PRIVACY POLICY

Last Updated: January 1, 2023

This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) is posted by Virtue Research, LLC (referred to herein as “Virtue Research,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) .

By joining the Virtue Research Panel (the “Panel”), using virtueresearch.com, virtuecares.com, or any other website or application where this Policy is posted (collectively, the “Site”) , or otherwise participating in any research where this Policy is presented to you, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by this Policy.

This Policy governs our collection, use, sharing, and storage of your Personal Information in connection with your use of the Site, your membership in the Panel, and your participation in any survey or study administered in connection with your Panel membership or otherwise administered by Virtue Research (collectively, the “Services”).

As used in this Policy, the term “Personal Information” means information that identifies, relates to, describes, is capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular individual or household.

This Policy forms a part of and is incorporated into the Virtue Research Terms of Use. By using the Site or participating in the Services, you agree to the Terms of Use, including this Policy.

Your Privacy Rights

To access, correct, or request deletion of your Personal Information, or to request a copy of your Personal Information or opt out of the processing of your Personal Information, please contact us as provided in the “How to Contact Us” section below. Depending on your location, you may also have the right to appeal any decision we make regarding your Personal Information by contacting us as provided below. Individuals in California and Europe have certain special rights as further described in the applicable sections below.

Information We Collect During Registration

You can register for our Panel by signing up directly on the Site, by responding to an invitation to register receive via social media, email, or elsewhere online, or by being referred by a friend or colleague.

As part of the registration process we will collect Personal Information necessary to create your account and verify your identity. This information includes your first and last name, telephone number, email address, residential and business addresses, date of birth, and last four digits of your Social Security Number. We may also, in certain circumstances, collect a photocopy of your driver’s license or other government-issued identification, workplace information, professional licenses, or other additional documentation to verify your identity and professional information

We collect this information so that we can verify your identity and to detect and prevent fraud. We do not share this information with third parties without your consent.

We may also collect additional Personal Information necessary to complete your profile, including without limitation your email address, residential and business address, gender, race/ethnicity, education history, including schools you’ve attended and your graduation years, information about your medical conditions or medical history, and payment information, such as your bank account information and routing number.

We collect this additional information and use it, in combination with other information we’ve collected about you, to administer our relationship with you (e.g., to communicate with you), to mail or transfer your incentive payments, and for survey targeting purposes.

If you are a healthcare provider, as part of your registration, we may also conduct a National Provider Identifier (“NPI”) check (or a similar check if you are located outside the United States) to confirm your professional details. Depending on your profession, your NPI number may be required, optional, or not requested by us at all. If you are a healthcare provider we will also collect information about your workplace and specialty, in addition to the URL of your workplace’s website as well as your workplace zip code.

Finally, we may also ask you additional profiling questions to assist with survey targeting. These questions may vary greatly depending on the needs of our clients and professions or profiles targeted for surveys, but will likely include, at a minimum, questions about your year of birth and gender identity, and if you are a consumer panelist questions about your education level, ethnicity, annual household income, health insurance coverages, and types of health care providers you have engaged with.

If you are a respondent who has not registered for the Panel taking a survey administered by us, we may also collect the above Personal Information from you with your consent.

In all of the above scenarios, you will know what Personal Information we’re collecting because you provide it to us directly.

Information Collected During Interviews

Aside from our normal online survey offerings, you may also participate in real-time or in-person focus groups or interviews in connection with your Panel membership. In these cases, we may collect photos, video, and audio of you. In such instances, we will get your explicit consent before recording your interview.

Otherwise, and in addition to the information described above, as part of our normal survey offerings, you may also provide us with commercial information such as products or services purchased, obtained, or considered, or other purchasing or consuming histories or tendencies, or any other Personal Information you provide as part of open-ended survey questions.

In all above the scenarios, you will know what Personal Information we’re collecting because you provide it to us directly.

