, or other professional information;
-Information about your family and household such as household income, marital status, and living situation;
-Your access and use of devices and operating systems;
-Comments, feedback, and communications with us or other users of our Services;
-Communication preferences, language preferences, or other preferences;
-Audio or visual information, such as recordings of your interactions with customer support (not including personal data collected from or during Sessions by the Researcher);
-Tax documentation, such as your taxpayer identification number (if required based on the amount of incentives paid to you in a calendar year);
-Username and password; and/or-For and on behalf of Researchers, any additional categories of personal data you submit to the Services when applying to Studies, such as your responses to screener surveys created by or on behalf of Researchers (“Screener”).

We might provide you with the option to refer a friend to our Services. If you choose to use this feature, we may request information required to contact your referred friend, such as their name, phone number and/or email address. We will send your friend an email or reach out to them via call/WhatsApp/email to inform them that you referred them, and occasionally, we may send additional messages as reminders of your invitation. Your friend can opt-out of receiving these messages. By providing us with your friends' names, phone numbers and email addresses, you confirm that you have the authority to do so and that these individuals have consented to their information being disclosed for these specific purposes.

2.1 Information collected through automated technologies

We, along with our service providers and vendors, may automatically gather information about your usage of our Services through technologies like cookies, web beacons, session replay software, and scripts (collectively referred to as "cookies" in this Privacy Policy). These technologies work by placing small files, such as text files or graphics, on your browser to identify your device and collect relevant information. The data collected may include your Internet Protocol (IP) address, internet service provider (ISP), operating system, browser type and settings, device identifier details, search terms and results, location data, online browsing behavior data (e.g., date and time of access, pages viewed, features used, cursor movements and clicks, customer service interactions, screen recordings, and other actions related to the Services), or other usage information. We may combine this information obtained through cookies with other data we collect about you.

When you use our Services, we and our service providers may obtain general location information from your computer or mobile device based on its IP address to identify the city and state.

Furthermore, we may permit third-party advertising technologies (e.g., ad networks and ad servers) on our Services to utilize cookies and similar technologies for delivering relevant and targeted content and advertising on our Services and other websites and applications you use. These ads may be tailored to your interests and factors such as the content of the page you are visiting, information you provide, your searches, and other data we have about you. They may also be based on your current activity or activity over time across other websites and online services.

Cookies cannot be disabled if you want to use the Platform, and typically fall into the following categories based on their function and purpose:
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1. Strictly Necessary Cookies: These cookies are essential for the operation of our site and Services, including visitor authentication and remembering your preferences.
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2. Functional Cookies: These cookies enhance the functionality and personalization of our site and Services. They may be set by us or third-party providers.
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3. Analytics Cookies: We use third-party analytics cookies from services like Google Analytics, Mixpanel, and Microsoft Clarity to gather information about user activities on our website. These cookies help us analyze and improve the performance of our site, understand how you use our Services, and identify the types of devices you use to access them. Third-party analytics cookies may use IP addresses but are generally not linked to other personal data.
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4. Advertising Cookies: We use third-party cookies from companies like LinkedIn, Facebook, Google, and others to send you personalized promotions and advertisements through their platforms.

3. Use of Your Information

Depending on how you interact with us, and with your prior consent where necessary, Poocho may use your personal data for the following purposes:

‍To conduct user research including:

Contacting you about participating in Screeners, Studies, or active survey participation opportunities or data collection to build your Participant Profile
Determining if you qualify for or inform you about Studies in certain locations
Establishing and conducting Studies on behalf of Researchers or Poocho and, under our contract with you (the Participant Terms and Conditions), provide Researchers with Session data, certain Participant Profile Information, and certain Screener data for Researchers to use for their own business purposes
Analyzing and synthesizing research findings based on Screener Data or Session Data, as part of a Study in which a Participant has participated
For research, statistical analysis, and business intelligence purposes with the help of computer science technologies including without limitation, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. Such data will be in an aggregated or non-personally identifiable form thereby ensuring anonymity unless specifically consented by You to use the information for the above-mentioned purposes in a non-anonymous form.

To operate and improve our business, including:

Enabling your use of the Services
Performing any contract or other transaction we enter into with you
Enhancing and personalizing the Services
Developing new products and services
Using the information for financial activities such as billing, auditing, and forecasting
Performing data analytics for business purposes, including to understand usage and interaction trends and gather demographic insights about our users

For advertising and marketing purposes, including:

Marketing our Services to you, including by delivering commercial emails, newsletters, targeted advertising, and/or messages
Communicating with you about new research studies, podcasts, programs or events, including webinars, conferences, or promotional activities
Engaging with you on social media platforms
Assessing the effectiveness of our marketing and promotional activities

For security or legal purposes, including:

Detecting fraud, investigating suspicious activity, and otherwise keeping our Services safe and secure.
Complying with our legal or regulatory obligations.

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We reserve the right to combine and anonymize the information gathered through our Services in a way that makes it impossible to associate with you or your device reasonably. In accordance with applicable laws, we may utilize this aggregated or deidentified data for various purposes, including analytics, enhancing and advancing our Services, recognizing industry trends and advancements, and conducting benchmarking activities. If permitted by law, we may share this aggregated or deidentified information with third-party entities or the public, which could involve publishing reports on trends in the usage of our Services.

Poocho will not disclose your personal information to any person (other than Researchers or otherwise with your explicit consent). While we discourage and restrict any disclosure of personal information by Researchers not consented to by way of this Privacy Policy, any personal information collected directly by or on behalf of the Researchers will remain subject to their respective privacy policies.

Researchers may request you to provide other personal information to them, and/or to provide consent for other purposes or uses, either during a Session or otherwise directly or through Poocho or the Platform. Poocho is not responsible for any such personal information and/or its use, and any data requests, consent management, or other rights or obligations of Participants and Researchers in relation to such personal information and/or its use will be subject to the privacy policy of the Researcher.

