Policy

Data Retention Policy

This Data Retention Policy explains how The Field Data retains, reviews, anonymizes, and deletes personal data collected through its website, research panel, and market research activities.

Purpose

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, including participant recruitment, research project administration, incentive fulfillment, fraud prevention, legal compliance, and legitimate business recordkeeping.

When personal data is no longer needed, we securely delete it or anonymize it so that it can no longer be linked to an identifiable individual.

Categories of Data We Retain

Depending on the nature of the research activity, we may retain the following categories of information:

  • Panelist profile information, such as name, email address, phone number, demographic information, and participation preferences
  • Research participation records, such as survey responses, discussion board contributions, interview notes, audio, video, images, and transcripts
  • Technical and usage data, such as IP address, device information, browser type, timestamps, and fraud-prevention signals
  • Client project records, such as screener results, quotas, participation status, and reporting data
  • Payment and incentive records needed for fulfillment, accounting, and tax purposes
  • Consent records, privacy preference records, and communication logs
  • Recruitment and job applicant records where applicable

Retention Periods

We apply retention periods based on the type of data and the purpose for which it was collected.

  • Panelist account and profile data: retained while the individual remains an active panel member and for up to 24 months after the last meaningful interaction, unless a longer period is required for fraud prevention, legal compliance, or dispute resolution.
  • Research participation data: retained for up to 36 months after the relevant project closes, unless the client contract, research design, or applicable law requires a shorter or longer retention period.
  • Anonymized or aggregated research outputs: may be retained for a longer period because they no longer identify individuals.
  • Consent records and privacy request logs: retained for up to 6 years to demonstrate compliance with legal and regulatory obligations.
  • Payment, invoice, and incentive records: retained for up to 8 years where needed for accounting, tax, audit, and anti-fraud purposes.
  • Recruitment suppression and fraud-prevention records: may be retained for up to 5 years where necessary to prevent duplicate registrations, abuse, misrepresentation, or security incidents.
  • Job applicant data: retained for up to 12 months after the recruitment process ends unless the applicant consents to a longer period or applicable law requires otherwise.
  • Server logs and technical security records: generally retained for up to 12 months unless needed for investigation, legal claims, or platform security.
  • Backup data: retained on a rolling basis for disaster recovery and overwritten in accordance with our backup schedule.

How We Determine Retention

When deciding how long to retain data, we consider:

  • The purpose for which the data was collected
  • The nature and sensitivity of the data
  • Whether the data is needed to provide services to clients or participants
  • Contractual commitments with clients and service providers
  • Applicable legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory requirements
  • The need to investigate complaints, resolve disputes, enforce agreements, or protect the integrity of our platform and research processes

Deletion and Anonymization

Once the applicable retention period expires, or when data is no longer required, we take reasonable steps to securely delete, de-identify, or anonymize the data.

Where anonymization is used, the data is stripped of identifiers so it can no longer reasonably be used to identify an individual. Aggregated and anonymized research data may be retained for statistical analysis, benchmarking, service improvement, and historical research purposes.

Participant Rights

Individuals may request access to, correction of, or deletion of their personal data, subject to applicable law and any lawful basis for retention. Where we process data on behalf of a client, we may direct the request to the relevant client as the data controller.

Please note that in some cases we may retain limited information after a deletion request where necessary to comply with legal obligations, maintain suppression lists, prevent fraud, resolve disputes, or enforce our agreements.

Legal Holds and Exceptions

We may retain data for longer than the standard retention period where necessary for legal claims, litigation holds, regulatory inquiries, law enforcement requests, contractual obligations, or internal investigations.

Where such a hold applies, the relevant data will be retained only for as long as necessary for that purpose.

Third-Party Service Providers

Some data may be stored or processed by trusted third-party hosting, analytics, communications, recruitment, or incentive fulfillment providers acting on our behalf. We require such providers to protect personal data and to retain it only as necessary for the services they provide to us, subject to contractual and legal requirements.

Policy Review

We may update this Data Retention Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our business practices, legal obligations, or operational requirements. Any updates will be posted on this page with a revised Effective Date.

Contact

If you have questions about this Data Retention Policy or wish to make a privacy-related request, please contact us at privacy@thefielddata.com.

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