Study Privacy Policy

This policy applies to individuals who participate in a Humanize AI-moderated research focus group or interview (each, a “Study”). For information about how we handle data from website visitors and customers, please see our Website Privacy Policy.

What you need to know

1. What This Policy Covers & Contact Information

Humanize provides an AI-powered qualitative research platform that enables brands and organizations to conduct focus groups and interviews. This Study Privacy Policy (“Policy”) details how we collect and process personal data from individuals who participate in our Studies (“Participants”). “Personal Data” means any information that identifies or relates to a particular individual.

This Policy applies only to your participation in a Study. For information about how we handle data from website visitors and customers, please see our Website Privacy Policy.

If you have questions or concerns about this Policy or your Personal Data, please contact our Data Protection Officer:

2. Personal Data We Collect

When you participate in a Study, we may collect:

2.1 Screening Data

Information you provide during the screening and recruitment process, such as your name, email address, demographic information, and responses to qualifying questions. This data helps us determine your eligibility for a Study.

2.2 Session Data

Audio and/or video recordings, transcripts, and any responses you provide during the Study. These may include Personal Data you choose to share during the conversation.

2.3 Technical Data

IP address, device information, browser settings, and connection data to ensure a stable and secure session experience.

2.4 Scheduling & Contact Data

Name, email address, phone number, and scheduling preferences used to coordinate your participation.

3. How We Use Your Personal Data

We collect and use your Personal Data for the following purposes:

• Conduct the Study: Record, transcribe, process, and analyze your responses to generate research insights for the Research Client who commissioned the Study.
• AI-Powered Analysis: Use artificial intelligence to transcribe your responses, identify themes and patterns, and generate structured research insights. This analysis is performed automatically and may involve multiple stages of AI processing.
• Manage Your Participation: Schedule sessions, send reminders, process compensation, and communicate with you about the Study.
• Service Improvement: Use aggregated, de-identified, or anonymized data to improve our platform’s functionality and overall research quality.
• Legal Compliance: Comply with applicable laws, regulations, and legal obligations.

4. How We Share Your Personal Data

We do not sell your Personal Data to third parties or use it for advertising or targeted marketing. We share your Personal Data only with:

• The Research Client: The organization that commissioned the Study. Research Clients receive your responses, transcripts, AI-generated analysis, and insights. Research Clients are contractually required to use your data only for authorized research purposes and to implement appropriate safeguards to protect your Personal Data.
• Service Providers: Third-party companies that help us deliver the Services, such as cloud hosting, audio/video processing, and transcription services. These providers process your data only on our behalf and under our instructions.
• Other Participants: If the Study is conducted in a group format, other participants in the session will hear your responses in real time. See Section 6 (Group Session Disclosure) below.
• Legal Authorities: If required by law, court order, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Humanize, our users, or others.

5. AI Processing Disclosure

Your Study is moderated by an artificial intelligence system, not a human moderator. The AI moderator facilitates the conversation, asks questions, and guides the discussion.

Your responses undergo the following AI processing:

1. Real-time moderation — the AI moderator processes your responses during the session to guide the conversation.
2. Transcription — your audio/video is transcribed into text using AI-powered speech recognition.
3. Analysis — AI systems analyze your responses, including the transcript of what you say, your tone of voice, and your facial expressions, to extract themes, patterns, and emotional signals, and to generate research insights. These emotional signals are approximate indicators for researchers to interpret, not definitive measurements.
4. Insight delivery — structured analysis is delivered to the Research Client through our platform.

No fully automated decisions with legal or similarly significant effects are made about you based on your Study responses. The AI processing is used solely to generate qualitative research insights, and we do not use your responses to train AI models.

By participating in the Study, you consent to this AI-mediated interaction and processing.

6. Group Session Disclosure

Studies may be conducted in a group format (“focus group”) with multiple participants present simultaneously. If you are in a group session:

• Other participants will hear your responses in real time during the session.
• Humanize cannot guarantee confidentiality of what is discussed, as we cannot control what other participants do with information they hear during the session.
• Do not share information that you would not want other participants to hear.
• Transcripts and analysis shared with the Research Client will include responses from all participants in the session.

Your participation in a group session constitutes your acknowledgment and acceptance of these limitations.

7. Third-Party Recruitment

You may have been recruited to participate in this Study through a third-party platform (e.g., Prolific, Craigslist, or other recruitment channels). Regardless of how you were recruited:

• This Policy governs how Humanize handles your Personal Data during and after the Study.
• Consent provided to a recruitment platform does not substitute for the consent you provide to Humanize. By joining a Study, you consent to the data collection and processing described in this Policy.
• The recruitment platform’s own terms and privacy policies continue to apply to your relationship with that platform separately.

8. Data Storage, Transfers, and Retention

Storage

We store your Personal Data on servers located in the United States. We implement appropriate technical and organizational safeguards to protect your data.

International Transfers

If you participate from outside the United States, your Personal Data will be transferred to the U.S. We rely on lawful transfer mechanisms (such as standard contractual clauses) to ensure adequate protection for international data transfers.

Retention

We retain your Personal Data for the period defined by the Research Client or as required by law. If no retention period is specified, we keep your Personal Data only as long as reasonably necessary for research delivery, platform improvement (in aggregated/de-identified form), and legal compliance.

You can request deletion of your Personal Data by contacting orr@humanize.app. We will process your request in accordance with applicable law, though certain data may need to be retained for legal or compliance reasons.

9. Your Rights and Choices

Depending on your location and applicable law (e.g., GDPR, CCPA/CPRA), you may have rights including:

• Access: Request access to the Personal Data we hold about you.
• Correction: Update or correct inaccuracies in your Personal Data.
• Deletion: Request deletion of your Personal Data where legally permitted.
• Objection/Restriction: Object to or restrict certain data processing activities.
• Data Portability: Receive a copy of your Personal Data in a structured, commonly used format.
• Withdraw Consent: You may withdraw your consent to data processing at any time. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing that occurred before withdrawal.
• Non-Discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising your privacy rights.

To exercise these rights, contact orr@humanize.app. We will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law.

Note: If you withdraw consent or request deletion before a Study is complete, we may not be able to include your responses in the research deliverable, and this may affect your eligibility for compensation.

10. Security Measures

We use industry-standard security measures, including encryption, access controls, and monitoring, to protect your Personal Data. While we cannot guarantee absolute security, we continuously work to maintain and improve our safeguards.

11. Children’s Data

Our Services, including Studies, are not intended for children. We do not knowingly collect personal data from individuals under the age of 18. If you believe we have inadvertently collected data from someone under 18, please contact us immediately to request deletion.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. If we make material changes affecting how we handle your Personal Data, we will update the “Last Updated” date and, where required by law, obtain additional consent. Continued participation in Studies after changes have been posted indicates your acknowledgment of the updated terms.

13. Questions, Concerns, or Complaints

If you have questions about this Policy or concerns about how we handle your Personal Data, please contact:

If you are in the EU or UK, you may also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.