How We Use and Share Your Information

Other than your first name and last initial, we do not disclose personal data to anyone outside of AWR without your consent and only as necessary for the study’s progress. When we provide survey results to clients, we include aggregate data or anonymized summaries of overall survey information.

Personally Identifiable Information

In general, we use the PII you provide to us to help us communicate with you. For example, we use PII to contact potential participants, screen for market research sessions, provide technical support, and inform participants about upcoming research.

Except as otherwise stated in this privacy policy, we do not sell, trade, rent, or otherwise share for marketing purposes your PII with third parties or service providers without your consent. We do share PII with vendors who are performing services for AWR related to studies you participate in (see additional information under Sharing Data with Third Parties and Service Providers). Those vendors use your PII only at our direction and in accordance with our privacy policy.

If a client requests PII for a specific project, you, the participant, must give unambiguous consent to be contacted by that client for that specific market research project. You have the option to opt out of this contact. The client agrees in writing that your PII disclosure shall be kept confidential and used only for research purposes in the study in which you are participating, either for scheduling and conducting interviews, validation purposes, demographic analysis, and/or to render payment. The client shall not contact you except for those express purposes for that specific project without prior written consent of both you and AWR. If a client receives PII from AWR, they are considered liable for the protection and security of that data and are expected to adhere to the same protection standards as AWR.

Non-Personally Identifiable Information

This privacy policy does not limit in any way our use or disclosure of Non-PII, and we reserve the right to use and disclose such Non-PII to our clients and other third parties at our discretion.

Sharing Data with Third Parties and Service Providers

We share your information with a variety of third parties and service providers relevant to the legitimate operations of our services. With some, your personal data may be shared in order to provide you access to a platform used as part of the research, such as providing your name and email address so you can access an app for a pre-session task. With some service providers, we do not share your personal data, but we use the vendor to record, process, and store video/audio from study sessions.

If you participate in a project, information that you voluntarily provide either in writing or in conversation directly with the client is not retrievable as that data is not under the scope of ownership of AWR. When you arrive at a facility or access a platform remotely, you provide consent to the use of your personal data for the purposes of that research project. AWR works with third parties and service providers to ensure you are made aware of your privacy rights at the time you provide the information.

All third parties and service providers are prohibited from using your data for any purpose other than the research project for which you were contracted.

We share personal data with the following third parties and service providers:

• The client for the research project

• Service providers of the client’s choosing who may assist in data collection

• FocusPocus Software (a database management software company)

• SurveyMonkey (a survey collection company)

• Transcription companies (audio/video recordings of sessions only)

• Web streaming companies (audio/video recordings of sessions only)

• Offsite location management teams that may host the research at their location

• Data transfer websites, such as Hightail or Dropbox

Sale of Information

When you opt-in to participate in our studies, you voluntarily consent to collecting information from you and sharing the information with our clients in order to qualify to participate in qualitative market research studies. AWR does not distribute or otherwise release any personal information we collect to any third party outside of the scope of the research project into which individuals have chosen to participate.

Merger or Acquisition of AWR

In the event that we undergo a business transaction such as a merger, acquisition by another company, or sale of all or a portion of our assets, your personal data may be among the assets transferred. You acknowledge and consent that such transfers may occur and are permitted by this privacy policy, and that any acquirer of our assets may continue to process your personal data as set forth in this privacy policy. If our information practices change at any time in the future, we will post the policy changes to our website so that you may have the opportunity to opt out of the new information practices. We advise you to check the website periodically if you are concerned about how your information is used.

How We Store Information (Including How Long We Store It)

AWR treats each project as a unique, one-time transaction between you, the participant, and our clients. Based on this, AWR limits the amount of information that we retain long term.

When you agree to participate in one of our studies, we use the information you provide to create a user profile. If you opt-in to participate in future research with us, we continue to store your profile information and update it as you participate in projects. You can edit your profile on our website, and you can opt-out from future research at any time.

Your account is protected by your account password, and we urge you to help keep your personal data safe by storing your password securely, not disclosing your password to anyone, and logging out of your account after each session.

We implement security measures designed to protect your information from unauthorized access. In addition to physical security measures and information security training with our employees, we also protect your information from potential security breaches by implementing technological security measures, including encryption, firewalls, and SSL technology.

After a project is complete, we delete the following information (digital files as well as any hard copies):

• SurveyMonkey responses (deleted within 30 days)

• Participant screening questionnaires (deleted within 30 days)

• Emails pertaining to screening, including but not limited to`: confirmation emails, homework assignments, and questions and responses within the body of an email (deleted within 30 days)

• Audio and video files of market research sessions (deleted within 1 year)

• Non-disclosure and release forms (deleted within 90 days)

Data that we DO retain long-term:

• Summary profiles of participants for accounting records and participation tracking

• Sign-in sheets with participant’s names for accounting records and participation tracking

• Personal profiles in our database, consisting of a minimum of name, email, phone, and participation history, all voluntarily provided by potential research participants for market research and strategy purposes

We keep logs of requests to delete your information, access your information, and “do not sell” for 24-months, as well as any emails that pertain to a request.

Our Policy Regarding Children’s Information

For children under the age of 18, parents or guardians must provide verbal consent prior to any phone screening of a minor, and written consent prior to the minor participating in the actual study. We do not knowingly or intentionally collect information from children under the age of 18 without the express permission of a parent or guardian.

Children who are 13 or older are allowed to create their own profile and opt-in to participate in research, but we require that they associate their profile with a parent or guardian already in our database. Children under the age of 13 cannot have their own profile but instead must be included as part of the profile of a parent or guardian.

Your Rights and Expectations

It is your right to opt not to provide information that you deem sensitive.