Sensitive Personal Information

Please note that some of the Personal Information described above may constitute sensitive personal Information under applicable laws. We will never use your “sensitive” Personal Information except for research purposes, or otherwise to verify your identity or prevent fraud. For more information on how to opt out of the processing of your sensitive Personal Information, please click here.

Social Media Information

We may also collect certain Personal Information from you when you engage with us via social media. In those instances, we will know whatever Personal Information you have made available on your social media profile. Please be advised we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such third-party social media platforms, and we encourage you to review their privacy policies.

Information We Collect Automatically

In addition to information we collect directly, we also collect certain information about you or your device automatically when you visit our Site or participate in our Services. This information includes, without limitation, log files, browser type, device resolution, mobile device type, operating system, IP addresses, city and state where you are located, what pages you visit on the Site, how you otherwise navigate the Site, and what search queries you enter on the Site.

We use this information to analyze web traffic on the Site, to analyze survey usage, and to optimize survey experiences for different operating systems.

Tax Information

We may also collect Personal Information from you for tax reporting purposes. For example, if you are a U.S. resident, and you earn at least six hundred dollars ($600) in incentive payments in any calendar year, we may collect additional Personal Information from you as required by IRS Form W-9.

We may use information about you for the purposes described above, including without limitation to deliver research results and insights to our clients. We may otherwise use your Personal Information for any purpose that is not inconsistent with this Policy or a statement made by Virtue Research at the point of collection, including, without limitation, as necessary to:

  • Allow you to participate in the Services;
  • Facilitate, manage, personalize, and improve your online experience and our Services;
  • Transact with you, provide Services or information you request, respond to your comments, questions and requests, and otherwise communicate with you;
  • Improve the Site and for any other internal business purposes;
  • Tailor our content, advertisements, and offers; and
  • Prevent and address fraud, breach of policies or terms, and protect ourselves or other third parties from any threats or harm.

Before sharing survey results with our clients, we pseudonymize the survey results by assigning your survey a randomly generated identification number. Except as expressly described in this Policy we do not share your name, address, telephone number, date of birth, Social Security Number or other information that could be used to immediately identify you with clients or other third parties without your consent.

Notwithstanding the above, Virtue Research reserves the right to share your information with its affiliates, business partners, agents, vendors, consultants, and/or service providers in connection with their work on Virtue Research’s behalf, subject to agreements with these entities that require they keep your Personal Information confidential and only use your Personal Information to the extent necessary to perform their functions and not for any other purpose.

We also reserve the right to share your Personal Information in the following situations:

  • With third parties to investigate and help prevent fraud, other unlawful activity or activity that threatens a service network;
  • With legal, governmental, or judicial authorities as instructed or required by those authorities and applicable laws, or in relation to legal activity, such as to comply with a subpoena, request by public authorities for meeting national security or law enforcement requirements, or other similar legal process;
  • With the appropriate government and law enforcement authorities, when we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, protect your safety or the safety of others, investigate fraud, or respond to a government request;
  • With persons or any third party of your choosing and at your discretion; and
  • With necessary third parties in connection with, or during negotiations for, a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or a portion of Virtue Research’s assets.

As described above, we collect certain Personal Information from you as part of your registration in order to verify your identity. We may share such Personal Information with outside service providers who assist us with the verification. In those instances, we may also see other Personal Information about you in possession of the service provider. We do not store any such information provided to us by the service provider, only allow access to such information by a limited number of employees, and only use the information to verify your identity.

Cookies

Virtue Research may use “cookies” to collect information about your visit to the Site and to manage information concerning your preferences. A “cookie” is a unique identifier that we transfer to your device to enable our systems to recognize you and your device, so that we can provide you with features that enhance your user experience.

Tools available as part of most commercial browsers allow you to block new cookies from your device, instruct you on how to have the browser notify you when you receive a new cookie and, in some instances, delete existing cookies. However, tools from commercial browsers may not be effective with regard to Flash cookies (also known as locally shared objects), HTML5 cookies or other tracking technologies.

