Privacy Policy

This privacy policy explains how we (Ipsos s.r.o, Ipsos Australia and Ipsos Malaysia) use any personal data we collect about you (“Mystery Shopper”, ”you” or “your”), when you join our ‘iShopFor Ipsos’ online panel / network (“Panel”), take part in Mystery Shopping Tasks (as defined in the Mystery Shopper Contract or surveys), and use the ‘iShopFor Ipsos’ website, portal, mobile application or other online platforms (each a “Mystery Shopper Platform”).

Ipsos s.r.o, Private Limited Company, is a company registered in the Czech Republic (located on Topolská street, Černošice, place of business at Na Příkopě 22, Slovanský dům, 110 00, Prague 1, registered in the Commercial Register with the Municipal Court in Prague, Section C, inset 90694, registration date 28.12.2002, IN: 26738902, TIN: CZ26738902, Ltd inset number 15811/B, IN: 35730609, TIN: 2020210720).

Ipsos Pty Ltd whose registered office is Level 14, 168 Walker Street North Sydney, NSW 2060 (“Ipsos Australia”).

Ipsos Sdn Bhd, whose office is at 23rd Floor, Centrepoint North, Lingkaran Syed Putra, Mid Valley City, 59200 Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur (“Ipsos Malaysia”).

Content

1. What data do we collect about you?

We collect the data you provide when you decide to join our Panel and/or fill out Task applications as defined in the Mystery Shopper Contract.

When you register through a Mystery Shopper Platform, Ipsos may collect data that can specifically identify you such as your name, address, telephone number and e-mail address, as well as the country and language preferences you have selected.

Other data are collected using our Mystery Shopper Platforms when you fill out your Mystery Shopper profile, complete any Task you participate in, or provide feedback, comments, or other data to us.

For the full list of data items that might be collected about you as well as the categories of personal data collected, please consult Annex A below.

2. Why do we collect data about you?

The primary purpose of collecting data from you is to make sure that we can fulfil our agreement with you under the Mystery Shopper contract (the “Mystery Shopper Contract”) and to match you to appropriate Tasks based on the data provided. Our interaction with you is subject to this Privacy Policy, whether on entering into the Mystery Shopper Contract or in relation to any Task.

To assess your suitability for Tasks, we need to collect and process appropriate data about you during the recruitment process and thereafter. You may subsequently add, adjust or correct data in your profile in the relevant Mystery Shopper Platform. These data are also necessary for us to send your fees and to contact you regarding any new Tasks. For these reasons the data might be processed using automated means.

Finally, we also collect data in relation to your participation in Tasks.

Where required by law, we will contact you to obtain your further consent in relation to processing of your data for other purposes.

3. How will we use the data you provide and legal basis?

We will use the data you provide to:

