Privacy Policy

Ipsos UK Limited, (“Ipsos”, ”we” or “us”), commonly known as Ipsos, is a company registered in the United Kingdom 3 Thomas More Square, London, E1W 1YW under company number 01640855. Ipsos is part of the Ipsos worldwide group of companies.

Ipsos is a Company Partner Scheme member of the Market Research Society, as such Ipsos abides by the Market Research Society’s Code of Conduct and associated regulations and guidelines.

This privacy policy explains how we use any personal information we collect about you (“Panellist”, “you” or “your”) when you the Ipsos MediaCell+ app on your smartphone, the Ipsos MediaLink app on additional eligible devices, the Ipsos MediaLink or Ipsos MediaCell+ VPN or browser extensions on your smartphone or additional eligible devices, receive an Ipsos MediaCell+ device in the post, join in our inCompass panel, take part in inCompass surveys or use the panel members’ website.

You can find further information about Ipsos on our website here.

Ipsos, as the data controller of inCompass panellist data, requires a legal basis to process your personal data. Ipsos’s legal basis for processing your panel data is your consent to join the panel and participate in its research activities. If you wish to withdraw your consent at any time, please see the section below covering ‘Your Rights’.

Ipsos will collect the information you provide when you agree to participate in this research, including your mobile phone number, email address and other contact details. Ipsos will also automatically collect information via the Ipsos MediaCell+/MediaLink Apps and the Ipsos MediaCell+/MediaLink VPN or browser extensions as stated below.

For panel members, the information is collected by telephone or via an online questionnaire, by completing our recruitment questionnaire when you decide to join our panel and through the Ipsos MediaCell+/MediaLink Apps and the Ipsos MediaCell+/MediaLink VPN or browser extensions. We may also collect information when you voluntarily complete any other panel surveys, participate in any other panel activities, when you contact us or when you provide feedback, comments or other information to us.

In the case of the registration process not being successfully completed, your information will also be retained by us, to prevent any fraud or misuse.

In some instances, concerning our research, we may ask you to provide certain sensitive personal data, for example revealing your racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs. You do not have to answer these questions and such questions will always include a “prefer not to answer” option.

When you give your consent for us to use your data, you allow us to use and retain any data you provide. This data will be pseudonymised, to protect your privacy during the length of the research project.

When working with partners we will always pseudonymise the data to protect your privacy rights. However, both Ipsos and our partners may merge your data with other data sources for research purposes only. Please note, we pseudonymise this information before it is passed to any 3rd parties to maintain your privacy and they will not be able to link information to individuals.

The information collected by our App/VPN is described below in more detail.

With the exception of any terms entered into a web search, our App/VPN does NOT collect keystrokes or information that is entered into a web form, such as website user IDs, passwords, credit card numbers, other financial account numbers or any other data presented on or entered into a secure (HTTPS) webpage. As a result, the App/VPN will normally not have access to any information regarding items in a website shopping basket or your interactions with financial or health-related websites that you may log into, as these are normally secure sites.

However, in the event that any such sensitive data is collected by mistake, such as the collection of personal data by a badly designed website (e.g. user ID/password in the URL); we can assure you any such data will be securely deleted from our systems as soon as it is found to have been collected in line with Ipsos’s data protection and information security policies and procedures.

The App/VPN will collect the URL (e.g. www.google.co.uk) of any secure (i.e. HTTPS) websites, together with any search terms you enter into a secure site that the site adds to the URL (full web address). The App/VPN does NOT collect information displayed in the website pages, nor any information entered into online forms (e.g. online payment form).

Information collected by our Apps/VPNs/Browser Extensions

Panel members will be invited to download and install one or more of Ipsos’s research Apps/VPNs/Browser extensions. We can reassure you that these apps DO NOT record any phone calls, nor do they collect the content of any emails or text messages. The Apps/VPNs/Browser extensions used with this panel are as follows:

Ipsos MediaCell+ App – Installed on Main Android Smartphones

The Ipsos MediaCell+ App runs in the background whilst you’re using your smartphone. It allows Ipsos to collect the following information:

