Breakthrough Research Privacy Policy

Last Updated: May 2022


Breakthrough Research, Inc. takes privacy seriously. The purpose of this policy is to give you a clear explanation about how Breakthrough Research collects and uses any personal data you provide to us and that we collect. We ensure that we use your information in accordance with all applicable laws concerning the protection of your personal data.

We conduct market research and we commit, in obtaining your co-operation, not to mislead you about the nature of the research or how the findings will be used. Your responses will be treated as confidential unless you consent to being identified.


Who We Are

Breakthrough Research, Inc. (BRI) is a company incorporated under the laws of the State of California, USA and whose principal office is located at 5670 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1950, Los Angeles, CA 90036. We provide market research services, including both quantitative and qualitative projects to our customers. Find out more.


Personal Data We May Collect

BRI collects a wide range of information about survey respondents depending on the information needs of our clients requesting the surveys. For example, survey respondents may or may not be requested to provide certain personally identifiable or demographic information, as well as specific opinions about a variety of goods and services. Responses to all survey questions are completely voluntary.

In order to receive direct incentives from BRI for participation in a survey or to be entered in a drawing/sweepstakes for a survey incentive, we may require personal information including your name, email address and/or postal address. Your information would only be used to notify you of, or to deliver, said incentive, and you will always have the opportunity to opt out of providing this information and decline this incentive or participation in an incentive draw.

We may also be passed information, lawfully collected by our clients, who want us to ask you whether you would like to participate in market research or other events. This information may include your full name, job title, company name, email address, telephone number, postal address, and may also include information about the nature of your relationship with the company providing the data.

When you participate in an online survey hosted on the domain surveys.bthrough.com we collect certain standard information that your browser sends to every website you visit, such as your IP address, browser type and language, access times and referring website addresses. In addition, we use cookies to prevent duplicate responses to the same survey on this website. Records of this cookie are automatically deleted 30 days after your first contact with the website.

We will only collect and use personal data in accordance with this policy to the extent deemed reasonably necessary to serve our legitimate business purposes, and we will maintain appropriate safeguards to ensure the security, integrity, accuracy and privacy of the information you have provided.


How We Use Your Data

When we contact you for market research, we generally do so for one of the following purposes:

• To invite you to participate in research
• To confirm the details of research you have agreed to take part in
• To conduct research with you
• To validate answers/views you gave in an initial screening for qualitative research
• To update and to ensure that our records of your personal data are correct (applicable to those consenting to being part of an ongoing community or panel)
• To notify you if you have won a prize draw that we administered or to provide you with an incentive for taking part.

The personal data we collect are:

• Combined with the responses/views/opinions of others who participated in the same research and reported back anonymously to the client that commissioned the study
• Used on an aggregated basis to determine which groups of people think certain things more than others
• Used to administer and operate prize draws/incentives

All of your survey responses are treated as confidential. We will never intentionally disclose your personal data or identifiable individual survey responses to the client that commissioned the study or any third parties unrelated to the process of executing a market research study unless you are notified in and advance and provide consent to sharing your identifying information and identifiable individual responses.


Who We Share Your Data With

We may disclose personal information that BRI collects or you provide:

• To contractors, service providers and other third parties we use to support our business (and who are bound by contractual obligations to keep personal information confidential and use it only for the purposes for which we disclose it to them).
• We occasionally hire other companies to provide limited services on our behalf, such as handling the processing and delivery of mailings or for research purposes. Those companies will be permitted to obtain only the personal information they need to deliver the service. They are required to maintain the confidentiality of the information and are prohibited from using it for any other purpose.
• To comply with any court order, law or legal process, including to respond to any government or regulatory request or to act in urgent circumstances to protect the personal safety of users of BRI services or members of the public.
• For any other purpose disclosed by us when you provide the information, with your consent.

Please be aware that BRI may be required to disclose an individual’s personal information in response to a lawful request by public authorities, including to meet national security or law enforcement requirements.


How We Protect Your Personal Data

BRI maintains appropriate technical, administrative and physical safeguards to protect information, including, without limitation, personal data, received or collected by us. We review, monitor and evaluate our privacy practices and protection systems on a regular basis. Only certain employees have access to the data you provide us and are only granted access for data analysis and quality control purposes.


How Long We Keep Your Data

Unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law, we will only hold your information on our systems for the period necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy or until you request it is deleted.


Your Rights

Applicable law may give you certain rights with respect to your personal data.

In California, consumers may have the right to delete their data, to access and port personal data collected, used, or disclosed by BRI, and to exercise these rights freely from discrimination. If you are a California resident and desire to submit a verifiable consumer request to exercise your right to know about, or delete, your personal information, please contact DataProtection@bthrough.com.

Under data privacy laws in the EEA, UK and Switzerland, applicable law gives consumers the right to: access their personal data; have inaccurate or incomplete personal data rectified; restrict the processing of their personal data, under certain circumstances; object to the processing operations, having regard to the given circumstances and for reasons related to their particular situation; or have personal data erased when such data is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it has been.

You also have a right to lodge a complaint to the data protection supervisory authority in your country.

For more information about the specific mechanisms available to exercise these rights, please contact us at DataProtection@bthrough.com.

To facilitate our efforts to address your request, please let us know the circumstances in which you initially provided BRI with your personal data, e.g. in connection with a specific market research survey, survey invitation or interview.


Queries and Complaints

If you have any queries concerning this policy, or would like to make an access request, please contact our Data Protection Officer, Beth Cody, at DataProtection@bthrough.com.


Changes to our Privacy Policy

We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we change the Privacy Policy, we will post the revised version here and change the "Last Updated" date listed at the top of this Policy. We encourage you to check here periodically for the most up-to-date version of our Policy.