4. Disclosure of Your Information

We and our service providers may disclose your personal data as follows-

We may share your personal data with various parties for specific purposes:

‍‍1. Researchers: When you apply for and/or participate in a Study, respond to a Screener, or attend a Session, you provide your consent to the Researcher to collect, store, transfer, use and process all such data as the data collector, and to transfer such data to Poocho for the processing and other activities described here. Further, you expressly consent to Poocho collecting and sharing certain Participant profile and other personal information with Researchers through the Platform whether or not you apply to a Study posted by that Researcher. As a Participant, you can withdraw or modify your consent to our future collection, sharing and processing of information collected, stored or processed by Poocho at any time, by contacting Poocho on the information as provided below, subject to the restrictions described herein and the terms of collection and processing of Researchers (where the Researcher is the data collector).

‍2. Service Providers: We may provide access to or disclose your personal data to service providers who perform tasks on our behalf. These services may include administrative, information technology, website and platform hosting, payment processing, business management, analytics, content management, lead generation, fraud prevention, and marketing services.

3. Other Users of the Services: If you are a Participant and participate in a Study, your information will be collected by the Researcher who leads the Study. By participating, you give consent for this disclosure, including any sensitive data in your profile. The Services may also enable direct disclosure of information through features like messaging with other users of the Services.

4. Partner Organizations and Advertisers: The Services may integrate certain third-party plugins, widgets, or integrations that collect information about you and may use cookies or other tracking mechanisms. Each plugin, widget, or integration is governed by the privacy policy of the respective company providing it. We may also share anonymized or aggregated information with advertising partners and social media platforms to identify and reach our users and similar audiences, serve ads, and provide advertisements likely to be of interest to you.

5. Legal Compliance and Protection: We may disclose your personal data when required by law or legal processes, or when we have a good faith belief that such disclosure is reasonably necessary to enforce our terms and conditions, respond to claims of content violations by third parties, protect our rights and property, ensure the safety of our users and the public, defend against legal liability, prevent suspected fraud, or exercise our legal rights. This may involve sharing information with other companies and organizations for purposes like fraud protection and spam/malware prevention.

6. Business Transfers: In the event of a sale, transfer, merger, reorganization, dissolution, or similar business event involving our company, including preparations for such transactions, your information may be among the transferred assets.

Please note that your data will be handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy and applicable laws. We may share your personal data in the following additional ways:

1. Facilitating Business Transactions: Your personal data may be disclosed to facilitate potential or actual financing, securitization, bankruptcy, or other disposal of all or part of our business or assets. We will comply with any mandatory restrictions imposed by applicable laws regarding such transfers or disclosures.
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2. With Your Consent: If you provide your consent for us to disclose your information, we will do so in accordance with the scope of your consent.
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3. Unaffiliated third parties: We only share data with unaffiliated third parties like co-marketing content partners when you, at your own initiative, fill a form to obtain the content. We will make sure it is clear to you that we have developed the content with our partner and that the partner will also obtain relevant information.

5. Links to Third-Party Sites and Services

Our Services may include links to third-party sites, tools, and integrations that operate independently of Poocho. The presence of these links does not indicate our endorsement or acceptance of responsibility for the content or use of such external sites. Additionally, Researchers may engage in Sessions or communicate with Participants using communication methods like phone, email, or videoconferencing, which are not provided or endorsed by Poocho. These third-party sites and technologies have their own terms and privacy policies, and we encourage you to be mindful of this when you leave our Services. We recommend reviewing the privacy policies of these third-party sites, as we are not responsible for their privacy practices or the content of their privacy policies.

6. How We Protect Your Information

Ensuring the security, integrity, and confidentiality of your personal data is of utmost importance to us. To achieve this, we have put in place technical, administrative, and physical security measures intended to safeguard your personal data from unauthorized access, disclosure, use, and alteration. While we make every effort to maintain the security of your data, it's essential to recognize that no security measures are entirely foolproof.

7. How Long We Keep Your Information

We store your information for the duration required to fulfill the purposes outlined above and to adhere to legal obligations, settle disputes, and enforce agreements. In determining the appropriate retention period, we take into account various factors, such as the type and sensitivity of the data, potential risks associated with unauthorized use or disclosure, the reasons for processing the data, applicable legal requirements, and our legitimate interests.

We retain copies of the personal information collected by Researchers and provided to us for the purpose of processing or otherwise for the purpose of providing access to the Platform and Services (including personal information collected by Researchers through Studies, Screeners, or Sessions), for a period of up to 1(One) year from the date on which such information is provided to us, or any shorter period as may be requested by you in writing addressed to the contact details for grievances provided in this Privacy Policy. Notwithstanding the above, we will be required to retain certain personal information for the purposes of compliance with legal, financial, taxation, accounting, and other necessary and legitimate purposes (including in relation to any payments and incentives). It is further clarified that we will not be responsible for the deletion or modification of any personal information by Researchers, and you will be required to contact the relevant Researcher in terms of their respective privacy policy.

You can also request for temporary deactivation of your account, in which case we will disable your profile on the Platform and you will not be visible to Researchers or available for any Studies. You can reactivate your account at any time through the Platform. We will retain your personal information throughout the duration of such deactivation in the same manner as if your account was still active, and any deletion of your personal information will require a separate request to the contact details for grievances provided in this Privacy Policy.

Our retention practices are designed to balance the need to store data for necessary purposes with ensuring privacy and compliance with relevant regulations.

Grievances: If you have any questions about (a) access to your information; (b) the collection, use, management, or disclosure of your information; or (c) this Privacy Policy, you should contact us at support@poocho.co or call us at +91 6303116108.