Privacy Notice

Your privacy is important to us

Ipsos Interactive Services Limited, commonly known as IIS (“IIS”, “we” or “us”), is a company with its registered address in England at 3 Thomas More Square, London, E1W 1YW, under company number 3903040. IIS is part of the Ipsos worldwide group of companies (“Ipsos”). This privacy notice explains how we use any personal information we collect about you (“Panellist”, ”you” or “your”), when you join our Ipsos iSay online panel (“Panel”), take part in surveys or use the Panellists website or iSay mobile application.

Topics:

1. Why We Collect Information from You

The primary purpose, why we collect information from you is the conduct of market research by us. When you join our Panel, we enter into a contract with you, which is subject to this Privacy Notice as well as our Terms and Conditions.

In order to fulfil this contract by inviting you to participate in appropriate surveys, we need to collect and process the information requested during the recruitment or which you may subsequently add to your profile on the Membership panel site or that we collect in accordance with this Privacy Notice and process it using automated means. This information will also be required to fulfil 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 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 paragraphs 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, 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 IIS, Ipsos 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 Information Do We Collect About You?

We collect the personal information you provide by email and in completing our recruitment questionnaire when joining our Panel.

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 you provide feedback, comments or other information on our Panellists’ website.

When you participate in an online survey, we also collect some passive data for quality purposes as described below at paragraphs 5 and 6.

In some instances, concerning our research, we may ask you to provide certain sensitive personal information, for example revealing your racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade-union membership or information concerning your health or sex life. You do not have to answer these questions and such questions will always include a "prefer not to answer" option. Responses to these questions will remain confidential unless you explicitly and freely consent to your responses to these questions, together with your personal information, being passed to research clients, such transfer bringing added value related to their research analysis.

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 paragraph 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 Flash and Java and whether your device has a webcam.

3. How Will We Use the Information About You?

We will use the information collected about you to:

  • Fulfil our contract with you;
  • Keep a record of all Panellists;
  • Send you invitations 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 at a later stage;
  • Send you an SMS message to your mobile phone number containing a verification code, to verify your application and activate your Panellist account. 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 IIS and Ipsos (the list of trusted providers can be found here);
  • 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. For this, we will share certain information about your device with our trusted vendors to carry out the necessary checks (the list of trusted providers can be found here);
  • Append existing personal information about you to any of your survey responses, such as general geographical location, ethnicity, occupation categories etc. for survey analysis of the responses and producing statistical research results;
  • Enter you into any prize draws that you are eligible to take part in or, where invited to do so, have asked to be entered;
  • With your explicit consent, which might be sought in a specific survey and limited thereto, to pass your individual survey responses together with your personal information to the client who commissioned the survey. The client will use this information only for research purposes as explained in the relevant survey;
  • Where you have explicitly consented separately and prior to your information being provided to the client for this, the client may also use this information to contact you to invite your participation in further research they conduct;
  • With your explicit prior consent, we may forward your personal information and individual survey answers to another market research institute which is our business partner, for the following purpose: sending you survey invitations by e-mail or by phone with links leading to surveys or using your personal information for prize/gift delivery or prize draws (if the case) related to participation to these market research institutes’ surveys. Nevertheless, such third party will be required to observe the condition that the data can be used only for statistical, research and/or prize/gift delivery/prize draw organisation purposes and bound not to forward or further disclose information such as name, postal address or other personal information that could serve to identify you;
  • To create anonymous, statistical profiles of the Panel membership based on the information provided by Panellists;
  • With your consent, pass your information to other Ipsos Group companies so that they may invite you to participate in research studies they are carrying out and that may be relevant to you;
  • Send you by email newsletters, announcements and other communications as set out in the Terms and Conditions. We are using one of our trusted providers for this purpose (the list of trusted providers can be found here). This provider is based in the United States for which there currently is no data protection adequacy finding. Therefore, appropriate safeguards have been put in place, including Standard Contractual Clauses. A copy of the additional safeguards can be obtained by contacting us as set out in Paragraph 10;
  • Where you agree to take part in a product test to arrange for such product to be sent to you;
  • In case you have become a member of the Panel through a third-party supplier, this supplier may be informed that you have become a member of the Panel and may have access to the information you provided during the registration process; and
  • Based on the information you provided, we might wish to invite other members of your household to participate in a survey. In case such household member is a child, please also see below at paragraph 4.

