Privacy notice

Who we are

Groundtruths Ltd operates the Groundtruths platform. For the personal data we decide how and why to process — your account, demographics, consents, participation records and compensation — we act as a data controller. Where a survey opens an external form, the researcher is the controller of the answers you submit there; their terms and their form provider’s terms govern that data, and we do not receive it. Where a survey is built natively in Groundtruths, the researcher is a controller of the answers you submit for their research purpose, alongside us.

What we collect

Depending on how you use Groundtruths, we may collect: phone number and account credentials; basic demographics used for matching; your consent records; the fact that you started and finished a survey; wallet and redemption activity; and support messages you send us. Where a survey opens an external form (for example a Google Form), we do not receive or store your answers — they go to the researcher. Where a survey is built natively in Groundtruths, we do store your answers. Sensitive fields such as payout destinations are protected with strong encryption before storage.

Cookies and your device

We set only strictly necessary cookies: they keep you signed in, protect the session, and remember your language. We do not run analytics, advertising or cross-site tracking. If a survey opens an external form, that provider sets its own cookies under its own terms. Full detail is in our Cookies & tracking notice.

Why we use your data

We use personal data to create and secure your account, match you with relevant surveys, connect you with research you choose to take part in, run quality and fraud checks, calculate and deliver compensation, meet legal and compliance duties, and improve the platform. We do not sell your personal data. Demographics are used for matching and for anonymised aggregate reporting — not to identify you in published results.

Our legal basis for using your data

We only process personal data where the law gives us a basis to. To create and run your account, match you to surveys, and calculate and deliver your compensation, our basis is performance of our contract with you — you cannot use the service without these. For the demographics we use to match you, our basis is your consent, which you gave at sign-up and can withdraw. To run quality and fraud checks, keep the platform secure, and improve it using anonymised aggregates, our basis is our legitimate interest in a platform that is fair to honest participants and to the researchers funding compensation.

To keep financial, tax and anti-money-laundering records, and to respond to lawful requests, our basis is compliance with a legal obligation — this is why some records survive account deletion. Where we ever need data revealing something sensitive about you, we ask for your explicit consent first and you can decline without losing access to the rest of the platform. If you think a legitimate interest we rely on is outweighed by your rights, tell us and we will reconsider it.

Consent and electronic agreements

We ask for clear consent when we collect demographics and when you start a survey. Survey consent covers topic and purpose, who is running the survey, estimated time, compensation, data use and access, the right to withdraw, and that participation is voluntary. Where a survey opens an external form, we also tell you before you continue that your answers go to the researcher and not to us. Consent records are stored against your account and the survey you joined. Sensitive topics require extra warnings and researcher declarations where applicable.

International transfers

Where a survey opens an external form (for example a Google Form), your answers go to that provider under the researcher’s own account. And we tell you before you open the form. Some of our hosting services run on international infrastructures, so your account data may also be processed outside your country. We rely on the performance of our contract with you, and on our legitimate interest in running a secure platform, for these external dependencies, and we require some of those services to keep protections equivalent to those described in this notice.

Who we share data with

We share data with: licensed payment and messaging partners who help us deliver OTP, airtime, or payouts; and infrastructure processors such as our database, email, and error-monitoring providers, under data-processing terms. We do not pass your survey answers to researchers — for an external form you submit them to the researcher directly, and for a native survey the researcher sees them with no contact details attached, except in-app contacts where necessary. Researchers never receive your personal details. We share data when required by law, or to protect users from serious harm or fraud.

Automated checks and decisions

Some decisions about your compensation start automatically. When you submit a response we run checks that do not involve a person, using signals from your account and the response itself. These checks can approve compensation, hold it for review, or reverse it. If a check holds your compensation, we tell you why and you can appeal.

If nothing is flagged, pending compensation is normally approved automatically after about 24 hours. Borderline cases are flagged for a person to review rather than rejected outright, and you can appeal within the window shown on the flagged response — an appeal is always decided by a person, not by the system that raised it. You have the right to object to automated decision-making under the Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843); appeal on the response itself, or contact support if you want to object more generally.

Retention and security

We keep data only as long as needed for the purposes above, subject to longer retention where financial, audit, or anti-money-laundering rules require it (financial and audit records are typically kept for at least six years; security logs for at least two years).

Your rights

You can ask to access, correct, or delete your personal data, and to download a machine-readable copy, subject to limits the law allows (for example where we must keep records for compliance). We aim to complete deletion and access requests within 30 days where the law requires that pace. You can withdraw marketing or optional consents in Settings where available. Use Help / support to exercise these rights if self-serve tools are not yet enough.

Age

Groundtruths is for adults. You must be at least 18 to register. Surveys on sensitive categories may require you to be at least 21.

Security incidents

If personal data is accessed or acquired without authorisation, we will notify the relevant authorities and affected people as soon as reasonably practicable under applicable law. We also set an internal target to begin that process within 72 hours as best practice.

Changes to this notice

We may update this notice when our practices or the law change. We will post the updated version here. Material changes may also be highlighted in-app.

Contact

Privacy questions: use in-app support or WhatsApp support from Help in Settings. Company identity: Groundtruths Ltd.