Data Protection Policy
At Friday Agency, we prioritise your privacy and confidentiality. This Data Protection Policy outlines how we handle and process personal data.
It explains our data processing practices and the purposes for which we collect and use personal data specifically around the user research process that relates to user qualification, surveys, interviews and usability testing.
Key points
Personal Data Processing: This Privacy Policy details when and how we process personal data for our legitimate business interests.
Use of Cookies and Technologies
We utilise cookies and similar technologies to track the usage of our websites and applications. To learn more about managing cookies, please review our Cookie Policy here: (https://www.friday.ie/privacy-cookies/).
No Data Selling
We do not sell personal data to third parties.
Cross-Border Transfers
We may transfer personal data across borders, including to and from the United States and other locations. These actions are strictly related to the processing of data as part of the third-party tools we use (detailed below).
GDPR Compliance
We comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other applicable privacy laws in the EEA, Switzerland, the UK, and beyond. For more information about the GDPR, please visit https://gdpr.eu.
Friday and our activity
Friday Agency is a user experience research and design agency. Much of the services we provide involve research activity with participants.
Our services enable our customers to solicit feedback from their own customers and users by way of testing across various platforms and scenarios, primarily digital screens including websites, apps, and touchscreen devices.
We collect and analyse information from our service activities, which includes personally identifiable information, such as contact details, video, voice, and other relevant data (“Personal Data”).
Rewards
Upon completing research and testing activity you may be entitled to receive a payment, a gift card, points or other rewards. In advance of each activity, you will be informed of any reward and the value and format of the reward.
Data Processor Information
As the Friday Agency, we serve as a data processor for Personal Data collected directly from participants.
Our customers, who commission our research and testing activity, act as the data controller for the data collected through tests created using our services.
Data Collection and Usage
We collect Personal Data directly when provided by Participants, or Customers.
We process Personal Data for legitimate business purposes, such as providing access to our research services, delivering services to our customers, improving user experience, complying with legal and financial requirements, understanding user behaviour, providing customer support, and cooperating with regulatory bodies.
The sections below provide more specific details on the purposes of the data we collect from our research participants.
Informed Consent
Obtaining your consent is crucial for ensuring transparency and respecting your privacy rights. It empowers you to make informed decisions about your personal data and gives you control over how your information is used. This is particularly important when dealing with sensitive data or when complying with data protection regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Data Provided by or Collected from Participants (“Participant Data”):
Personal Data
When a participant registers with Friday Agency (for example, when partaking in a survey) we collect the participant’s name, address code, and email address.
We may also request information from each Participant to determine the best tests suited to their profile. This may include:
- personally identifiable information such as your name, email address or other contact identification.
- demographic information such as age, date of birth, gender, education, employment status, income and hobbies.
- other information that we may request to support the completion and analysis of our work.
We may also collect information about the devices owned (e.g., computer, smartphone, tablet) and computer operating system.
Friday Agency utilises participant data to provide its services, ensure timely payments to participants, and offer guidance on using our services.
If you participate in services such as usability testing, we will ask you for explicit consent for video and voice recording.
Usability Testing – Recordings
During usability testing, Friday Agency records the activities of participants, including their voice, screen content, face, browser content, screen interactions (e.g., mouse movement, clicking), text input, device configurations, and background audio or video content. These recordings, referred to as “Recordings,” may capture personal or health information displayed on a participant’s screen or mentioned in the audio. If a test or survey requires sensitive data from a participant, Friday will provide prior notification, allowing the participant to choose whether to proceed with the test, use dummy data or decline.
Intellectual property rights in the recordings, including personal data and face recordings, are assigned by participants to Friday Agency as per this policy. Recordings are controlled by Friday’s client and in accepting this policy, you agree to these recordings being shared with the customer for who we are undertaking the research activity.
Friday Agency uses recordings to provide services to customers and to contact you for non-marketing purposes outlined below.
Data Provided by our Clients (“Customer Data”)
When customers use our services, their employees may be required to provide information such as name, contact information (email address, address, telephone), and other relevant Personal Data.
Friday Agency uses Customer Data to identify and provide access to our services, handle billing, fulfil contractual obligations, improve our services, share notices about enhancements and best practices, and for other legitimate business purposes.
How personal data is used and handled
Data Processors and Sub-processors
Friday Agency discloses Personal Data to third-party service providers who we utilise to research, test, report and store personal data. These providers may support certain functions of our services, and in some cases collect information directly.