  • Fulfil our Mystery Shopper Contract or any Task specific agreement with you (Contract) 
  • Keep a record of all Mystery Shoppers (Consent) 
  • To contact you when appropriate Tasks are available or if we need to validate any of your responses; and to give you feedback on the Tasks you have undertaken for us. We will use your postal address, date of birth, gender and other responses to ensure that you match the profile requirements for a Tasks (Contract) 
  • Analyse responses from you and other Mystery Shoppers and determine whether any trends emerge among certain profiles (legitimate interest of Ipsos to create the information to be provided to its customers) 
  • Send you invitations to participate in Tasks that are relevant to you based your Mystery Shopper profile, or by answering e-mail questions or surveys (Contract/Consent) 
  • Send you an e-mail or SMS containing a verification code, in order toto verify your application and activate your Mystery Shopper profile (legitimate interest of Ipsos to preserve the security and integrity of the Mystery Shopper panel) 
  • Append personal data about you to your responses under Tasks which you have participated in, such as geographical location, occupational categories, etc., in order toto analyse Task responses and produce anonymous, statistical research results (legitimate interest of Ipsos to ensure the validity of responses) 
  • Administer any prize draws you entered into (Contract) 
  • In limited circumstances and subject to the further safeguards set out here, transmit your individual Task responses together with your personal data to the client who Ipsos Mystery Shopping UK Privacy Policy 3 June September 2024- Mystery Shopper Privacy Policy commissioned the Task. This only occurs where the relevant Task requires such transmission and always subject to obtaining your explicit consent. The client will use this data only for research purposes as explained in the Task. The client may also use this data to contact you to invite you to participate in any further research or training they conduct, again only with your further consent (Consent) 
  • Create anonymous, statistical profiles of the Panel membership based on the data provided by Mystery Shoppers (legitimate interest of [Ipsos to understand activity patterns on the panel for data collection efficiency]) 
  • With your consent, share your data with other Ipsos Group companies so that they are able to invite you to participate in research studies that they are carrying out which may be relevant to you (Consent) send you electronic newsletters, announcements, and other communications (legitimate interest of Ipsos to retain awareness and promote the Panel to its members)
  • Send you electronic newsletters, announcements, and other communications (legitimate interest of Ipsos to retain awareness and promote the Panel to its members)
  • Strengthen quality and fight fraud at panel level including sharing your personal data with our sub-contractors and/or client(s) (only to the extent a Task relates to such client) where we reasonably suspect any fraudulent activity by you and/or to confirm your identity as their customer/prospect (legitimate interest of Ipsos and our client(s) to preserve the integrity of the Mystery Shopper panel and to prevent fraudulent activities) 
  • Share your personal data with our bank to make payments to you or to recover any excess or invalid payments made to you by us or our subcontractors (legitimate interest of Ipsos and our client(s) to prevent unauthorised and invalid payments)

We take all reasonable steps to ensure that any personal data we process are accurate, adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purpose for which they were obtained. We will only process personal data obtained for the purpose(s) identified to you or as you would otherwise reasonably expect.

Other than in relation to informing you about new Task opportunities, we will not try to sell you anything or use your data for marketing purposes. We will never share your data with third parties for marketing or advertising purposes.

For more information about our Panel membership or data related to your membership of one of our Panels, please contact our Shopper Support Team. They can be contacted by:
E-mail sent to: australia@ishopforipsos.com

4. Third parties

We use subcontractors, applications, third party owned analysis tools (which may incorporate artificial intelligence capabilities), or affiliated companies to carry out some work on our behalf and under our control and responsibility, for data hosting, making payments to you, translation, communication, reviewing questionnaires and validating the same, and map creation based on movement while performing specific Tasks , or as described above. Some of these subcontractors may be based outside the United Kingdom or European Union, including in countries without an adequacy finding; however, they are required to abide by the same data privacy legal requirements and security arrangements as ourselves and will be subject to appropriate safeguards, typically as part of Standard Contractual Clauses, a description of which can be obtained by contacting us as set out in section 10 below.

To see the list of third parties we use please consult the Annex B below.

When you are using any social medial channels to communicate with us, this will be subject to the relevant social media platform’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

As already mentioned above, with your express consent we might in specific cases provide your data to our clients.

5. Children

We will not invite any children for any Tasks without the parent’s or a legal guardian’s consent.

6. Use of cookies and similar code

By joining the Panel and taking part in Tasks, you agree to our use of cookies and similar technologies and the collection of data from your PC/Laptop or other Devices (as defined in the Mystery Shopper Contract) you may use while taking part in Tasks or other research activities as outlined below.

What are cookies?

Cookies are small data files that enable the visited website to remember your actions and preferences for some time, so you don't have to keep re-entering them whenever you return to the site. Cookies are not dangerous; however, they are significant for privacy protection. Cookies cannot be used to identify individual visitors to the website, nor for fraudulent use of login credentials.

Our Mystery Shopper Platforms collect data using cookies and functionally similar technologies. With specific regard to cookies, further details about what they are can be found at www.aboutcookies.org .

Cookies we use

We use cookies in order to maintain the view between the Mystery Shopper Platforms and in order to remember your preferences when you browse the Mystery Shopper Platforms.

The complete list of cookies and similar technology that may be used in connection with the website version of the Mystery Shopper Platforms can be found on Cookies.