• The GPS location of the device and if the device is moving
• The Ipsos MediaCell+ app uses the device microphone to listen out for coded audio or to generate digital audio fingerprints to measure the TV or radio stations you are tuned to; it will never record any audio
• Data about the date and time the device is switched on, when it uploads data, when the screen is active and the battery charge level, how much battery power is left and whether it is on/off charge
• When it connects to a network and what type of connection is used (e.g. a Wi-Fi connection or mobile service provider)
• Information about your device: Android Advertiser ID, together with other Information about your mobile device, such as when and for how long you charge it, how much battery power is left, whether it is switched on or off, in sleep mode and when the screen is locked or the device is active. The information about the device includes make and model
• Information about your usage of other apps and features (such as the camera, though we do not collect any photos) on your mobile device, including the identity of the apps and features, when you downloaded them, how often you use them and for how long
• Operating system capabilities to view the contents of your applications such as Accessibility services
• Network information: Information about which mobile network(s) you connect to, the locations of the mobile network sign tower used to connect, signal strength and at what times you connect and use them. It also records the amount of data sent or received by your device during each data collection period
• Presence of Wi-Fi connectivity: we check if you are connected to Wi-Fi, but we do not collect any information about which wi-fi signal you are connected to
• Time spent using the internet, including:
  • Websites/Apps visited/used
  • How websites are accessed (e.g. Navigated to it, redirected to it or clicked on a hyperlink)
  • Reporting on the in-app content consumption of Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds, plus potentially Spotify in the future
  • Information on Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) capture
  • Total amount of online data usage
• Information we can deduce from combining the above information – e.g., what apps you were using just before you searched for particular information using your mobile device’s internet browser, or how often you call, email or text, or the geographic location in which you are most likely to charge your device, make a telephone call, or download an app.
• Online browsing:
  • Websites visited
  • Apps used, including news apps or social networks, and your interactions with them
  • Browsing history
  • This includes specific content from within certain applications, such as the title of a show viewed on a specific streaming video on demand service
• Online activities:
  • Search terms you enter and the results of such searches
  • The videos you view
  • Information you enter into forms
  • The materials you download or upload
  • The advertisements you see
  • Information and content on sites or apps that you visit or use and with which you interact and may include personal, financial and health information
• System Information:
  • Information about the device and browser that you are running on
  • The IP address
  • How the Application is operating, and which other applications are installed, running or have been removed whilst the meter is installed

NOTE: As mentioned above we will not deliberately collect personal, health, financial, or password data. This will only be collected if the site or app URL data is not properly formatted or secured.

Ipsos MediaCell+ App – Installed on Apple iPhones or devices sent to you by Ipsos

The Ipsos MediaCell+ App runs in the background whilst you’re using your smartphone, or on the device sent to you by Ipsos. It allows Ipsos to collect the following information:

• The GPS location of the device and if the device is moving
• The Ipsos MediaCell+ app uses the device microphone to listen out for coded audio or to generate digital audio fingerprints to measure the TV or radio stations you are tuned to; it will never record any audio
• Data about the date and time the device is switched on, when it uploads data, when the screen is active and the battery charge level, how much battery power is left and whether it is on/off charge
• When it connects to a network and what type of connection is used (e.g. a Wi-Fi connection or mobile service provider)
• Information about your device: Android Advertiser ID, together with other Information about your mobile device, such as when and for how long you charge it, how much battery power is left, whether it is switched on or off, in sleep mode and when the screen is locked or the device is active. The information about the device includes make and model
• Information about your usage of other apps and features (such as the camera, though we do not collect any photos) on your mobile device, including the identity of the apps and features, when you downloaded them, how often you use them and for how long
• Operating system capabilities to view the contents of your applications such as Accessibility services
• Network information: Information about which mobile network(s) you connect to, the locations of the mobile network sign tower used to connect, signal strength and at what times you connect and use them. It also records the amount of data sent or received by your device during each data collection period
• Presence of Wi-Fi connectivity: we check if you are connected to wi-fi, but we do not collect any information about which wi-fi signal you are connected to

Ipsos MediaLink App – Installed on Android Tablets

The Ipsos MediaLink App runs in the background whilst you’re using your Android tablet. It allows Ipsos to collect the following information about websites/apps accessed, details on the device and how you use it:

• Online browsing:
  • Websites visited
  • Apps used, including news apps or social networks, and your interactions with them
  • Browsing history
  • This includes specific content from within certain applications, such as the title of a show viewed on a specific streaming video on demand service
• Online activities:
  • Search terms you enter and the results of such searches
  • The videos you view
  • Information you enter into forms
  • The materials you download or upload
  • The advertisements you see
  • Information and content on sites or apps that you visit or use and with which you interact and may include personal, financial and health information
• System Information:
  • Information about the device and browser that you are running on
  • The IP address
  • How the Application is operating, and which other applications are installed, running or have been removed whilst the meter is installed

NOTE: As mentioned above we will not deliberately collect personal, health, financial, or password data. This will only be collected if the site or app URL data is not properly formatted or secured.

