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Last updated on 12 June, 2026
This Participant Privacy Policy explains how Poocho Research Technologies Private Limited ("Poocho", "we", "us", "our") collects, uses, and handles personal data relating to Participants — individuals who register on the Poocho Network (participant.poocho.co) to take part in research studies and surveys.
This policy covers the personal data Poocho collects about you in your capacity as a Participant. It does not cover Researchers or Customers — those are governed by the Recruit Researcher Privacy Policy and the Studio Customer Privacy Policy respectively.
Where this policy uses terms defined in the Platform Terms or the Recruit Product Terms, they have the same meaning.
Poocho Research Technologies Private Limited operates the Platform. For the personal data described in this policy, Poocho is the data fiduciary — we decide why and how we collect and use that data, and we are responsible for complying with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 ("DPDPA") in connection with it.
Our registered office is at E5/10 Salunke Vihar, Kondhwa, Pune 411022, India. Our grievance officer is identified in section 14.
We collect the following categories of personal data from Participants:
Account and profile data. When you register on the Poocho Network, we collect the information you provide: your name, email address, phone number, city, state, and country of residence. We also collect demographic information — such as your date of birth, gender, and other profile attributes — and educational, employment, and household information that helps Researchers identify the right Participants for their studies and surveys.
Screener, study, and survey data. When you apply to a study or survey on Recruit, you may be asked to complete a screener — a set of questions designed by the Researcher to assess whether you qualify. Your screener responses are collected by Poocho on behalf of the Researcher. When you participate in a study (an interview, or usability test), session recordings, transcripts, and other session materials are collected by Poocho on behalf of the Researcher. When you participate in a survey, your survey question responses are collected by Poocho on behalf of the Researcher.
Tax documentation. If the total incentives paid to you in a calendar year require tax documentation under applicable law, we collect the relevant information, such as your taxpayer identification number.
Usage and analytics data. We automatically collect data about how you use the Platform — including the features you access, session frequency and duration, browser type and version, device type, IP address, and referring URLs. We use Google Analytics to understand how the Platform is used.
Communications. If you contact us — for support, account queries, or grievances — we keep a record of that correspondence.
We, and our service providers, use cookies and similar automated tracking technologies — including web beacons, session replay software, and scripts — to collect information about your use of the Platform. This may include your IP address, browser type and settings, device identifiers, pages visited, features used, and other usage data.
The tracking technologies we use fall into the following categories:
Strictly necessary. Essential for the Platform to operate, including authentication and remembering your preferences. These cannot be disabled if you want to use the Platform.
Functional. Enhance the functionality and personalisation of the Platform.
Analytics. We use Google Analytics to understand how Participants use the Platform, analyse performance, and identify areas for improvement. Google Analytics may use IP addresses but does not link usage data to other personal data we hold about you.
We use your personal data to:
We do not use personal data from studies and surveys conducted on behalf of Researchers to train artificial intelligence or machine learning models. We do not sell your personal data or share it with third parties for their own marketing or commercial purposes.
When you apply to or participate in a study or survey, information about you is shared with the Researcher who posted that study or survey. This includes:
By applying to a study or survey, you give your consent to this disclosure.
The Researcher is the data fiduciary for the personal data they collect from you during a study or survey — including your screener responses, session recordings, and survey question responses. Their use of that data is governed by their own privacy policies and their obligations under the Recruit Product Terms, which require them to delete or anonymise your data on request.
Poocho processes your study and survey data on behalf of the Researcher as a data processor. This includes using AI tools — such as transcription and analysis features — to process session recordings and transcripts where the Researcher uses those tools. Poocho does not use study or survey data collected on behalf of Researchers to train artificial intelligence or machine learning models.
What happens when you delete your account. When you delete your account, we notify Researchers who have conducted studies or surveys with you. Researchers are required under the Recruit Product Terms to promptly delete or anonymise any personal data they collected from you, including data in notes, recordings, transcripts, survey responses, and downloaded files. We cannot guarantee deletion of data held directly by Researchers, as that data is subject to their own data practices once downloaded from the Platform.
We do not share your personal data with third parties except in the following circumstances:
Researchers. As described in section 5.
Sub-processors. We use third-party service providers to help us operate the Platform. We describe these in section 7.
