Privacy Policy

Embold Research is dedicated to providing our clients with insights on public opinion through online public-opinion polling. We are committed to using data only in ways that are ethical and that make the world more humane and scientific. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use and disclose it, and how you can exercise your rights with respect to that personal information. 

Section 1. What kind of personal information do we collect and why do we collect it?

Polls: Embold Research conducts public-opinion polling and research, and voter targeting initiatives. We conduct polls through our website, third party websites, text messaging, and interviews via video conference. When you complete a poll, you may have the option to provide your real name, email address, and telephone number. We may also collect demographic information (including certain characteristics of protected classifications under applicable law) in order to understand voting trends (e.g., age, gender, household income, political affiliation, and race). If we conduct an interview with you via video conference, we may record the interview with your consent.

Voter Registration Data: From time to time, we may receive information about voter registrations (that is publicly available) or other data from third parties such as data services or analytics partners (collectively, “Voter Registration Data”) and combine this information with other information we collect from or about respondents through our polls, including in ways which may identify you. This information may include the same personal information identified in the paragraph above, as well as your postal address. 

Continued Use: Once we collect your personal information as part of a poll and/or Voter Registration Data, we may use that personal information to inform subsequent polls and analysis that we conduct for our clients, and to improve our internal methodology for analyzing voter trends.

Emails and Text Messages: If you choose to provide your real name and email address or telephone number during a poll, we may use this information to communicate with you via email or text, for example, to send you follow-up polls that ask how your views may have changed over time.

Website Inquiries: If you are interested in hiring Embold Research to conduct polls on your behalf or on behalf of an organization, you can provide your real name, email address, and telephone number through our website. We will use that information to contact you about services we can provide.

Section 2. Device and usage information collected automatically 

Tracking Technology: We automatically collect certain types of usage and device information when you visit our website, participate in our polls, read our emails, or otherwise engage with us.  We typically collect this information through a variety of tracking technologies, including cookies, web beacons, embedded scripts, location-identifying technologies, file information, and similar technology (collectively, “tracking technologies”). We use tracking technologies to collect information about your device and its software (e.g., Internet Protocol address, browser or device type/model/manufacturer, a unique browser or device ID such as an AdID) and information about the way you access and use our website and webforms (e.g., referral and exit pages, the links you click). We use the data we automatically collect to better understand how visitors use our website and to improve the website.

Analytics: We may collect analytics data or use third-party analytics tools such as Google Analytics to help us measure traffic and usage trends for the website and to understand more about the demographics of our website visitors.  

Do-Not-Track Signals: We do not track you or collect your personal information across third party websites or online services. Thus, we do not receive Do-Not-Track signals, or other similar signals. To the extent that we do receive any such signals, we will not comply with them as it is not an aspect of the functionality of the website.

Third-Party Platforms: To the extent you fill out one of our polls on a third-party website or platform (e.g., a poll on a social media platform), that third-party website may collect certain information about you as a result of your participation in the poll. That third-party’s privacy policy governs the third party’s collection of information from you as a result of your participation in the poll, and we do not control how the third-party uses that information. 

Section 3. How do we share this personal information?

Clients. We may share polling data and Voter Registration Data with our clients. We may share information for these purposes in a manner that could identify you individually or which our clients could combine with other data in a manner that could identify you.

Aggregate Data. We may also aggregate the polling data and Voter Registration Data and prepare reports for our clients and internal teams with the purpose of better understanding population opinions and interests. We may also make certain polling data public. We aggregate and anonymize any polling data we share publicly. 

Service Providers. We employ personnel and engage other companies and people to perform tasks on our behalf and may need to share your personal information with them to provide our products or services. For example, all data that we receive is stored on servers hosted by Google and Amazon.       

Analytics. As noted above, we use Google Analytics. You can learn more about Google’s practices at http://www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners and view its currently available opt-out options at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.      

Business Transfers. If we (or our assets) are acquired, or if we go out of business, enter bankruptcy, or go through some other change of control, personal information could be one of the assets transferred to or acquired by a third party.

Legal Compliance. We reserve the right to access, read, preserve, and disclose any information that we believe is necessary to comply with governmental requests, law enforcement or court orders, or enforce or apply our agreements. 

