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Last updated on June 12, 2026
These Participant Terms govern your registration on the Poocho Network and your participation in research studies and surveys as a Participant. They form an agreement between you and Poocho Research Technologies Private Limited ("Poocho," "we," "us," "our").
By registering on the Poocho Network or using the Platform, you agree to these Terms and our Participant Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not register or use the Platform.
These Terms have been prepared in accordance with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and the DPDP Rules 2025.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: These Terms contain a binding arbitration clause and class action waiver in clause 13. Please read clause 13 carefully. The arbitration clause covers commercial and contractual disputes between you and Poocho. It does not limit your rights under the DPDPA, including your right to use our grievance mechanism or to approach the Data Protection Board of India.
Poocho operates an online platform (the "Platform") that connects individuals ("Participants") with companies and researchers ("Researchers") for research purposes.
Through Recruit, Researchers create and run two types of research activities. A Study is a qualitative research activity — such as an interview or usability test — where you interact directly with a Researcher in a live session. A Survey is a quantitative data collection activity where you complete a screener and respond to survey questions. Both types begin with a screener that Researchers use to identify eligible Participants.
Through Studio, Researchers use AI-powered tools to transcribe, analyse, and synthesise recordings and other research materials collected through the Platform.
To register on the Poocho Network, you must be at least 18 years old. If you are under 18, you may only participate with the verifiable consent of a parent or guardian, and only where the Researcher has obtained Poocho's prior written approval in line with our Fair Use and Acceptable Use Policy.
When you register, you must provide accurate, complete, and current information. You are responsible for keeping your account information up to date. If you become aware that your account has been accessed without your authorisation, notify us at participantdesk@poocho.co immediately.
You may maintain only one Participant account on the Poocho Network.
For a Study, you may be asked to complete a screener to determine whether you qualify, or you may be invited to participate directly based on your profile. If selected, you will be scheduled for a live online session with the Researcher. Sessions may be recorded with your prior knowledge and consent. Session recordings, transcripts, and other session materials are collected by Poocho on behalf of the Researcher.
For a Survey, you may be asked to complete a screener before responding to survey questions, or you may be directed to the survey questions directly. Your screener responses (where applicable) and survey question responses are collected by Poocho on behalf of the Researcher.
When you apply to a study or survey, Poocho shares the following with the Researcher who posted it:
By applying to a study or survey, you consent to this disclosure. The full description of how Poocho handles your personal data — including your rights and how to exercise them — is in the Participant Privacy Policy.
The Researcher is the data fiduciary for the personal data they collect from you during a study or survey, including 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.
Where a Researcher uses Studio to analyse recordings or other research materials from your study or survey, Poocho may use AI tools — including transcription and analysis features — to process that content on the Researcher's behalf. Poocho does not use your study or survey data to train AI models. The AI processing that applies to your data is described in the Participant Privacy Policy and the Sub-processor List.
You must participate in studies and surveys honestly, professionally, and in good faith. You must not:
You may not, directly or indirectly:
without Poocho's prior written permission.
A breach of this clause may cause Poocho real and foreseeable harm. Poocho reserves the right to recover damages for any such breach, whether threatened or actual, in addition to any other remedies available to it.
The following categories of information are sensitive. You should not provide them through the Platform unless the Researcher running the study or survey has told you that Poocho has approved them to collect this category of information for that specific engagement (see our Fair Use and Acceptable Use Policy), and has given you specific instructions on what to share and how — for example, redacting certain details before you share a document. Follow the Researcher's instructions exactly.
If a Researcher asks for any of the above without telling you Poocho has approved it, do not provide it.
Online credentials, passwords, and other authentication information are different: you should never provide these through the Platform, even if asked. No Researcher or Poocho approval permits this.
If you submit any of the above in circumstances not authorised by Poocho, Poocho bears no responsibility for any consequences.
Information you receive through your participation in studies and surveys — including the identity of the Researcher or brand involved, the content of the research, and any materials shared with you — is confidential. You must not disclose that information to any third party without the Researcher's consent, except as required by applicable law.
If you are required by law or court order to disclose confidential information, you must notify Poocho and the relevant Researcher promptly and in writing before doing so, to the extent permitted by law.
This confidentiality obligation does not restrict your right to use the grievance mechanism in clause 8, or to make any complaint to the Data Protection Board of India or any other statutory authority having jurisdiction over personal data matters.
Poocho may invite you to submit suggestions, ideas, or other feedback about the Platform ("Feedback"). Any Feedback you provide is voluntary. By submitting Feedback, you:
(a) confirm you have the right to share it and that it does not contain confidential or proprietary information belonging to others; (b) grant Poocho an irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, worldwide licence to use, modify, publish, and otherwise exploit the Feedback for any purpose, without any obligation to compensate or credit you; and (c) waive any moral rights you may have in the Feedback.
This clause applies to Feedback only. It does not affect the treatment of your personal data or study and survey data, which are governed by the Participant Privacy Policy.
Researchers may offer incentives to Participants for completing studies or surveys. Researchers fund incentives through the Platform's payment infrastructure; Poocho processes and disburses incentives to Participants on behalf of Researchers. Poocho is not independently obligated to provide incentives to you — that obligation rests with the Researcher.
You will be able to redeem an incentive once the Researcher confirms your satisfactory completion of the relevant study or survey, in the manner enabled by the Platform. If a Researcher disputes a session or survey marked complete on the Platform, the incentive will not be disbursed until that dispute is resolved. Where you do not complete a study or survey, no incentive is triggered.
Poocho will not be liable for any failure to redeem, issues with delivery due to incorrect information you provided, or any defects in payments or incentives arising from non-completion or disputes between you and the Researcher.