As part of our online advertising research and internet usage research studies, we may also:

  • Send you invitations by text message or other messaging service to take part in research.
  • Detect if your computer or mobile device has a webcam attached so that we may offer you specific survey sections requiring webcam usage.
  • Send your information to our sub-contractors or affiliated companies who carry out some work on our behalf, who has control and responsibility for data hosting or as described at paragraph 6. Some of these sub-contractors may be based outside the United Kingdom or European Economic Area in countries for which no adequacy decision exists; however, we require these sub-contractors to abide by the same data privacy requirements and security arrangements as ourselves and will be subject to appropriate safeguards (including standard contractual clauses), a description of which can be obtained by contacting us as set out at paragraph 10.

We will take all reasonable steps to ensure that any personal information we process are accurate, adequate, relevant and not excessive, given the purpose for which it was obtained. We will not process personal information 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 Privacy Notice and the Terms and Conditions. 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.

4. Children

Based on the information you provided, we might wish to invite any children under 18 years of age you indicated are in your household to participate in a survey. In those cases, we will always require prior consent from either a parent or legal guardian, who are legally responsible for the child, before inviting such child to take part in the research.

5. Use of Cookies and Similar Code

By joining our Panel and taking part in our online research, 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 whilst taking part in our online research activities as outlined below.

Our Panel website 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

Check here for the full Cookies Notice (including list of cookies).

6. Use of Digital Fingerprinting, Device Data and Other Information on Your Device

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 information collected in this process and the digital fingerprint created are not tied to any of your personal information, 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 profile information you provided for as long as you remain a Panellist.

If we terminate your membership, we will delete your personal information within thirty (30) days or as otherwise set out in this paragraph. If you terminate your Panel membership, we will delete your personal information as soon as possible, and no later than seven (7) 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 won a prize from any contests, then we will retain your information associated to your entry in the contest and prize fulfilment for a period of up to three (3) 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.

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 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, IIS and Ipsos for more than 180 days.

8. How Do We Ensure Your Personal Information 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.

As part of our commitment to the security of your information, IIS has regular internal and external audits of its information security and is certified to be compliant with the requirements of the International Standards for Information Security ISO 27001, Market, Opinion and Social Research ISO 20252, and Quality Management ISO 9001.

9. 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 information 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 paragraph 10.

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 paragraph 10.

  • 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.

10. How Can You Access Your Information and/or Correct It and/or Request Its Transfer and/or Erasure and/or Complain?

You have the right to request a copy of all the information we hold about you. You also have the right to request the correction of any personal information we hold about you. Furthermore, you have the right for all the information you have provided to us to be transferred to another party. In some circumstances, you also have the right to request from us the deletion or erasure of the personal information we hold about you, subject to the limitation set out above under paragraph 7.

If you would like to exercise any of your above rights, have any questions or require further information about our Privacy Notice or our compliance with data protection laws, please contact our Data Protection Department. They can be contacted:

By email sent to: dpo.southafrica@ipsos.com with “Ipsos iSay Panel” as subject line.

Or write to us at:
Ref: Ipsos iSay Panel
Information Officer,
Ipsos (Pty) Ltd
PO Box 213
Pinegowrie, 2123

Please quote your Panel membership number (if known) or the email address you used for your Ipsos iSay registration 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 Information Regulator at: https://www.justice.gov.za/inforeg or

The Information Regulator (South Africa)
JD House
27 Stiemens Street
Braamfontein
Johannesburg
P.O Box 31533
Braamfontein
Johannesburg
Complaints (complete POPIA/PAIA form 5)

If your request for access to records is denied or there is no response from Ipsos you may use this email address to lodge a complaint: PAIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za

If you feel that your personal information has been violated, you may use this email address to lodge a complaint: POPIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za

General enquiries email: enquiries@inforegulator.org.za

Other national data protection authorities are also likely to accept your complaint.

11. EU Representative

IIS’s representative in South Africa is:

Ipsos (Pty) Ltd
Buildings 3 and 4 Prism Business Park
Ruby Close
Fourways 2055

Email: dpo.southafrica@ipsos.com or surveysZA@ipsosisay.com , Ref: Ipsos iSay Panel

12. Changes to Our Privacy Notice

We keep our Privacy Notice under regular review and we will place any updates on this webpage. We will also inform you of any changes via email or when you log-on after any change. Our Privacy Notice was last updated on 08/02/2022.

13. Useful Links

The Information Regulator: www.justice.gov.za/inforeg/

Southern African Marketing Research Association – SAMRA: www.samra.co.za

World organisation for market research - ESOMAR www.esomar.org