Privacy Policy

Zlex XQ LLC ("we", "us", or "our") is a market research company that operates an online research and fieldwork operation. We maintain a Survey Panel (a community of individual respondents who take part in research studies) and a Research & Sample Platform that connects those respondents with market research agencies, consulting firms, brands and data collection companies for the collection of survey-based insights. This Privacy Policy describes the personal data we collect, how and why we collect it, how we use, share, store and protect it, and the choices and rights available to you.

This policy applies to our websites, our Survey Panel and our Research & Sample Platform (together, the "Services"). By accessing or using the Services, you consent to the data practices described here. We take the privacy of children and young people seriously and comply with COPPA, the GDPR and applicable local protections regarding minors. We do not knowingly permit children to register, or allow their personal data to be processed, on our platform without verifiable parental consent or legal authorization; if we become aware that a child's personal data has been collected without such consent or authorization, we will delete it.

This policy covers three broad groups of people: (a) members of our Survey Panel; (b) our business clients and prospective clients and their representatives (such as researchers, agencies, brands and data collection companies); and (c) visitors to our websites.

1. Our Role in Processing Your Data

Depending on the activity, we act in different roles under data protection law:

• For the personal data of our Survey Panel members, our business contacts and our website visitors, Zlex XQ LLC generally acts as a data controller — we determine why and how that data is processed.
• When we run fieldwork on behalf of a research client, the client typically defines the purpose and design of the study. For the survey responses collected in that study, we generally act as a processor / service provider on the client's behalf, and the commissioning client acts as controller of those responses.

In every case, we handle personal data in accordance with this policy and applicable law.

2. Personal Data We Collect

Our Services process different categories of personal data depending on how you interact with us.

2.1 Survey Panel & Respondent Community

When you register for and take part in our Survey Panel, we collect information you provide as well as data necessary for security and quality:

• Account & authentication data: your username, email address and a hashed (encrypted) version of your password.
• Profile & demographic data: attributes you choose to provide — such as country or region, language, age or date of birth, gender, and other profiling details (for example household, education, employment or areas of interest) — used to match you with suitable studies and to manage quotas.
• Survey participation & response data: the answers and inputs you submit within a study, together with metadata such as start and completion status, duration and disposition. These responses are collected on behalf of the research client that commissioned the study.
• Reward & transaction data: points or rewards earned, redemption and withdrawal requests, and the details necessary to deliver your rewards.
• Technical, device & log data: IP address, browser and device type, operating system, timestamps and clickstream data, processed for our legitimate interests in security and fraud prevention.
• Anti-fraud & quality signals: a digital fingerprint and related device identifiers used to deduplicate respondents, detect duplicate or fraudulent accounts, and validate response quality.

2.2 Research & Sample Platform (Business Clients)

When you engage with our Research & Sample Platform as a client or prospective client, we collect:

• Business contact & account data: the name, business email, telephone number, company name and role of client representatives who register, request a quote or proposal, or otherwise contact us.
• Commercial & billing data: the information needed to set up projects, issue invoices and process payments and refunds.
• Project & usage data: details of the studies you commission — such as feasibility, quotas and delivery — and how you use the platform.

2.3 Website Visitors

• Information you submit: data you provide through our website forms (for example our contact form: your name, email, message and the topics you indicate an interest in), or when you request a brochure, quote or other materials.
• Automatically collected data: information gathered through cookies and stored in server log files (see Sections 3 and 6), which may include your IP address, browser and operating system version, referring and exit pages, and the date and time of your visit.

3. How We Collect Information

We collect personal data in three main ways:

• Directly from you: when you register for the Panel, complete your profile, take part in studies, request rewards, submit website forms, request a quote or materials, or communicate with us by email, telephone, video call or other means — including in connection with business meetings, promotions, events, conferences and trade shows.
• Automatically: through cookies, log files and similar technologies when you use our websites and Services.
• From third parties: from partner panels, sample providers and survey routers that supply or exchange respondents, and from event or conference organizers and other business sources. Where partners supply respondents to us, they are required to obtain the appropriate consents beforehand.

4. How and Why We Use Your Information

We use personal data for the following core purposes:

• to create, operate and secure Panel and client accounts;
• to match respondents with suitable studies, manage quotas and route participants to surveys;
• to collect, process and deliver survey responses and sample to the commissioning research clients;
• to process rewards, redemptions, withdrawals, subscriptions, invoices and refunds;
• to prevent fraud and abuse, deduplicate respondents, and carry out quality control and data validation;
• to provide support and respond to enquiries from respondents and clients;
• to send service communications and — where permitted or with your consent — surveys about our Services and marketing about our products and services (you can opt out at any time);
• to comply with legal, regulatory, tax and audit obligations and to enforce our terms; and
• to operate, analyze and improve our Services and pursue our legitimate business interests.

Where the law requires it, we rely on an appropriate legal basis for each use — such as your consent, the performance of a contract, compliance with a legal obligation, or our legitimate interests.

5. How We Share and Disclose Information

We do not sell your personal data. We share personal data only in the circumstances described below.