Your responses and opinions in any research study will remain confidential.

You will never be asked to buy anything or contribute to an organization.

We will always provide the name of the person contacting you, our company's name (AWR), and the nature of the survey, and we will in no way misrepresent ourselves or what we are doing.

During qualitative research studies, you provide your opinion on various subjects, and your opinions are often recorded on video and/or audio for research purposes. You will be made aware of this practice prior to each project.

You have the right to access information that we collected about you in the prior 24 months and have the right to full disclosure on the types of information collected, the source of collection, how the information is processed, and the purpose for sharing this information.

You have the right to opt-out of communication with AWR.

You have the right to delete your information.

You have the right to non-discrimination. Your choices regarding management of your personal data will be respected without question.

You have the right to request that we do not sell your personal information.

You have the right to know which third parties your information is shared with.

You have the right to courtesy as we pledge to maintain the highest standards of professional conduct in the collection and reporting of the information you provide.

Making a Verifiable Customer Request

You can use these methods to submit a request to access your personal data, delete your personal data, or change your “do not sell” status:

• Editing your profile on our website

• Sending an email to privacy@adlerweiner.com

• Calling (877) 938-0751

To submit a request using your profile on our website:

• Use your email address and password to log in.

• To edit your information, click any of the tabs in your profile and edit the information as needed. You are restricted from changing your date of birth, gender, and email address.

• To submit a request to access to your personal data, click ACCESS MY INFORMATION.

• To submit a request for deletion, click DELETE MY INFORMATION.

• To submit a request for AWR to not sell your information, click DO NOT SELL MY INFORMATION.

To submit a request by any other method:

• Once you have contacted us, we will email you a form to complete.

• In addition to the form, you must provide a photo or scan of your driver’s license or other government-issued ID so that we can verify your identity.

• If you are submitting a request on behalf of a minor or another individual for whom you are authorized to act, you must provide a photo or scan of your own driver’s license or other government-issued ID, the minor’s birth certificate or government-issued ID, and/or proof of guardianship/legal executorship/power of attorney or other appropriate documentation proving your authorization on behalf of the person.

Regarding Requests to Access Your Personal Data

As a consumer, you have the right to ask AWR for access to your personal data twice in a calendar year. Once you submit a valid request, we will confirm receipt of your request within 10 days. Within 45 days, we will provide you a detailed report of your profile that includes a list of the projects we recruited you to participate in and a summary of the screening information we collected about you for those projects.

Note: If you participated in a project, any information you provided in writing or verbally directly to the client is not under the scope of ownership by AWR and is not retrievable by AWR.

Regarding Requests That We “Do Not Sell” Your Information

As a consumer, you have the right to request that we do not sell your information. Since the nature of our business includes us sharing data with our clients, we consider these requests the same as opting out of research, and we will not be able to invite you to participate in future projects.

Once you submit a valid request, we will confirm receipt of your request within 15 days and finalize your request within 45 days. If you have a research participation history, we will contact the clients for the projects you participated in and relay your “do not sell” preference to them.

Regarding Requests for Deletion

As a consumer, you have the right to request that we delete your information. Once you submit a valid request for deletion, we will confirm receipt of your request within 10 days and finalize your request within 45 days.

If you have signed up in our database and do not have a research participation history, we will delete your complete profile and notify you by email that your profile and personal data have been deleted.

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) provides some exemptions to a consumer’s right to erasure or deletion. If you have signed up in our database and have a research participation history:

• We delete all of your profile information except name, email, phone, and participation history.

• We will notify you by email that your basic participation profile remains but most of your personal data has been deleted.

• An industry standard in market research is the ability to track participation. We retain limited information in order to complete the transaction (the market research study) for which your personal data was collected. The limited information that we retain serves as a “receipt” for services provided to our clients, and for future studies allows clients to seek new participants that they have not interviewed in the past.

• Should you decide to opt back in, we must be able to exclude or include you based on your participation history. Maintaining this information guarantees both your right to be included in search parameters for certain research and the expectation of our clients to interview appropriate participants.

• We maintain this information solely for internal business use and do not share it with any third party or service provider.

Note: When you delete your account, we delete information that you previously shared with us, and you will not be able to recover that information later. If you’d rather temporarily stop receiving emails from AWR instead of deleting your account, you can indicate that in the Managing Contact Preferences section of your profile.

Cookies

Cookies are small pieces of information transferred to your computer’s hard drive through your web browser, and we use them when you visit our website to recognize your preferences and settings. Cookies are deleted automatically after your session ends.

You can obtain additional information about cookies from the Federal Trade Commission website at www.ftc.gov.

Enforcement

We use a self-assessment approach to assure compliance with this privacy policy. At least annually, we verify that this policy is accurate, comprehensive for the information intended to be covered, prominently displayed, completely implemented and accessible, and in conformity with the goals and principles of data protection.

Financial Compensation

We provide financial compensation to participants in our qualitative research studies. Each project has a predetermined honorarium for those who qualify and fully participate in the study. This incentive is provided by our clients to study participants as compensation for sharing their opinions and experiences regarding the products and services included in the study.

Changes to Our Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to change this policy and our terms of service at any time. If we make significant changes to this policy, we will send a notice to the primary email address specified in your account or place a prominent notice on our site. You should periodically check our site and this privacy policy page for updates. You can also ask for a copy of our privacy policy when you arrive at our office to participate in a research study.

Questions

Please send questions to privacy@adlerweiner.com. If you believe your personal data has been misused or handled in a manner contrary to this policy, please contact us at privacy@adlerweiner.com.

Effective Date January 1, 2022, Reviewed January 1, 2023