You may lose some or all of an incentive offered in connection with a study or survey if:
(i) you violate these Terms, as determined by Poocho in its sole discretion; or (ii) the Researcher determines, at their reasonable discretion, that you did not satisfactorily complete the study or survey.
If you have a question about an incentive, write to participantdesk@poocho.co. Poocho may, at its discretion, offer reasonable assistance for up to 90 days after the end date of the relevant session or survey to help you redeem payments or incentives.
You are solely responsible for determining and meeting any tax obligations arising from incentives you receive. Poocho is not liable for your failure to report taxable income or remit any taxes due. Where applicable law requires Poocho to collect tax documentation from you, you agree to provide it promptly.
Poocho and its licensors own all rights in the Platform, the Services, and the technology underlying them, including all software, applications, and intellectual property associated with them. These Terms do not transfer any ownership or intellectual property rights to you.
Subject to these Terms, Poocho grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to use the Platform solely for the purpose of participating in studies and surveys as a Participant. This licence does not permit you to copy, modify, distribute, reverse-engineer, or create derivative works from any part of the Platform.
Your licence is automatically revoked if you breach these Terms or if Poocho terminates your account.
Your personal data is handled in accordance with the Participant Privacy Policy, which forms part of your agreement with Poocho. The Participant Privacy Policy explains what data we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, how long we keep it, and your rights under the DPDPA. Please read it.
By registering on the Poocho Network and participating in studies and surveys, you authorise Poocho to collect and process your personal data for the purposes described in the Participant Privacy Policy. This authorisation is the basis on which Poocho processes your data and facilitates Researchers' access to your study and survey data through the Platform.
For any questions, concerns, or complaints about how Poocho handles your personal data — including to exercise your rights under the DPDPA — 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.
If you deactivate your account, your profile will be hidden from Researchers and you will not be matched with new studies or surveys. Your personal data is retained during deactivation and you can reactivate your account at any time through the Platform.
If you delete your account, you will be immediately logged out. Your account will be closed and your personal data deleted within 30 days of your confirmed deletion request. Your phone number will be removed immediately on confirmation.
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, session recordings, and survey question responses. We may retain certain system and financial records only as necessary to comply with legal obligations or for other legitimate business purposes.
We will 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. We cannot guarantee deletion of data already exported and held directly by Researchers, as that data is subject to their own data practices.
To deactivate or delete your account, write to participantdesk@poocho.co.
We may suspend or terminate your access to the Platform at any time, with or without notice, if you breach these Terms, if we reasonably suspect fraudulent or abusive activity on your account, or if we discontinue the Platform or any part of it.
On termination, your licence to use the Platform ends immediately. Clauses 4.4, 4.5, 6.1, 7, 8, 12, and 13 survive termination.
The Platform may contain links to third-party websites. Poocho does not control those sites and is not responsible for their content, security, or availability. Accessing third-party sites is at your own risk and subject to those sites' own terms and privacy policies.
We may modify, suspend, or discontinue the Platform or any feature of it at any time, for any reason, and without prior notice. Poocho is not liable for any interruption, delay, or unavailability of the Platform.
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Poocho and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, and costs (including legal fees) arising from or related to:
(a) your use of the Platform; (b) information you submit through the Platform; (c) your breach of these Terms; (d) your violation of applicable law; or (e) your violation of any third-party rights in connection with your use of the Platform.
This clause does not require you to indemnify Poocho for Poocho's own gross negligence or fraud. This clause survives termination of your account or these Terms.
These Terms are governed by the laws of India.
Subject to clause 13.3, the courts of Mumbai have non-exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising out of or in connection with these Terms.
Any dispute, controversy, or claim arising out of or in connection with these Terms — including any question regarding their existence, validity, breach, or termination — that is not resolved amicably within 30 days of written notice from either party shall be referred to and finally resolved by arbitration:
(a) under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, as amended from time to time; (b) before a sole arbitrator appointed by mutual agreement, or, failing agreement within 14 days of a written request, appointed in accordance with the Act; (c) with the seat and venue of arbitration in Mumbai, India; and (d) conducted in the English language.
This arbitration clause covers commercial and contractual disputes arising from the Platform or these Terms. It does not apply to claims that cannot lawfully be subject to private arbitration.
To the extent permitted by applicable law, you agree to bring any claim against Poocho only in your individual capacity, and not as a plaintiff or class member in any class, collective, or representative proceeding.
Nothing in clauses 13.3 or 13.4 limits any right you have under applicable data protection law, including:
(a) your right to use the grievance mechanism in clause 8; (b) your right to make any complaint to the Data Protection Board of India; or (c) your right to seek any remedy before any statutory authority or regulator having jurisdiction over personal data matters.
Any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to your use of the Platform or these Terms must be brought within one year of the date the claim arose, or it will be permanently barred.
These Terms, together with the Participant Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Poocho in relation to your participation on the Platform as a Participant, and supersede all prior agreements, communications, and understandings on the same subject matter.
If any provision of these Terms is held to be unenforceable, that provision will be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable. The remaining provisions continue in full force.
Poocho's failure to enforce any provision of these Terms at any time is not a waiver of its right to enforce that provision in future.
You may not assign or transfer your rights or obligations under these Terms without Poocho's prior written consent. Poocho may assign its rights and obligations freely, including in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.
These Terms do not create a partnership, joint venture, employment, or agency relationship between you and Poocho, or between you and any Researcher.
We may update these Terms from time to time. We will give you reasonable notice of any material change. Your continued use of the Platform after a change takes effect constitutes your acceptance of the updated Terms.
Section headings are for convenience only and do not affect the interpretation of these Terms.
For general questions about your Participant account or these Terms, write to participantdesk@poocho.co.
For DPDPA grievances and data principal rights requests, use the grievance officer contact in clause 8.