Ipsos MediaLink VPN – Installed on iPhones and iPads

The Ipsos MediaLink VPN runs in the background whilst you’re using your iPhone or iPad. The iOS root certificate itself doesn’t capture anything on its own, but it enables the collection of HTTPS traffic from the VPN, so in effect the two technologies come together.

The VPN will collect everything that is sent via the internet, so in effect all network traffic from the app and web usage. However, we’ll only collect secure HTTPS traffic for the data points we are interested in e.g. browser activity, content level data from Netflix, iPlayer etc. We don’t collect data from apps or services that don’t require an internet connection i.e. calendar, calculator, phone or other default phone services.

It allows Ipsos to collect the following information about websites/apps accessed, details on the device and how you use it:

• Online browsing:
  • Websites visited
  • Apps used, including news apps or social networks, and your interactions with them
  • Browsing history
  • This includes specific content from within certain applications, such as the title of a show viewed on a specific streaming video on demand service
• Online activities:
  • Search terms you enter and the results of such searches
  • The videos you view
  • Information you enter into forms
  • The materials you download or upload
  • The advertisements you see
  • Information and content on sites or apps that you visit or use and with which you interact and may include personal, financial and health information
• System Information:
  • Information about the device and browser that you are running on
  • The IP address
  • How the Application is operating, and which other applications are installed, running or have been removed whilst the meter is installed

NOTE: you may see a message that pops up when you install the browser extension, it is a default message generated by the operating system to explain what some extensions of this nature are technically capable of capturing, such as passwords etc. However, we do not configure our extension to do this, and we do NOT deliberately collect any sensitive data such as bank accounts or account logins. This Privacy Policy page explains what we actually capture.

We do not deliberately collect any sensitive data such as bank accounts or account logins.

Ipsos MediaLink App and Browser Extension – Installed on Computers (Mac & PC)

The Ipsos MediaLink app and browser extension runs in the background whilst you’re using your computer. It allows Ipsos to collect the following information about websites/apps accessed, details on the device and how you use it.

• Online browsing:
  • Websites visited
  • Apps used, including news apps or social networks, and your interactions with them
  • Browsing history
  • This includes specific content from within certain applications, such as the title of a show viewed on a specific streaming video on demand service
• Online activities:
  • Search terms you enter and the results of such searches
  • The videos you view
  • Information you enter into forms
  • The materials you download or upload
  • The advertisements you see
  • Information and content on sites or apps that you visit or use and with which you interact and may include personal, financial and health information
• System Information:
  • Information about the device and browser that you are running on
  • The IP address
  • How the Application is operating, and which other applications are installed, running or have been removed whilst the meter is installed

NOTE: As mentioned above we will not deliberately collect personal, health, financial, or password data. This will only be collected if the site or app URL data is not properly formatted or secured.

We understand the importance of protecting the privacy of minors, especially in the online environment. We will always gain the consent of anyone aged younger than 16 from their Parent or Guardian. If we become aware that we have collected personal information relating to a minor, we will take reasonable steps to delete it.

In order to fulfil this contract, we need to collect, process and profile the information requested during the recruitment or that we subsequently collect in accordance with this Privacy Policy and process using automated means. This information will also be required to send you any rewards and to contact you concerning this research. This is also explained in more detail in our Terms and Conditions.

We always collect information from you based upon your consent, in particular where you install any of our Apps/VPNs, respond to any survey invitations we might be sending you or that you may otherwise voluntarily provide. Your participation is at your choice. There might also be situations where we are seeking further information from you or even explicit consent where this might be appropriate or required.

The overall operation and how the Panel works is described in more detail in our Terms and Conditions here.

When you leave the panel, or are removed, we will retain your personal data for the sole purpose of preventing any duplicate or fraudulent participation for the duration of the panel, unless you specifically request that we delete all your personal data in accordance with GDPR article 17.