However, you can restrict or block cookies using your browser settings. If you do prevent our Mystery Shopper Platforms from using cookies, the online platform for the Panel will not work properly and you might not be able to participate in Tasks. For more information about cookie settings select your web browser from those listed below:

For more detailed information about cookies use on iShopFor Ipsos, contact us at: australia@ishopforipsos.com

7. How long will we keep the data you provide?

We will keep the data you provided when you joined the Panel, together with any data you provided in response to Tasks for as long as you remain a Mystery Shopper of the Panel.

When your membership in the Panel ends, we will delete your personal data, apart from:

  • When you terminate your membership as set out in Section 9 under “Unsubscription and deletion request”, subject to any legal requirements; 
  • If you were removed from the Panel, the data required to identify you to prevent you from re-joining the Panel for up to 6 years; and 
  • As legally required, in particular for tax or litigation purposes. For example, we will retain your full name, national insurance number, payroll amounts, details of any taxes deducted, and copies of relevant tax and other financial reports for up to 10 years from your membership ending.
8. How do we ensure your personal data are kept secure?

We take our responsibility to keep your personal data secure very seriously. We take every reasonable precaution to ensure your data are protected from loss, theft, or misuse. These precautions include appropriate physical security of our offices, controlled access to computer systems, and use of secure, encrypted internet connections when collecting personal data.

As part of our commitment to the security of your data, Ipsos has regular internal and external audits of its data security and is certified to be compliant with the requirements of the International Standard for Data Security ISO 27001, Market, Opinion and Social Research ISO 20252 and Quality Management ISO 9001.

9. How can you get access to your data and/or make requests in accordance with your rights?

Privacy-related requests and data corrections

To submit any privacy-related request, consult, and/or modify the data you provided, you need to connect to the Mystery Shopper Platform and submit a request under the ‘MY PRIVACY’ section.

If for any reason you are unable to make your required changes, please contact our Ipsos Shopper support team by email on: australia@ishopforipsos.com.

Please note that our team may need some time to process your privacy request. Your request will be processed within 30 days of its submission or receipt of your proof of identification (where this is needed).

Our team can be contacted:

By E-mail sent to: australia@ishopforipsos.com

Or by letter sent to:
Ipsos Malaysia
23rd Floor, Centrepoint North, Lingkaran Syed Putra, Mid Valley City, 59200 Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur

Please specify your username (if known) or the e-mail address used during your registration on iShopFor Ipsos System.

Unsubscription and deletion request

In order to leave the Panel, you need to connect to the Platform and submit a request under the ‘MY PRIVACY’ section.

Please note that your request to leave the panel can be processed only once all Tasks assigned to you are validated and payment for the Task has been made to you.

Subject to the retention rules in section 7 above, once your unsubscription request is processed, your data will be deleted and your account will be deactivated. This process is irreversible, therefore we won’t be able to recover your account.

Please note that some personal data necessary to your identification will be kept by Ipsos as legal proof of our past collaboration.The following data about you might be kept: name, date of birth, address, social security number, and bank details.

Your Rights

You have the right to request a copy of all the data we hold about you. You also have the right to request the rectification of any personal data we hold about you. Furthermore, you have the right for all personal data that you have provided to us to be transferred to another party. In various circumstances you also have the right to request us to delete the personal data we hold about you subject to the limitations set out above in section 7 above. You also have the right to restrict or object to certain processing , and to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority.

We do not make decisions about you based solely on automated processing which may produce legal or other significant effects on you. Only the invitation of Panel members for Tasks and the processing of the collected information is automated.

10. How can you contact us?

For more information about the Panel or data related to your membership of one of our Panels, please submit a request on the Mystery Shopper Platform or contact our support team. They can be contacted:

By E-mail sent to: australia@ishopforipsos.com 
Or by letter sent to:
Ipsos Malaysia
23rd Floor, Centrepoint North, Lingkaran Syed Putra, Mid Valley City, 59200 Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur

If you have any complaints, we would appreciate it if you gave us an opportunity to resolve any issues first by contacting us as set out above. You are, however, always entitled to contact our regulatory body, the Information Commissioner, at https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/.