Please be advised that if you set your browser to delete or restrict cookies, this may negatively affect your experience on the Site.

Analytics

Virtue Research may also use Google Analytics or other service providers for analytics services. These analytics services may use cookies and other tracking technologies to help us analyze how users use the Site. Information generated by these services (e.g., your IP address and other usage information) may be transmitted to and stored by Google Analytics and other service providers on servers in the U.S. (or elsewhere) and these service providers may use this information for purposes such as evaluating your use of the Site, compiling statistic reports on the Site’s activity, and providing other services relating to Site activity and other Internet usage.

You may exercise choices regarding the use of cookies from Google Analytics by going to https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout or downloading the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on. For more information about Google Analytics privacy practices, see their Privacy Policy.

Do Not Track

Your browser settings may allow you to automatically transmit a “Do Not Track” signal to online services you visit. Note, however, Virtue Research currently does not alter Virtue Research’s practices when Virtue Research receives a “Do Not Track” signal from a visitor’s browser. We will treat any “do not sell or share” signals as opt out requests under CCPA.

You can terminate your Panel membership at any time by contacting us as provided in the “How to Contact Us” section below.

You are entitled to opt out from receiving communications from us at any time. You may do so by responding to the opt out option which is included with each communication we send. Please note, however, that your opting out of certain communications may inhibit your ability to participate in the Panel.

We endeavor to incorporate commercially reasonable safeguards to help protect and secure your Personal Information, including encryption, firewalls, regular penetration testing, and other technical and organizational protections. However, please note that no data transmission over the Internet, mobile networks, wireless transmission or electronic storage of information can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. Please note that we cannot ensure the security of any information you transmit to us, and you use our Site, and provide us with your information at your own risk.

The Site is not intended for use by children under the age of 16 without the prior written consent of a parent or guardian, and we do not knowingly collect Personal Information from such children without such consent. Children under the age of 16 should not use the Site, participate in research, or otherwise send any Personal Information to us without such consent.

If we become aware that we have unknowingly collected Personal Information from a child under the age of 16 without the consent of a parent or guardian, we will make all reasonable efforts to delete such information from our database. If you become aware that we have unknowingly collected Personal Information from a child under the age of 16, without the consent of a parent or guardian please contact us immediately at the information provided in the “How to Contact Us” section below.

Please note that in some circumstances our delivery of research results to client may constitute a “sale” of Personal Information under the California Consumer Privacy Act. For more information see the “Information for California Residents” section below.

We make efforts to ensure that Personal Information we receive, process, or maintain is accurate, complete, and reliable. We rely on the accuracy of the information provided directly to us. In general, we keep Personal Information only as long as we need it to provide you the services you requested. For example, we keep Personal Information related to your profile for as long as you remain a member of the Panel. However, we reserve the right to retain Personal Information for any period required by law or to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.

There may be hyperlinks on the Site to other websites or locations that are operated and controlled by third parties ("Third-Party Websites"). These Third-Party Websites may solicit Personal Information from you. We make no representations regarding the policies or business practices of such Third-Party Websites and encourage you to familiarize yourself with their privacy policies before providing them with your Personal Information.

The Site and the Services may be accessed abroad. All Personal Information collected by Virtue Research will be stored and processed in the United States or any other country in which Virtue Research or its affiliates, contractors or agents maintain facilities. By using the Services or our Site, you consent to any such transfer of information outside of your country.

Users in Europe have the right to request access to and rectification or erasure of Personal Information, to restrict of processing of their Personal Information, and to object to processing. Users in Europe also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. If you would like to exercise any of your data protection rights, please contact us using the “How to Contact Us” section below.

We will not process your Personal Information unless you have given your consent to our processing for a specific purpose, processing is necessary for the performance of a contract with you or to comply with a legal obligation, or processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by Virtue Research or a third-party controller.