We will also remove the link between your profile information and the answers you provided within 12 months of the end of the research project, to ensure that these answers cannot be traced back to you. The anonymous research data will be retained in our research and within our records indefinitely.

• A session ID cookie expires when you close your browser.
• A persistent cookie remains on your hard drive for an extended period of time.

You can remove persistent cookies by following directions provided in your Internet browser’s “help” file. This privacy statement covers the use of cookies by Ipsos only and does not cover the use of cookies by any third parties.

We may also use digital fingerprint technology, also known as “Machine Identification”, to gather certain information about your computer, hardware and software, for example, your IP address, the display settings of your monitor, the type of browser used, the type of operating system, etc. This information is sent to our trusted provider who converts it into a unique serial number (the digital “fingerprint”) and determines if it matches previous fingerprints. The data collected in this process and the digital fingerprint created are not tied to any of your personal information, is stored on secured servers.

We will use your information for our ongoing research into how people use their devices, TV channels watched, radio stations listened to and online behaviour. Your data will be used for market research purposes only. Information will be used for analysing:

• The TV and radio stations people may view/listen to at any point in the day
• How people may be using their devices (including: Websites/Apps visited/used).

We will also use the information you provide to:

• Fulfil our contract with you;
• Keep a record of all Panellists;
• Respond to any messages, questions or issues you may raise;
• Provide any incentives offered to you for assisting with this research;
• Send you invitations to participate in surveys that are relevant to you based on the information you provided in response to our recruitment questionnaire(s) or as may be updated by you at a later stage;
• Contact you via SMS message to your mobile phone number (if applicable) containing a verification code, to verify your application and activate your Panellist account;
• Append existing personal information about you to your responses to any market research you participate in, such as geographical location, ethnicity, occupation categories etc. for survey analysis of the responses and producing aggregated, statistical research results;
• Enter you into any prize draws that you are eligible to take part in or, where invited to do so, have asked to be entered;
• With your informed consent, which might be sought for a specific research study and limited thereto, to pass your individual data together with your personal information to the media clients who commissioned the research. The media clients will use this information only for research purposes as explained in the relevant project.
• Create aggregated, statistical profiles of the Panel membership based on the information provided by Panellists
• Pass your information to other Ipsos Group companies so that they may invite you to participate in research studies they are carrying out and that may be relevant to you; and
• Send you by email newsletters, announcements and other communications as set out in the Terms and Conditions
• Where you agree to take part in a product test to arrange for such product to be sent to you;
• In case you have become a member of the Panel through a third-party recruitment supplier, this supplier may be informed that you have become a member of the Panel and may have access to the information you provided during the registration process.

As part of our online advertising research and internet usage research studies, we may also:

• Send you invitations by text message (if applicable) to take part in research.

We may also send your information to our sub-contractors or affiliated companies (listed below) who carry out some work on our behalf, control and responsibility, for data hosting or as described above. Some of these sub-contractors may be based outside the European Economic Area; however, they are required to abide by the same data privacy legal requirements and security arrangements as ourselves and will be subject to appropriate safeguards, a description of which can be obtained by contacting us from the details at the bottom of this page.

• RealityMine (realitymine.com)
• Intrasonics (intrasonics.com)
• BI Worldwide (biworldwide.co.uk)
• Firebase (firebase.google.com)
• Soprano (solutions.sopranodesign.com)
• Conn3ct (conn3ct.com)
• Rackspace (rackspace.com)
• Google Cloud (cloud.google.com/storage)
• RSMB (rsmb.co.uk)
• TEK Express (tekexpress.co.uk)
• Curvestone (curvestone.io)
• AWS (aws.amazon.com)

We will take all reasonable steps to ensure that any personal data we process are accurate, adequate, relevant and not excessive, given the purpose for which they were obtained. We will not process personal data obtained for one purpose for any unconnected purpose unless you have consented to this.

We will NEVER use your information for any purpose other than research or as described in this policy. Other than in relation to this Panel (like participating in further surveys), we will NOT try to sell you anything, nor use your information for marketing purposes. Nor will we ever pass your information to any of our third parties for marketing or advertising purposes.

For more information about our Panel, Panel membership or information related to your membership of our panels, please contact our Panel Support Team. They can be contacted as set out in the details at the bottom of this page.