11. Changes to our privacy policy

We keep our privacy policy under regular review (including but not limited for the purposes of implementing any changes required by local laws which apply to us, and we will publish any updates on this webpage. We will also inform you of any changes via the news section of the Mystery Shopper Platform by e-mail or when you first log in after any change has occurred. Our privacy policy was last updated on August 2024.

12. Useful Links
Annex A: List of personal data collected

Below is the list of data items collected in order for you to be able to conduct Tasks. Please note that not all the data below are mandatory.

Data Collected

iShopFor Ipsos Shopper Contact infoContact dataLogin 
First name 
Middle name 
Last name 
Address 1, address 2 
Gender 
City 
Postal code 
County/Region 
Country 
Language 
Home phone, mobile phone 
E-mail
Date of Birth
iShopFor Ipsos Shopper

Profile Payment Section
Billing and payment data 

Work/professional life data 

Employment and compensation details
Your bank details 

You as freelancer 

Your National Insurance number (NI) 

Your Unique Taxpayer Reference number (UTR)
iShopFor Ipsos Shopper

Profile Demography Section
Personal life data

Work/professional life data 

Professional skills data 

Biometrics data

Region 

Marital status 

Family Level of education 

Occupational status 

Your company 

Employment sector 

Job title 

Business e-mail address 

Average gross monthly income 

Shoe size 

Clothing size 

Glasses or contact lenses 

Pets 

Social media used 

You and smoking

iShopFor Ipsos Shopper Profile

Language Section
Personal life dataLanguages spoken
iShopFor Ipsos Shopper Profile

Energy and Utilities Section
Personal life dataProperty you live in 

Electricity provider 

Gas provider 

Water provider
Mystery Shopper Profile

Automotive Section
Personal life dataDriving licenses Vehicles
Mystery Shopping Platforms 

Finance Section
Localization data Connection dataGeolocation date/time

Usage data
Mystery Shopper Profile

Telecommunication Section
Personal life dataDevice or browser data

IP address
Mystery Shopper Profile

Final Confirmation Section
Personal life data 

Projects Data Biometrics data 

Consent & Mystery Shopper 

Contract master data 

History data
Page visits and navigational data

Your mystery shopping

Results from mystery shopping, mystery calling, mystery mailing, and other marking, service evaluation, market research and data collection and reporting projects.

Media files and data from media files

Performance metrics and history

Customer history

 

Annex B: List of Third Parties

Advertisement for Mystery Shopper Positions:

ToolObjectiveCompany
Google Analytics 

Google Tag Manager
Analysis of the traffic on ISFI registration website. Analysis of the traffic on our news website.Google
Google AdsAdvertisement on Google search and its partners.Google
FacebookFacebook advertisement paid and free public groups.Facebook (Meta)
InstagramAdvertisement on Instagram.Facebook (Meta)

Operations:

ApplicationUseProviderData Location
Shopmetrics (for Mystery Shopper counts)

Mobiaudit (for Mystery Shopper accounts in)
Mystery Shopper Platform to manage tasks.Research MetricsShopmetrics: Bulgaria 

Mobiaudit: Bulgaria
Facebook Messenger 

Instagram
Communication with the Mystery Shoppers & entertainment.Facebook (Meta)Ireland/USA
TwitterCommunication with the Mystery Shoppers & entertainment.Twitter/XUSA
DiscordCommunication with the Mystery Shoppers & entertainment.DiscordUSA
Windows Pack officeBasic computer desk software used in Ipsos operations.WindowsIreland
Microsoft TeamsCommunication within Ipsos teamsMicrosoft Corporation/td>Ireland
Microsoft Power BIMay be used to understand and optimise workflow between Ipsos operational teamsMicrosoft CorporationIreland
WhatsAppCommunication with the Mystery ShoppersMetaGermany

Payment:

Bank TransferProcess Payment processing.HSBC Bank Australia LimitedAU