Legal obligations. Where we are required to disclose your data under applicable law, court order, or regulatory requirement.
Business transfers. In connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or a material part of our business, your data may transfer to the successor entity, subject to the protections in this policy.
With your consent. For any other purpose you have specifically authorised.
We use third-party service providers ("sub-processors") to help us operate the Platform — including hosting providers, payment processors, communications providers, and analytics services.
Every sub-processor that processes personal data relating to Participants is engaged under service, API, or enterprise terms that include obligations on purpose limitation, confidentiality, and appropriate security. We list our sub-processors on the Sub-processor List, which is published on our website and kept current.
We remain responsible to you for the acts and omissions of our sub-processors in respect of your personal data, subject to the limitations in the Platform Terms.
Some of our sub-processors process personal data outside India. The location of processing for each sub-processor is set out on the Sub-processor List. We take steps to ensure that cross-border transfers of personal data are made only in compliance with applicable requirements under the DPDPA as notified from time to time.
Account data. We retain your account data for as long as your account is active.
If you deactivate your account, your profile is hidden from Researchers and you will not be matched with new studies or surveys. We retain your data during deactivation in the same way as an active account, and you can reactivate at any time through the Platform.
If you delete your account: your account is closed and your personal data is deleted within 30 days of your confirmed deletion request. Your phone number is removed immediately on confirmation. Following deletion, your profile no longer appears on the Platform.
When you delete your account, we also delete personal data collected through the Platform in connection with studies and surveys you participated in — including screener responses, uploaded files, session recordings, and survey question responses. We may retain certain system and financial records only as necessary to maintain referential integrity, comply with legal obligations, or for other legitimate business purposes.
Screener, study, and survey data. Screener responses, session recordings, and survey question responses associated with a study or survey are retained on the Platform for the duration of that study's or survey's retention period — up to one year after the study or survey closes — in line with clause 6.1 of the Recruit Product Terms. Data is deleted when the study or survey is deleted, whether at the end of the retention period or on the Researcher's request.
We do not retain your personal data for longer than we need it.
We implement technical, organisational, and physical security measures to protect your personal data from unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, and loss.
No security measure is absolute. In the event of a personal data breach affecting your data, we will notify you without undue delay in line with our obligations under the DPDPA.
The Poocho Network is intended for individuals aged 18 and above. We do not knowingly collect personal data from individuals under 18 years of age through the standard Participant registration flow.
If a Researcher wishes to conduct a study or survey involving Participants who are under 18, they must obtain Poocho's prior written approval and comply with the requirements in the Fair Use and Acceptable Use Policy, including obtaining parental or guardian consent before the study or survey deploys.
Under the DPDPA, you have the following rights as a data principal in relation to the personal data Poocho holds about you:
Right to access. You may ask us to confirm what personal data we hold about you and obtain a summary of it.
Right to correction. You may ask us to correct personal data that is inaccurate or incomplete.
Right to erasure. You may ask us to erase your personal data where we no longer have a lawful basis to retain it, subject to our legitimate business purposes and legal obligations described in section 9.
Right to nominate. You may nominate another person to exercise your DPDPA rights on your behalf in the event of your death or incapacity.
To exercise any of these rights, contact our grievance officer as set out in section 14. We will acknowledge your request within 7 business days of receipt. We will process and respond to your request within 30 days, and in any case within 90 days as required under the DPDP Rules 2025.
These rights apply to personal data Poocho holds about you as a Participant. They do not extend to personal data held by Researchers in their capacity as data fiduciaries for study and survey data they have collected from you.
We may update this policy from time to time as the Platform evolves and our data practices change. We will give you reasonable notice of any material change. If you continue to use the Platform after a material change takes effect, you are taken to have accepted the updated policy.
For any questions, concerns, or complaints about how Poocho handles your personal data — including to exercise your rights under section 12 — please contact our grievance officer:
Name: Taapsi Ramchandani Email: grievance@poocho.co
We will acknowledge your communication within 7 business days of receipt. We will process and respond within 30 days, and in any case within 90 days as required under the DPDP Rules 2025.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you may approach the Data Protection Board of India in line with the DPDPA.
For general questions about your Participant account or this policy, write to participantdesk@poocho.co.
For DPDPA grievances and data principal rights requests, use the grievance officer contact in section 14.