5.1 Research Clients & Survey Partners

When you take part in a study through our Panel, we pass technical identifiers (such as a study-specific participant ID and, where necessary, your IP address) to the research client, survey router or partner platform so they can record your progress and send us a completion "postback" to credit your account. The survey responses you provide are delivered to the research client that commissioned the study, generally on a de-identified or pseudonymized basis. When you follow a link into a third-party survey or offer, your activity there is governed by that third party's privacy policy, not ours.

5.2 Service Providers

We use trusted providers — for example hosting and infrastructure, payment processors, email delivery, and anti-fraud and analytics vendors — who process personal data on our behalf and are authorized to use it only as necessary to perform their services for us.

5.3 Within Our Group

We may share personal data with our parent, subsidiary and affiliated companies and their personnel, subject to the terms of this policy.

5.4 Legal and Safety

We may disclose personal data where required by applicable law or valid legal process, to respond to lawful requests by public authorities, to enforce our terms, or where we reasonably believe disclosure is necessary to prevent fraud, harm or financial loss, or to investigate suspected illegal activity.

5.5 Business Transfers

If we sell or transfer all or part of our business or assets (for example in a merger or acquisition), personal data may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will require the receiving party to agree in writing to protect the data consistent with this policy.

5.6 With Your Consent or Direction

We may share personal data in any other way described to you at the time of collection, or that you otherwise authorize. We require third parties that receive personal data from us to adopt and follow protections consistent with this policy.

6. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Our websites use cookies and similar technologies to support functionality and security:

• Essential cookies: keep you logged in and secure your session.
• Fraud-prevention cookies: help us detect duplicate accounts on the same device and abusive behavior.
• Analytics & performance cookies: help us measure traffic and improve our sites.

The cookies we set generally do not by themselves reveal your identity, but may record technical details such as your browser, operating system and Internet settings. You can configure your browser to accept, reject or notify you when a site sets a cookie; however, essential parts of the Services (such as signing in) may not function properly without them.

7. Data Security

We maintain technical, administrative and physical safeguards designed to protect personal data, using a layered approach that includes:

• passwords stored only in hashed form using strong, industry-standard cryptographic algorithms — never in plaintext;
• firewalls, anti-malware and intrusion-detection systems protecting our infrastructure;
• access to databases containing personal data granted strictly on a need-to-know basis; and
• regular review, monitoring and evaluation of our security and privacy practices.

No method of transmission over the Internet or mobile networks, and no method of electronic storage, is completely secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee its absolute security, and we are not responsible for errors made by individuals in submitting personal data to us.

8. International Data Transfers and Storage

Zlex XQ LLC is established in the United States. Personal data may be stored and processed in the United States and in other countries where we, our service providers or our partners operate. These countries may have data protection laws that differ from those in your country of residence. Where we transfer personal data across borders, we take steps to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place as required by applicable law.

9. Data Retention and Your Rights

9.1 Data Retention

We keep personal data for as long as necessary to provide the Services, operate our business, and meet our legal, tax, audit and contractual obligations. Retention differs by context:

• Survey Panel accounts & participation history: because of the fraud-prevention, quality-assurance and audit-trail requirements imposed by our research clients and survey partners, Survey Panel accounts and their associated participation and completion history are retained for these purposes and generally cannot be fully deleted while those obligations apply. You may request deactivation of your Panel account to stop receiving communications, but certain core records must be retained to satisfy client and partner audit requirements and to prevent duplicate or fraudulent participation.
• Fraud-prevention records: we may retain limited data (such as blacklist or device-fingerprint records) for as long as needed to protect our Services and clients against fraud and abuse.
• Business & website contacts: we keep client and contact data for as long as necessary for our commercial relationship and to comply with legal obligations.

9.2 Your Privacy Rights

Subject to applicable data protection laws (such as the GDPR and the CCPA/CPRA), you may have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you and request a copy;
• Rectification — request that we correct inaccurate or incomplete data;
• Erasure — request deletion of your personal data ("the right to be forgotten"), subject to the exceptions described in this policy (for example, the mandatory retention of Survey Panel participation data required by our clients and partners, and the maintenance of fraud-prevention records);
• Restriction or objection — request that we restrict, or object to, certain processing;
• Portability — request a copy of certain data you provided to us in a portable format;
• Withdraw consent where our processing is based on consent; and
• Opt out of marketing communications at any time.

If you are in a jurisdiction that grants these rights (such as the EEA, the UK or California), we will honor them in accordance with applicable law, and you will not be discriminated against for exercising them. You may also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection or supervisory authority.

9.3 How to Exercise Your Rights

To make a request, contact us using the details in Section 11. We may need to verify your identity before acting on your request, and we will respond within the timeframes required by applicable law.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technologies or legal requirements. When we do, we will revise the "Last Updated" date shown above, and we may communicate material changes through our Services. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

Zlex XQ LLC aligns its data protection practices with the ESOMAR Code on Market, Opinion and Social Research and Data Analytics and with applicable data protection laws, including the GDPR and the CCPA/CPRA.

11. How to Contact Us

To exercise your privacy rights, or if you have any questions about this policy or our data practices, please contact our Data Protection team using the details below.