Your information may be processed by:

• Those Ipsos staff involved in this research project, or who need access in order to directly support the systems used. This may include staff in:
  • Other Ipsos Group companies involved in this research, some of which may be located in other countries. The data will be moved safely and will always be pseudonymised.
  • Our sub-contractors who may carry out some of the processing on Ipsos’s behalf, and under Ipsos’s control; for example: the service providers who host or provide technical support for our systems
  • As of 1st April 2021, our sub-contractor, BI Worldwide, will provide the monthly incentives for the panellists, albeit with the data being pseudonymised, and the panellists being asked to register directly with BI Worldwide.
  • Where required by law or regulation, we may be required to disclose some of your information to relevant authorities; for example, if you are being investigated by the police for criminal activity.
  • It may be that Ipsos is a joint controller with the data collector in which case you should be aware of their Privacy Notice and give explicit consent, or agree to lawful processing under legitimate interest, for them to use your personal data for the stated purpose(s).

This may also involve transferring your personal information to other countries, including the USA and India. However, we can reassure you that we take great care to ensure any transfers are carried out securely and in compliance with all applicable data protection and data privacy legal requirements. We can also assure you that any sub-contractors involved are also required to abide by the same data privacy legal requirements and security arrangements as Ipsos.

We take very seriously our responsibilities to keep your personal information secure. As such we take every reasonable precaution to ensure your information is protected from loss, theft or misuse. These precautions include appropriate physical security of our offices, controlled access to computer systems, and use of secure, encrypted internet connections when collecting personal information.

We will keep the profile information you provided for as long as you remain a Panellist. You can leave the Panel at any time you wish.

When you leave the panel, or are removed, we will retain your personal data for the sole purpose of preventing any duplicate or fraudulent participation for the duration of the panel, unless you specifically request that we delete all your personal data in accordance with GDPR article 17.

Apart from your profile information, Ipsos will also gather other data as detailed in Section 2 (“What personal data do we collect about you and under what legal basis for processing?“) of this page. Your personal data will only be shared with our media clients in pseudonymised format unless you have given your explicit consent to you being identified. We will also remove the link between your personal information and the data you provided within 12 months of the end of the research project, to ensure that this data cannot be traced back to you. The anonymous research data will be retained in our research within our records indefinitely.

Participation in this research is voluntary, and you can change your mind at any time. As specified above, when you leave the panel, or are removed, we reserve the right to hold your personal data for the sole purpose of preventing any duplicate or fraudulent participation for the duration of the panel, unless you specifically request that we delete all your personal data in accordance with GDPR article 17.

If you:

• Change your mind and no longer wish to participate in this research;
• Have any questions or concerns regarding our use of your personal information, our privacy policy or privacy practices; or
• Want to request a copy of the personal information we may hold about you, or to request that we correct any inaccurate personal information.

Please contact the study team who will assist you. You can contact them via:

• Email: support@incompass.me.uk
• Phone: 0808 1295701
• SMS: 0750 7308591
• Or by letter sent to:

inCompass Panel,

Ipsos,

Kings House,

Kymberley Road,

Harrow.

HA1 1PT

If you have any questions or require further information on our privacy policy, our compliance with data protection laws or information we hold about you, please contact our Data Protection Department. They can be contacted:

• By email sent to: compliance@ipsos.com with “inCompass Panel” as subject line.
• Or write to us at:

Compliance Department,

Ipsos,

3 Thomas More Square,

London.

E1W 1YW

Please quote your Panel membership number (if known) or your contact details used for inCompass in your email or letter.

If you have any complaints, we will appreciate if you give us an opportunity to resolve any issue first, by contacting us as set out above. You are, however, always entitled to contact our regulatory body, the UK Information Commissioner via:

• Website: ico.org.uk/global/contact-us
• Or by letter sent to:

Information Commissioner’s Office,

Wycliffe House,

Water Lane,

Wilmslow

Cheshire.

SK9 5AF

• Tel: UK 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or +44 1625 545 745 if you prefer to use a national rate number.
• Fax: +44 1625 524 510

Other national data protection authorities are also likely to accept your complaint.

You can contact us by:

• Email: support@incompass.me.uk
• Phone: 0808 1295701
• SMS: 0750 7308591

We keep our privacy policy under regular review and we let you know of any updates. Our privacy policy was last updated on 30th March, 2022.

• Ipsos
• Ipsos Group
• Information Commissioner’s Office
• World organisation for market research – ESOMAR
• Market Research Society