YouGovPolimetrix manages a database of survey respondents called the PollingPoint panel. PollingPoint respondents complete surveys about social and current affairs, covering topics such as the presidential election and the fairness of media coverage. The information respondents provide is absolutely confidential. We do not sell anything or disclose personal information to anyone at any time. When panelists register, we ask them a few basic questions solely for the purpose of verifying demographic information, such as regional location, non-minor status, and age. Individual information is not sold or shared with anyone else, except in aggregate form (such as "65 percent of those aged 55 and older reported a high level of interest in the president's State of the Union address.")
YouGovPolimetrix respects the privacy of all of our PollingPoint respondents. This Privacy Policy outlines what personally identifiable information is collected, how the information is used, with whom the information may be shared, and the security procedures in place to protect the loss, misuse, or alteration of information under our control.
Non-personal information we collect
To register with PollingPoint, we require panelists to submit Personally Identifiable Information. Respondents are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the Personally Identifiable Information they submit to PollingPoint . Without registration to the PollingPoint panel, the only information we may collect is Non-Personal Information through the use of Cookies or Web Beacons.
The information collected by Cookies allows us to: (i) statistically monitor how many people are using our website; (ii) monitor how many people open our e-mails; and, (iii) determine for what purposes these actions are being taken. Cookies are also used to facilitate a user's log-in, as navigation aides, and as session timers, but not to retain Personal Information. Cookies used by PollingPoint are also used to restrict underage use of the tools. Most browsers offer instructions on how to reset the browser to reject Cookies in the "Help" section of the toolbar. We do not link Non-Personal Information from Cookies to Personally Identifiable Information without permission, and do not use Cookies to collect or store Personal Information.
We also may use Web Beacons to collect Non-Personal Information about the use of our website. The information collected by Web Beacons allows us to statistically monitor how many people are using our website, how many people open our e-mails, and determine for what purposes these actions are being taken. Our Web Beacons are not used to track activity outside of our websites. We do not link Non-Personal Information from Web Beacons to Personally Identifiable Information without permission and do not use Web Beacons to collect or store Personal Information.
We collect Personally Identifiable Information that our members provide to us when they register as PollingPoint panelists and/or when they update their member profiles. We use the Personally Identifiable Information to gather opinions on important topics, answer questions, send e-mails about website maintenance and updates, place panelists in the correct regional and political jurisdictions (e.g. the correct congressional district or voting precinct), and inform panelists of significant changes to this Privacy Policy.
This Privacy Policy does not protect you when you send content, business information, ideas, concepts or inventions to YouGovPolimetrix or PollingPoint by e-mail. If you want to keep content or business information, ideas, concepts or inventions private or proprietary, do not send them in an e-mail. We try to answer every e-mail within 48 business hours, but are not always able to do so.
We are committed to protecting the privacy of children. Neither YouGovPolimetrix nor PollingPoint are designed or intended to attract children under the age of 18. We do not collect Personally Identifiable Information from any person we actually know is under the age of 18.
When participating in a survey, we may ask panelists to submit Personally Identifiable Information. This Personally Identifiable Information is used for research purposes, and is not used for sales solicitations. When a survey is sponsored by a third party, Aggregate Information of the survey results is reported to the sponsor. Personally Identifiable Information collected through surveys will be used only by YouGovPolimetrix and its operations contractors, and will not be given or sold to a third party without the panelist’s consent.
Aside from personally identifiable information, YouGovPolimetrix may, in the course of interacting with panel members, gather other types of information ("Operating Information"). PollingPoint panelists receive survey invitations about three to five times a year. These surveys will ask questions about opinions and attitudes toward current affairs.
Except as set forth in this Privacy Policy or as specifically agreed to by you, YouGovPolimetrix will not disclose any Personally Identifiable or Personal information gathered on our websites. We will only release Personally Identifiable or Personal information to third parties: (1) to comply with valid legal requirements such as a law, regulation, search warrant, subpoena or court order; or (2) in special cases, such as a physical threat to you or others. In the event that we are legally compelled to disclose Personally Identifiable or Personal information to a third party, we will attempt to notify you unless doing so would violate the law or court order. In addition, we may disclose Personal Information as described below.
YouGovPolimetrix and PollingPoint may provide Aggregate Information to third parties. For example, we might inform third parties regarding the number of users of our website and the activities they conduct while on our site. We might also inform an interested policy group that "30% of our users live east of the Mississippi" or that "25% of our users have registered to vote online." Depending on the circumstances, we may or may not charge third parties for this Aggregate Information. We require parties with whom we share Aggregate Information to agree that they will not attempt to make this information personally identifiable, such as by combining it with other databases.
YouGovPolimetrix operations and maintenance contractors sometimes have limited access to Personally Identifiable Information in the course of providing products or services to Polimetrix. These contractors include vendors and suppliers that provide us with technology, services, and/or content related to better operation and maintenance of our website. Access to Personally Identifiable Information by these contractors is limited to the information reasonably necessary for the contractor to perform its limited function for YouGovPolimetrix. We also contractually require that our operations and maintenance contractors 1) protect the privacy of Personally Identifiable Information consistent with this Privacy Policy, and 2) not use or disclose Personally Identifiable Information for any purpose other than providing us with products and services.
Your Personal Information, Demographic Information, and Operating Information will generally be stored in our YouGovPolimetrix databases, which are located in the United States. YouGovPolimetrix uses firewalls to protect information held in our servers, and requires all employees to abide by our Privacy Policy and be subject to disciplinary action if they violate it. YouGovPolimetrix also backs-up our systems to protect the integrity of the Personally Identifiable and Personal information we collect. YouGovPolimetrix provides additional protection for your Personal information by providing passcode protection of our servers and limiting access to these servers. The server site maintains physical security through pass code locked door access and pass code authority. YouGovPolimetrix limits access to Personally Identifiable Information to authorized users.
Despite our best efforts to protect the Personally Identifiable Information and Personal information of our panelists, there is always some risk that an unauthorized third party may find a way around our security systems or that transmissions of information over the Internet will be intercepted. However, YouGovPolimetrix will always be vigilant in minimizing such risk to the best of our ability.
If you have a complaint or problem, please e-mail us at help@polimetrix.com. Our customer service department will forward your complaint to the appropriate internal Polimetrix department for a response or resolution.
Panelists may discontinue participation with PollingPoint at any time by sending an e-mail with "Remove" in the subject line to help@pollingpoint.com.
PollingPoint tools that collect and store self-reported data allow panelists to correct, update or review information they have submitted by going back to the specific tool, logging-in and making the desired changes.
Upon request, we will delete Personally Identifiable or Personal Information from our active databases and where feasible from our back-up media. Panelists should be aware that it is not technologically possible to remove each and every record of the information they have provided to PollingPoint from our servers.
You may contact YouGovPolimetrix at:
YouGovPolimetrix, Inc.
285 Hamilton Avenue
Suite 200
Palo Alto, CA 94301
Fax: (650) 462-8422
E-mail: info@polimetrix.com
For inquiries about PollingPoint, please e-mail: help@pollingpoint.com
