Legal

Privacy Policy

Effective date: June 1, 2026Last updated: June 7, 2026

Contents

1. Overview2. What information we collect3. How we use your information4. Survey data and respondent privacy5. Who we share data with6. How long we keep your data7. Security8. Your rights9. Cookies10. Children11. Changes to this policy12. Contact

1. Overview

RespondInk ("we", "our", "us") operates the website respondink.com and the RespondInk platform. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and what choices you have.

We are building RespondInk as a two-sided marketplace that connects researchers who need survey data with respondents who want to earn money by participating in surveys. Because of this, we handle data on behalf of both groups, and we take that responsibility seriously.

If you have questions about this policy, email us at hello@respondink.com. We will reply.

2. What information we collect

We collect different information depending on how you use RespondInk.

When you join the waitlist

- Your name and email address - Your role (researcher or respondent) - Occupation, income range, age range, state of residence - How you heard about us - For researchers: your research tool, sample size needs

When you create an account (when the platform launches)

- Name, email, phone number - UPI ID (for respondents receiving payments) - Demographic profile (age, gender, state, education, occupation, income range) to match you with relevant surveys - Verification data (to confirm you are a real person)

Usage data we collect automatically

- Pages visited, time spent, clicks, and navigation patterns - Device type, browser, operating system - IP address and approximate location (state/city level) - Referring URL (how you arrived at our site) - We use cookies and similar technologies for session management and analytics

Survey data

- If you are a respondent: your answers to survey questions - If you are a researcher: your survey questions, target criteria, and response data

3. How we use your information

We use the information we collect to:

  • Operate the RespondInk platform and provide our services
  • Match respondents with surveys they are eligible for
  • Process payments to respondents via UPI
  • Communicate with you about your account, surveys, and platform updates
  • Detect and prevent fraud, fake responses, and abuse
  • Improve the platform through analytics and user research
  • Comply with legal obligations
  • Send you product updates and announcements (you can opt out any time)

We do not use your personal data to make automated decisions that significantly affect you without human oversight.

4. Survey data and respondent privacy

This section is especially important for respondents.

What researchers see

Researchers receive aggregated survey responses. By default, they do not see your personal identity (name, email, phone, UPI ID). They see your demographic profile (age range, state, occupation, income range) only to the extent they specified in their targeting criteria. We do not sell or reveal your identity to researchers.

What you consent to when taking a survey

When you accept a survey, you consent to sharing your answers with the researcher who created it. You also consent to us using your responses for platform quality and fraud detection. Survey consent is shown clearly before you begin.

Sensitive topics

If a survey covers sensitive topics (health, political views, religion, caste, financial situation), it will be labelled and you can decline. You are never required to answer questions you are uncomfortable with.

5. Who we share data with

We do not sell your personal data. We share your data only in the following cases:

Service providers

We use trusted third-party services to operate the platform. These include: - Supabase (database and authentication, servers located in Singapore/India) - Vercel (website hosting, edge servers) - Payment processors (UPI gateway for respondent payouts) - Analytics tools (usage analytics only, no personal identifiers) All service providers are bound by data processing agreements that restrict how they can use your data.

Researchers (limited)

As described in Section 4, researchers receive anonymised or pseudonymised response data. They do not receive your contact details, UPI ID, or device information.

Legal requirements

We may disclose your information if required by law, court order, or government authority in India. We will notify you to the extent permitted by law before doing so.

Business transfers

If RespondInk is acquired or merged, your data may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you in advance and you will have the option to delete your account.

6. How long we keep your data

We retain your personal data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide services. Specifically:

  • Waitlist data: retained until the waitlist closes or you ask us to delete it
  • Account data: retained while your account is active, plus 12 months after account closure
  • Survey responses: retained as long as the researcher's project is active, then anonymised
  • Payment records: retained for 7 years to comply with financial regulations in India
  • Usage logs: retained for 90 days, then deleted

You can request deletion of your data at any time (see Section 8).

7. Security

We take data security seriously. Our measures include:

  • All data transmitted over HTTPS/TLS encryption
  • Passwords hashed using bcrypt (we never store plain text passwords)
  • Database row-level security: users can only access their own data
  • UPI IDs and payment data stored in encrypted fields
  • Service role keys never exposed to the client side
  • Admin access requires authentication and is rate-limited
  • Regular security reviews as the platform grows

No system is 100% secure. If we become aware of a breach that affects your data, we will notify you within 72 hours.

8. Your rights

You have the following rights regarding your personal data:

Access: You can request a copy of all data we hold about you. Correction: You can ask us to correct inaccurate data. Deletion: You can ask us to delete your data. We will comply except where we are required to retain records by law (e.g. payment records). Withdrawal of consent: You can withdraw consent to marketing communications at any time using the unsubscribe link in any email. Portability: You can request your data in a machine-readable format.

To exercise any of these rights, email hello@respondink.com with the subject line "Data Request". We will respond within 30 days.

9. Cookies

We use cookies for:

  • **Session cookies:** keeping you logged in while you use the platform (essential, cannot be disabled)
  • **Analytics cookies:** understanding how users navigate the site so we can improve it
  • **Preference cookies:** remembering your settings (role, language, etc.)

We do not use advertising or tracking cookies. We do not work with ad networks that track you across sites.

You can disable non-essential cookies in your browser settings at any time.

10. Children

RespondInk is not intended for anyone under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 18. If we discover we have collected data from a minor, we will delete it immediately.

If you believe a minor has registered, please contact us at hello@respondink.com.

11. Changes to this policy

We will update this policy as the platform evolves. When we make material changes, we will notify you by email (if you have an account) or by posting a prominent notice on the website at least 14 days before the changes take effect.

Your continued use of RespondInk after a policy update means you accept the updated policy.

12. Contact

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data:

Email: hello@respondink.com Subject line: Privacy Inquiry

We are a small team and we will get back to you personally.

Questions about this policy? Email hello@respondink.com and we will respond personally.