Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how People of Research Limited, referred to as "we", "us", or "our", collects, uses, stores, and protects your personal information when you use People of Research, including our website, members' app, matching service, and related communications.

People of Research is a brand and service operated by People of Research Limited.

By using People of Research, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

1. Information we collect

We collect personal information when you register as a member. This includes your name, email address, LinkedIn profile or other professional profile, city, type of research you do, match preferences where provided, response rates to communications with other members, and feedback submitted through our forms or shared by other members.

We also collect usage data, including IP addresses, device identifiers, browser data, website interactions, form submissions, and app activity.

When you use the members' app, we may process messages, photos, Google Maps links, availability selections, optional profile photos, email-notification preferences, and timestamps such as when you were last active.

If you upload a profile photo, it may be visible to members in your current match group. Please do not upload anything you would not want visible to those members.

2. Photos, testimonials, and member content

If you submit, tag us in, email, upload, or otherwise share photos, testimonials, comments, feedback, screenshots, or other content with People of Research, you give People of Research Limited permission to use that content for community, marketing, editorial, and promotional purposes.

This includes using the content on our website, social media, email newsletters, advertising, case studies, member stories, and other People of Research materials.

We may make reasonable edits to improve formatting, cropping, brightness, image quality, or presentation, provided the content remains based on the original material you shared.

By sharing content with us, you confirm that you have the right to share it and, where other people appear in the content, that you have permission from them to share it with us.

If you would like us to remove a photo, quote, or other content you previously shared, contact us at hello@peopleofresearch.com. We will review and action reasonable requests, although content already published or shared by third-party platforms may not be fully removable from every location.

3. How we use your information

We use your personal information to operate People of Research. This includes creating and managing your account, verifying members, matching you with other members, running the members' app, enabling group chat, supporting scheduling, sending reminders, and providing help when matches are unresponsive.

We use your email address to send service emails, including match announcements, reminders, lock-in emails, digest emails, account updates, billing-related messages, and important service notices.

We may also send occasional marketing or community updates. You can unsubscribe from non-essential marketing emails at any time.

We analyse aggregate usage trends to improve the service, understand member engagement, improve matching quality, and maintain the safety and reliability of the community.

4. Service providers and sub-processors

We share personal data with vetted service providers who process it on our behalf only as needed to run People of Research:

• Supabase: database, file storage, chat-photo storage, profile-photo storage, and realtime chat infrastructure.
• Outseta: account authentication and membership billing.
• Vercel: hosting of the members' app.
• Twilio SendGrid: delivery of transactional and service emails.
• Airtable: our internal member records and match administration.
• Google Analytics: aggregate website analytics.
• Meta (Pixel and Conversions API): measuring and optimising our advertising, including matching new sign-ups to the adverts that brought them using hashed (irreversibly encoded) contact details.
• LinkedIn Insight Tag: measuring and optimising advertising.

Meta Pixel and LinkedIn Insight Tag may set advertising cookies that help us understand which adverts bring researchers to People of Research and measure sign-ups. You can manage or opt out of advertising cookies through your browser settings or the relevant platform's advertising controls.

We do not sell your personal information.

When you are matched, your name, type of research, contact link, profile information, and profile photo where provided may be shared with the other members of your group so you can arrange a meetup.

5. Data storage, security, and retention

Your data is stored on systems that meet industry standards. We use administrative, technical, and organisational safeguards to protect your information, including encryption in transit, access controls, and security controls designed to limit access to authorised users.

Where supported by our systems, we use measures such as row-level security so members can only access their own data and the data relevant to their current group.

No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we review our safeguards regularly and take reasonable steps to protect your data.

We retain your personal information for as long as you remain an active member and for a reasonable period after your membership ends, typically 6 to 12 months, where needed for legal, operational, accounting, dispute-resolution, fraud-prevention, or service-record purposes. After this period, data is deleted or anonymised unless we are legally required to retain it for longer.

6. Data breach response

If a personal-data breach occurs and affects your rights or freedoms, we will investigate it promptly. Where required by law, we will notify the relevant supervisory authority and affected members without undue delay, typically within 72 hours of becoming aware of the breach.

Any notification will explain, where possible, what happened, what information was involved, what steps we are taking, and what steps you may wish to take.

7. International data transfers

Some of our service providers may process data outside the United Kingdom or European Economic Area, including in the United States.

Where this happens, we rely on appropriate safeguards, such as Standard Contractual Clauses or equivalent transfer mechanisms, to protect your personal data.

8. Cookies and tracking technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies to operate the website, understand how people use People of Research, improve the service, and measure advertising performance.

This may include analytics cookies and advertising cookies from providers such as Google Analytics, Meta, and LinkedIn.

These analytics and advertising cookies are non-essential and are not set until you accept them. On your first visit we show a cookie banner where you can accept or reject non-essential cookies; if you reject, none of these analytics or advertising tools are loaded. You can also manage cookies through your browser settings and through the relevant platform's privacy or ad-preference controls. Blocking some cookies may affect how parts of the website or app function.

9. Your rights

You have the right to access, correct, export, or request deletion of your personal data. You may also have the right to restrict or object to certain processing, withdraw consent where processing is based on consent, and complain to a supervisory authority.

You can update certain details in the app under "Your details". To request full deletion of your account and data, email hello@peopleofresearch.com and we will process it.

We respond to verified data requests within 30 days, unless a longer period is permitted by law.

We comply with the UK GDPR and, where applicable, the EU GDPR and CCPA.

You also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office.

10. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our service, technology, legal obligations, or data practices.

When we make material changes, we will take reasonable steps to notify members, such as posting the updated policy on our website or sending an email notice.

Your continued use of People of Research after the updated Privacy Policy takes effect means you accept the updated policy.

11. Contact

For privacy questions, data requests, or deletion requests, contact us at hello@peopleofresearch.com.

For general company enquiries, contact People of Research Limited at hello@peopleofresearch.com.