California Residents Under 16 Years of Age. California law requires us to confirm whether we sell or “share” the personal information of users under 16 years of age, as those terms are defined under California law. Because we do not collect information from individuals under the age of 18, we do not sell or share the personal information of users under 16 years of age.

Section 4. How is this information secured? 

Embold Research maintains security procedures designed to keep the information we own, license, and process from being accessed by any unauthorized person or business. The security of your personal information is important to us but remember that no method of transmission over the internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security. 

Section 5. Children’s Privacy 

We do not knowingly collect or solicit any information from anyone under the age of 13. If you believe that we might have any information from a child under 13, please contact us at privacy@emboldresearch.com so that we may delete such information. 

Section 6. Your Rights

If we have collected your personal information directly from you (e.g., through a poll), we are a “controller” of that personal information, and you can exercise your rights with respect to your personal information by following the instructions below. 

With respect to your personal information that we have collected and that we control: You have the following rights with respect to your personal information:

• Right to Know: The right to request that we disclose to you the personal information we collect, use, disclose, sell, and information about our data practices.

• Right to Request Correction: The right to request that we correct inaccurate personal information that we maintain about you.

• Right to Request Deletion: The right to request that we delete your personal information that we have collected from or about you. We may reject your request if it is reasonably necessary to maintain your personal information in order to complete the transaction for which we collected the personal information, comply with law, or other applicable reasons that are permitted under the applicable law and that will be communicated to you upon receipt of your request. You may not request the removal of de-identified, anonymous, or aggregate data from our databases.

• Right to Portability: The right to request that we provide you with your personal information in a common file format.

• Right to Opt Out of Sales and Targeted Advertising: The right to opt out of our sale of your personal information and the processing of your personal information obtained from your activities on nonaffiliated websites or online applications for the purposes of targeted advertising. We only disclose your personal information as set forth in the “How do we share this personal information?” section above and      do not sell your personal information or share it for the purpose of targeted advertising.

• Right to Opt In for Sensitive Data Processing: Depending on the state you live in, you may have the right to opt in before we can process your sensitive data. “Sensitive data” includes information such as your racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, and citizenship status.      Your consent to this privacy policy constitutes your consent for our processing of your sensitive data to the extent expressly stated in this privacy policy. Regardless of where you live, you have the right to opt out of our processing of your sensitive data.   

• Right to Opt Out of Automated Decision Making: The right to opt out of our use of your personal information for certain types of automated decision making, depending on the state where you live.

• Right to Non-Discrimination: The right not to receive discriminatory treatment for exercising your privacy rights.

• California “Shine the Light” Law: If you reside in California, you have the right to ask us one time each year if we have shared personal information with third parties for their direct marketing purposes. To make a request, please send us an email at privacy@emboldresearch.com or write to us at the address listed at the end of this Policy. Indicate in your letter that you are a California resident making a “Shine the Light” inquiry.

• How to Exercise Your Rights. If you wish to exercise any of the rights set out above and we are the controller of your personal information, please contact us at privacy@changeresearch.com. If you have authorized an agent to exercise your rights on your behalf, the agent may contact us at privacy@emboldresearch.com. Please note that to protect your personal information and the integrity of our services, we may need to collect additional information to verify your identity (and, if applicable, the authority of your agent) before processing your request. If you are not satisfied with any decision we make with respect to your request, you can let us know the reasons for your concern, and we will review your appeal.

Section 7. How long do we retain your personal information?

As noted above, we may use your personal information for more than one poll, and we may use your personal information on an ongoing basis for the analytical services we provide to our clients and to improve our internal methodology for understanding voter trends. As a result, we will retain your personal information until you submit a request for us to delete your personal information.

Section 8. How will we notify you of changes to this policy?

As necessary, we will update the Privacy Policy on our website. As our business grows and we are able to provide further insights through the data we collect, we will adapt to preserve your privacy and adhere to ethical data practices. If any questions should arise about our Privacy Policy, commitments, and practices, feel free to contact us at privacy@emboldresearch.com. We will notify you about material changes in the way we treat personal data by placing a prominent notice on our website. Your continued use of the service after we post any modifications to the Privacy Policy on this page will constitute your acknowledgment of the modifications and your consent to abide and be bound by the modified Privacy Policy.

Section 9. How can you contact us? 

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at privacy@emboldresearch.com. 

Last update: June 20, 2024