Overview
Research Shield™ is a fraud detection system for market research surveys. We analyze behavioral patterns to protect the integrity of research data. This page explains your privacy rights regarding the data we collect during survey participation.
Key Principles
- We never sell your personal data
- We only collect data necessary for fraud detection
- You can request access, correction, or deletion of your data
- We do not use your data for advertising or marketing
- We do not make final decisions about your survey eligibility — that's done by the research client
Research Shield™ processes data as part of survey participation. If you participated in a survey, we may have behavioral and technical data about your session. We do not have your name or email unless it was part of the survey.
Your Rights at a Glance
| Right | What It Means | GDPR | CCPA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access | Get a copy of all data we have about you | ✓ | ✓ |
| Correction | Fix any inaccurate information | ✓ | ✓ |
| Deletion | Have your personal data erased | ✓ | ✓ |
| Portability | Receive your data in a machine-readable format | ✓ | ✓ |
| Restriction | Limit how we process your data | ✓ | - |
| Objection | Object to processing based on legitimate interest | ✓ | - |
| Non-discrimination | Equal treatment regardless of privacy choices | ✓ | ✓ |
Automated Decision-Making Rights (GDPR Art. 22)
Research Shield™ uses automated decision-making that may affect your survey compensation. Under GDPR Art. 22(3), you have specific safeguards:
| Right | What It Means | How to Exercise |
|---|---|---|
| Human Review | Request that a human reviews any automated fraud determination made about your survey response | Email privacy@researchshield.com |
| Express Your View | Explain your perspective on the automated decision and provide context about your survey participation | Include in your email request |
| Contest the Decision | Challenge an automated determination you believe is incorrect and request reconsideration | Email with details of why you believe the determination was wrong |
Response time: We will acknowledge your request within 7 days and provide a substantive response within 30 days.
How to Exercise Your Rights
Email Us
Send your request to: privacy@researchshield.com
Include:
- Type of request (access, deletion, correction, objection, etc.)
- Session ID or date of survey participation (if known)
- Any details that help us locate your data
How We Identify You (Important)
We don't have your name or email
Research Shield™ does not collect names or email addresses unless they were part of the survey itself. This means we cannot identify you by name alone. To exercise your rights, we need information that helps us locate your data in our systems.
Information that helps us find your data:
| Information | Where to find it | How it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Session ID | Survey completion page, confirmation email from panel | Direct lookup — fastest verification |
| Panel member ID | Your panel provider account | We can trace sessions linked to your panel ID |
| Approximate date/time | Your memory, browser history | Narrows the search window |
| Survey topic | Your memory | Helps identify the specific project |
| Device type | What you used (phone, laptop, browser) | Matches against device fingerprints |
| IP address | Your ISP or network settings | Direct lookup if within retention period |
If you participated via a research panel:
The easiest path is to contact your panel provider first. They have your account information and can:
- Identify which surveys you completed that used Research Shield™
- Provide you with session IDs for those surveys
- Forward your data rights request to us on your behalf
If you participated via an open link (social media, advertisement):
Contact us directly at privacy@researchshield.com with as much of the following as you can provide:
- Approximate date and time of participation
- Survey topic or subject matter
- How you found the survey (which platform, ad, link)
- Device and browser you used
- Your approximate location at the time
We will make reasonable efforts to locate your data. If we cannot identify your data with reasonable certainty, we will explain why and suggest additional information that might help.
Under GDPR Art. 11, if we cannot identify you, we are not required to process additional data solely to identify you. However, if you provide information that enables identification, we will process your request fully.
Response Time
| Regulation | Response Time | Extension |
|---|---|---|
| GDPR (EU/UK) | 30 days | +60 days for complex requests |
| CCPA/CPRA (California) | 45 days | +45 days if needed |
Identity Verification
To protect your data from unauthorized access, we may need to verify that you are the person whose data you're requesting. This may involve confirming details about your survey participation.
GDPR Rights (EU/UK Residents)
If you're in the European Union or United Kingdom, you have rights under the General Data Protection Regulation:
Right to Lodge a Complaint
You can complain to your local data protection authority:
- UK: Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) - ico.org.uk
- Poland: UODO - uodo.gov.pl
- Germany: Your state's Datenschutzbehörde
- Other EU: Your local supervisory authority
Our Legal Basis
We process your data based on:
- Legitimate Interest (Art. 6.1.f): Fraud detection and research data quality — explicitly recognized in GDPR Recital 47
- Contract Performance (Art. 6.1.b): Delivering your survey responses to the research client
Marcin Kaleta
Email: privacy@tgmpanel.com
CCPA/CPRA Rights (California Residents)
If you're a California resident, you have rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act:
Your California Rights
- Right to Know: What categories and specific pieces of data we collect
- Right to Delete: Request deletion of your personal information
- Right to Correct: Request correction of inaccurate data
- Right to Opt-Out: Opt out of sale/sharing (we don't sell data)
- Right to Non-Discrimination: Equal treatment regardless of privacy choices
We Do Not Sell Your Data
Research Shield™ does not sell your personal information to third parties. We also do not share your data for cross-context behavioral advertising.
Exercise California Rights
Email privacy@researchshield.com with subject: "California Privacy Request"
Right to Object (Detailed)
Under GDPR Art. 21, you can object to processing based on legitimate interest. We assess each objection individually.
What You Can Object To
| Type | Can Be Honored? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Real-time analysis (during survey) | Limited | Cannot disable mid-session; you retain post-session rights |
| Post-session retention | Yes | We will delete your data after valid objection |
| Device fingerprint retention | Yes | We will remove your device from duplicate detection |
| ML training use | Yes | We will exclude your data from model training |
How to Object
Send your objection to privacy@researchshield.com with:
- Which processing you object to (retention, fingerprinting, ML training)
- Your grounds for objection (your particular situation)
- Any identifiers to help locate your data
Our Process
- We acknowledge your objection within 7 days
- We assess your grounds against our legitimate interests
- We provide a reasoned response within 30 days
- If rejected, we explain our compelling grounds
- We inform you of your right to complain to a supervisory authority
Contact Our Privacy Team
TGM Research Pte. Ltd.
6001 Beach Road, #22-01 Golden Mile Tower
Singapore 199589
Email: privacy@researchshield.com
Response Time: Within 30 days
If you're unsure about your rights or how to exercise them, just email us. We're happy to help guide you through the process.