In cases where the purpose of our processing is the “legitimate interest” purpose, we will also carefully balance those interests against your fundamental rights and freedoms related to your Information. Where processing is based on your consent, we will identify the processing purposes and provide you with relevant information to make the processing fair and transparent.

If you are a California resident, you have certain special rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”), in addition to your other rights outlined in this Policy.

Your Right to “Know”, to Request Deletion, and to Correct

You have the right to know the categories and specific pieces of Personal Information we have collected about you. You have the right to know the categories of sources from which the Personal Information has been collected, the business or commercial purpose for collecting, selling or sharing Personal Information, and the categories of third parties with whom we share Personal Information.

You also have the right to request deletion of Personal Information we’ve collected or maintain, subject to certain exceptions. Please note, however, that our deletion of your Personal Information may negatively affect our ability to provide you with services.

You also have the right to correct any inaccurate personal information that we maintain about you.

To exercise these rights please contact us as provided in the “How to Contact Us” section below.

We may ask you to provide additional information, such as your name, email address, or other basic Personal Information about you that we already have on file, in order to verify who is making the request. Please note that any requested disclosures may only apply to the 12-month period preceding the request, depending on how difficult it is for us to retrieve the necessary information, and you are entitled to request disclosure regarding your Personal Information twice in any 12-month period.

Your Right to Opt Out

We will never disclose Personal Information such as your name or address to third parties in exchange for monetary consideration without your consent.

However, under CCPA’s broad definition, “Personal Information” may also include, in addition to names, addresses, and the like) unique identifiers, IP addresses, biometric information, internet or other network, geolocation data, audio/visual data, and even inferences which may be drawn from any of the above.

CCPA also defines the term “sell” broadly. Its meaning includes “renting, releasing, disclosing, disseminating, making available, [and] transferring…for monetary or other valuable consideration.”

Under these broad definitions, certain information we provide to our clients as part of research study results may arguably be deemed a “sale” of “Personal Information” under CCPA. You have the right to opt out of this “sale.” For more information on how to opt out, please click here.

Please note that we will not “share” your Personal Information for purposes of cross-context behavioral advertising, as that term is defined under CCPA.

Personal Information “Sold” or Disclosed

You also have the right to know what categories of Personal Information we’ve “sold” or disclosed for a business purpose, and the third parties to whom that information was “sold” or disclosed.

In the last 12 months we’ve “sold” the following categories of information to our clients in connection with our delivery of research results: unique identifiers; demographic data (such as age, sex, race/ethnicity, parental status, marital status, address/ZIP code, income and education levels); and respondent photos, video, and audio collected during qualitative research.

In the last 12 months we’ve disclosed the following categories of Personal Information to the following parties for the following purposes: (1) IP address and other Usage Information with Google Analytics and other Service Providers who help us operate and analyze traffic on our Site; (2) usage information with Amazon Web Services to help us operate our Site; and (3) the categories of information described in the preceding paragraph with our service providers to help us administer surveys, deliver research results, and otherwise operate our business.

Your Right to Non-Discrimination

You have the right not to receive discriminatory treatment for the exercise of the privacy rights conferred by the CCPA, including but not limited to by denying you services, charging different prices or rates, or providing you with a different level or quality of services.

Your Right to Use an Authorized Agent

You have the right to designate an authorized agent to make a request under the CCPA on your behalf. To designate an authorized agent, please contact us as provided in the “How to Contact Us” section below. In order to verify you have authorized an agent we will require a signed, written authorization from you.

Virtue Research reserves the right to change this Policy by publishing new terms on our Site at any time. Your continued use of our Site after such changes means you accept the Policy as revised. We encourage you to periodically review this Policy to stay informed about how we collect and process your Personal Information.

Your privacy is very important to us. Should you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, or to exercise any of your rights, please contact us at:

Virtue Research, LLC
756 W Peachtree St NW
Fourth Floor
Atlanta, GA 30308
United States

support@virtueresearch.com

1 (800) 364-4889