Legal

Terms of Service & Confidentiality Agreement

Effective July 17, 2026

These terms govern your use of informedresearch.com and your membership in the Informed Research participant panel, and they include a binding confidentiality agreement in Section 5 that applies to every study. You accept this agreement by checking the acceptance box when you enroll. If you do not agree, please do not join the panel.

1. Who can join

You must be at least 18 years old, be a United States citizen, reside in the United States, and be able to receive payment lawfully. You will confirm your citizenship and verify your identity with a government-issued photo ID when you enroll. Panel membership is for individuals only, and you may maintain only one panel profile.

2. Honest information

Research only works with accurate answers. You agree to provide truthful information when signing up, when answering screening questions, and during studies. Giving false information to qualify for a study is grounds for removal from the panel and forfeiture of compensation for that study. Some studies must exclude people with certain jobs, affiliations, or connections to the subject matter, and screening questions exist to identify that. Answering them honestly is a condition of participation.

3. Invitations and participation

Panel membership does not guarantee study invitations, and we do not promise any particular number of studies. Each invitation states the date, length, format, and compensation. You are free to accept or decline any invitation. If you accept, you agree to show up on time, participate for the full session, and follow the moderator's reasonable instructions. At session check-in you agree to briefly confirm on camera that you match the ID you provided at enrollment.

4. Compensation

Compensation for each study is stated in your invitation and confirmed in writing before the session. We pay by Venmo or PayPal, to the account you designate. Payment is made after you complete the study. If you arrive late, leave early, are disruptive, or provided false screening answers, we may reduce or withhold compensation for that study. If we cancel a session after you have joined it, we will pay you as stated in the invitation. You are responsible for any taxes on amounts you receive, and we may request a tax form before paying you where the law requires it.

5. Confidentiality Agreement

This section is a binding confidentiality agreement between you and Informed Research. It applies to every study you are invited to or participate in. Our clients are intended third party beneficiaries of this section and may enforce it directly.

What is confidential. Everything you see, hear, or receive in connection with a study is confidential. This includes the topics and questions, documents, exhibits, images, audio and video, presentations, the group discussion itself, the identities and statements of other participants, and the identity of any people, companies, or disputes referenced in study materials.

What you agree to do. You agree to keep confidential information secret and use it for no purpose other than participating in the session. You agree to participate from a private room where nobody else can see or hear the session. You agree not to record, photograph, screenshot, copy, download, or transcribe any part of a session or its materials. You agree not to post about a session or its content anywhere, including social media, and not to discuss it with anyone outside the session, including family and friends. If the moderator instructs you to, you agree to destroy any notes and delete any materials at the end of the session.

What you may say. You may tell people that you participate in paid research studies generally, as long as you do not describe the content, topics, parties, questions, or materials of any study.

Client confidentiality. Our clients are confidential, and we will not identify them to you. Speculating publicly, including online, about the identity of a client or the purpose of a study is a violation of this agreement.

How long this lasts. Your obligations begin when you receive an invitation containing study details and continue permanently, including after the study ends and after you leave the panel.

If this agreement is breached. Money damages may not be an adequate remedy for a confidentiality breach, so Informed Research or its client may seek an injunction or other equitable relief in court, in addition to any other remedies. A breach also forfeits your compensation for the affected study and is grounds for removal from the panel.

Study-specific terms. Some studies may present supplemental confidentiality or consent terms before the session begins. If a supplemental term conflicts with this section, the supplemental term controls for that study.

6. Recording and use of your feedback

Sessions are typically recorded on video and audio, and written responses are saved. By participating, you consent to being recorded and you grant Informed Research and its client a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, and analyze your responses, likeness, and voice as captured in the session for research and related professional purposes. You will not receive additional compensation for these uses. This license does not permit use of your name or likeness in advertising.

7. Your privacy

Our collection and handling of your personal information is described in our Privacy Policy, which is part of these terms.

8. Not employment

Participating in studies does not make you an employee, agent, or contractor of Informed Research or any client. Study compensation is a research incentive, not wages.

9. Leaving the panel and removal

You may leave the panel at any time by emailing recruiting@informedresearch.com. We may suspend or remove any member at our discretion, including for dishonest screening answers, breach of confidentiality, disruptive conduct, or inactivity. Sections 5, 6, and 10 through 13 survive after you leave the panel.

10. Disclaimers

The website and panel are provided as is and as available. We do not warrant that the site will be uninterrupted or error free. Study topics, formats, and availability may change at any time.

11. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Informed Research's total liability to you for any claim arising out of these terms or your panel membership is limited to the compensation payable to you for the study giving rise to the claim, and we are not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages.

12. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Alabama, without regard to conflict of laws rules.

13. Arbitration agreement, jury trial waiver, and class action waiver

Please read this section carefully. It affects your legal rights, including your right to file a lawsuit in court and to have a jury hear your claims.

Agreement to arbitrate. You and Informed Research agree that any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these terms, the panel, any study, or your relationship with Informed Research will be resolved by binding individual arbitration rather than in court, except as stated below. This agreement is governed by the Federal Arbitration Act.

How arbitration works. The arbitration will be administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Consumer Arbitration Rules. Those rules are available at adr.org. The arbitration will be conducted by a single arbitrator, in English, and may take place by videoconference, by written submissions, or in the county where you live, at your choice. The arbitrator can award the same individual relief a court could, and the arbitrator's decision is final and binding, subject to limited review under the Federal Arbitration Act.

Fees. If you initiate arbitration, you are responsible only for an initial filing fee no greater than the cost of filing in your local small claims court. Informed Research will pay all remaining AAA filing, administration, and arbitrator fees, unless the arbitrator finds your claim was frivolous or brought for an improper purpose.

Exceptions. Either party may bring an individual claim in small claims court instead of arbitration if it qualifies. Either party may also seek a court order to protect confidential information or study materials, and nothing in this section prevents either party from reporting a matter to a government agency.

Before filing. Before starting arbitration, the party with a dispute must send the other a written notice describing the claim and the relief sought, and both parties will make a good faith attempt to resolve it informally for 30 days. Notice to us goes to admin@informedresearch.com.

Jury trial waiver. To the extent any dispute proceeds in court rather than arbitration, you and Informed Research each waive the right to a trial by jury.

Class action waiver. You and Informed Research each agree that disputes may be brought only in an individual capacity, and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class, collective, consolidated, or representative proceeding. The arbitrator may not consolidate claims of more than one person and may not preside over any form of class or representative proceeding. If a court decides that this class action waiver is unenforceable as to a particular claim, then that claim, and only that claim, must proceed in court, and the rest of this section still applies.

Your right to opt out. You may opt out of this arbitration agreement, the jury trial waiver, and the class action waiver by emailing admin@informedresearch.com within 30 days of first accepting these terms, with your name and a statement that you opt out of arbitration. Opting out will not affect your panel membership or study invitations.

Courts for non-arbitrated matters. Any dispute that is not subject to arbitration will be resolved in the state or federal courts located in Jefferson County, Alabama, and you consent to their jurisdiction.

14. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will update the effective date above and notify active panel members by email. Continuing to participate after changes take effect means you accept the updated terms.

15. Contact

Questions about these terms can be sent to admin@informedresearch.com, or by mail to Informed Research, LLC, 1860 Sandy Plains Rd, Ste 204, Marietta, GA 30066.