Our Site caters to primarily two groups: Researchers and Respondents. Please click on the appropriate link below to see details of Privacy Policy specific to your interaction with our Site. By using our Site, you consent to the practices described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with the practices described in this Privacy Policy, you should not use the Site.
Privacy Policy Researchers
Key Points of our Privacy Policy
- We will never sell your personal information to anyone.
- We will not make your personal information available to anyone.
Are there any exceptions to this policy?
There are couple of exceptions.
- You gave your explicit permission to share your information with an entity.
- If we are required by law to do so.
Would you ever use my information to contact me?
If SimpleOpinions is hosting your survey, we may contact you
- If you asked us to alert you based on a pre-determined criteria you established. E.g. you may wish to be contacted if the quotas you established have been met.
- In the event of a problem with your survey that needs your attention.
What type of information do we collect?
Name, email address, phone number, credit card number and billing address.
How do I know my information is in a safe place?
We store all “Personal Information” or PII in encrypted form only. Only exception is credit card information (see below for credit card information storage policy). Choice of encryption varies and is updated as newer technologies become available and newer threats emerge. At present we are using Advanced Encryption Standard (FIPS 197). This is the standard for encryption for electronic data established by US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
Do you collect any other information?
We capture and analyze aggregate information of visitors to our site. This includes the referring URLs, domains visited and other publicly available information. We use this information to help improve our offerings and services.
Do you use cookies?
We use cookies to enhance the user experience of our websites for you. We also use Google Analytics cookies. Please refer to our Cookie Policy for additional details.
Do you capture my IP address?
Our system captures IP addresses to ensure integrity of research. In some cases to render proper user experience we also capture user agent information.
What safeguards are in place for the credit card information I provided you?
We do not store credit card information on our servers. All credit card transactions are performed via SSL (secure socket layers) connections.
Privacy Policy Respondents
Key Points of our Privacy Policy
- We will never sell your personal information to anyone.
- We will not make your personal information available to anyone.
Are there any exceptions to this policy?
There are couple of exceptions.
- You gave your explicit permission to share your information with an entity.
- If we are required by law to do so.
What is considered personal information and why is it also called PII?
Full name, home address, national identification number etc. are common examples of Personally Identifiable Information or commonly referred to as personal information. These pieces of information together or individually can be used to distinguish one person from another. Therefore it is also referred to as “Personally Identifiable Information” or (PII).
What type of PII does Simple Opinions collect?
In 99.9% of the cases we DO NOT collect any personal information from survey respondents. In rare instances when we do collect PII, it would be your name and a method to contact you via email (in some rare case via phone or mail). In 100% of the cases this is voluntary and you are not under any obligation to provide this information.
If it is voluntary then why are you even asking for this information?
Short answer is for research fulfillment. E.g. if the survey you responded to has an incentive or a prize drawing. In that case we would need to know have a way to contact you. Another example may be an instance where a researcher is hired on behalf of a company you have done business with in the past (e.g. manufacturer of an automotive, appliance etc.). As part of their research they may have additional questions and would ask you if you are open to be contacted again. In those cases during the course of the survey they may ask for basic contact information. These are two common cases where you may be asked to provide PII. Regardless of the reason, you are under no obligation to share this information with the researchers or with us.
What do you do once you have my personal information?
All personal information is stored in an encrypted format (see below for how we encrypt). Also note that our Site uses SSL for encryption to ensure a safe connection. If the information is for researcher to contact you, they would download your information from our servers and use that to contact you. Please note their privacy policies may be different than ours and we encourage you to contact them to better understand those policies. If the information you provided is for a prize drawing, we would hold on to the information of winner for as long as required by local, state or federal laws. All other survey participants’ information is removed at the end of the fielding period, which is typically a week long. In case of a survey with weekly or daily drawings we have to hold on to every participant’s information until the last drawing is complete. All other procedures remain same.
How do I know my information is in a safe place?
We store all PII in encrypted form only. Choice of encryption varies and is updated as newer technologies become available and newer threats emerge. At present we are using Advanced Encryption Standard (FIPS 197). This is the standard for encryption for electronic data established by US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
Do you collect any other information?
We capture and analyze aggregate information of visitors to our site. This includes the referring URLs, domains visited and other publicly available information. We use this information to help improve our offerings and services.
Do you use cookies?
We use cookies to identify survey respondents returning from the same device. This is primarily used to start the respondents where they left off. Please refer to our Cookie Policy for additional details.
Do you capture my IP address?
Our system captures IP addresses to ensure integrity of research. In some cases to render proper user experience we also capture user agent information.
Why do we want your opinions?
We are in business to help manufacturers make better product, service providers improve their services, entertainment industry make better shows, movies, games etc. In order to do that they need to know your opinions on their products and services.
I just received an email request for a survey. I would like you to remove me from all future emails. How would I go about that?
We send emails on behalf of researchers. If you received an email from a researcher using our system, at the bottom of the email, there is an option to opt out of future emails. Clicking on that option will bring you to an opt-out page on our Site. Once you indicate your preference, we would flag your email in our system so the same researcher can’t use our system to send you another email. Your requests are recorded instantly in our system. However it is possible, some emails with you as a recipient are already in the queue. In the unlikely event that happens, you may receive one or two additional emails (e.g. a reminder email) in next few days. We also inform researcher of your desire to not be contacted for future research.
I mistakenly added myself to opt-out list. How do I go about removing myself from opt-out list?
In order to remove yourself from opt-out list, click here and indicate your choice to be removed from opt-out list. We would send you a confirmation email and you would need to respond to the email in order for us to complete your request. This is to ensure accuracy of email address and to confirm only a person with access to the indicated email can request a change.
The information you have on me has errors. How can I correct that?
If we have incorrect information on you, click here and fill in corrected information. We would send a confirmation email with a verify link to confirm the validity of correction/update. This is to ensure only you are able to request changes to your information.
Policy Established: November 22, 1999
Last Updated: July 16, 2018