Below is a list of providers and functions for which we may use third-party service providers:
Dropbox
We use Dropbox to store information from our research activity. This data may include some of your personal information as stated above, data related to surveys, user interviews, usability testing, voice, video and texts.
To review Dropbox’s Data Processing Agreement, please visit:
https://assets.dropbox.com/documents/en/legal/data-processing-agreement-dfb-013118-.pdf
Lookback
Lookback.com is an online research tool that we use primarily for user testing purposes, including testing websites, smartphone apps and prototypes of digital screens and other digital services. This data may include some of your personal information as stated above under ‘Recordings’, data related to user interviews, usability testing, voice, video and texts.
You can review the Lookback Data Service Agreement here: https://www.lookback.com/service-agreement
Maze
We use the Maze tool primarily for running user surveys, unmoderated user testing and qualifying participants for our research services.
You can review the Maze Data Processing Policy here: https://maze.co/data-processing-addendum/
Payment Information
We do not collect your payment information and we do not store any payment information.
Our Customers
You understand and agree that, to the extent you share your Personal Data as part of our research and testing activities, Personal Data will be shared with our customer for whom we are undertaking the research works.
Business Transfers
As Friday Agency grows, we may purchase subsidiaries or other businesses. We may share your data with other group businesses. Or, we may sell our business, merge with other entities, and/or sell assets or stock. As part of these transactions,
Your Personal Data may be transferred to a successor business in the case of a merger, consolidation or other corporate transaction in which Friday Agency participates, or to a purchaser or acquirer of all or a portion of Friday Agency’s assets.
Legal Obligations and Security
We will preserve or disclose your Personal Data in limited circumstances (other than as set forth in this Privacy Policy), including (i) with your consent; (ii) when we have a good faith belief it is required by law, such as pursuant to a legal matter, warrant, or other judicial or administrative order (as further explained below); or (iii) to protect the safety of any person.
If we are required to disclose Personal Data by law, such as pursuant to a warrant, or other judicial or administrative order, our policy is to respond to legal mandates that are properly issued.
How we store your data
Retention
We retain personal data in accordance with the applicable terms of service accepted by you and related to the specific research methods you participate in. Our standard data retention period is 30 days from the date of receiving your data.
If you have questions about or need further information concerning, our data retention periods, please send an email to privacy@friday.ie.
Deletion
Friday Agency will delete Personal Data upon request unless deletion is prohibited by law. As part of our research and usability testing services, our standard policy is to delete Personal Data 30 days after we receive it, subject to our document retention policies and practices.
When there is no legitimate business purpose to process your Personal Data, we will either delete or anonymise it. Deletion may not be possible if your Personal Data was anonymised. In that case, the anonymised data will not be combined with other data to identify you.
If you request Friday Agency to delete specific Personal Data of yours we will honour your request by deleting the data from all and any locations it is held.
How we keep your data safe
Friday Agency’s Data Protection Officer is responsible for Friday Agency’s compliance with and enforcement of this Privacy Policy. The Data Protection Officer is available to answer questions from any employees, Customers, Participants, business partners, vendors, or others who may have questions concerning this Privacy Policy or Friday Agency’s data security practices.
Friday Agency’s Data Protection Officer can be contacted at: privacy@friday.ie
Security
We cannot guarantee, ensure, or warrant the security of any information shared with Friday. All transmissions of information are made at the sender’s own risk. Once we are in possession of information, we will make all reasonable efforts to ensure the security of the information within our systems.
Your personal information and files are stored on Friday Agency’s servers and the servers of companies we hire to provide services to us.
Friday Agency has adopted physical, technological, and administrative procedures designed to safeguard and secure the information we process. By using our services or by sharing Personal Data with us, you agree that we can communicate with you electronically regarding security, privacy, and administrative issues relating to your use of our services.
Communication
You agree that Friday Agency may communicate with you by phone or email regarding any research and testing and any other related needs.
Your acceptance of these terms
By participating in our research services, you signify your acceptance of this policy. If you do not agree to this policy, please do not register as a participant.
Contacting us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, the practices of this site, or your dealings with this site, please contact us at:
The Friday Agency
61 Merrion Square South
Dublin 2
D02 EW25
Ireland
Phone: +353 1 557 13 21
This document was last updated on July 18th, 2023.