Privacy Policy

01Who we are

This website is operated by Systematic Market Research Consultancy (SMRC), an independent market research company based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. SMRC is the controller of the personal data described in this policy.

02What this policy covers

This policy covers personal data collected through smrcme.com: the contact form, the mystery shopper and research panel sign-up, the group discussion sign-up and the technical data collected when you browse the site.

When you take part in a specific research study, you will also receive information about that study (for example how a session is recorded) at the point you agree to take part. Those study notices sit alongside this policy.

03Data we collect

When you send an enquiry

Your name, email address, phone number, the service you are interested in, your message and how you heard about SMRC.

When you join the mystery shopper and research panel

Your name, email address, phone number, age, gender, nationality, area of residence, languages spoken, income band, whether you hold a driving licence or own a car, how you heard about SMRC and your consent.

When you sign up for a group discussion

Your contact details and your answers to the screening questions, such as age, gender, nationality, emirate and area of residence, years in the UAE, education, work status and occupation, marital status, media habits, preferred language, the device you would use, your availability, how you were referred and your consent choices.

When you browse the site

Technical data such as your IP address, browser and device type, pages visited, the site that referred you and approximate location derived from your IP address. This is collected through cookies and similar technologies (see Cookies).

When you message us on WhatsApp

The WhatsApp button opens a chat with SMRC in WhatsApp. We receive your phone number, your name as shown in WhatsApp and the messages you send. WhatsApp's own terms and privacy policy also apply.

Please do not send us sensitive information (such as health or religious details) through the forms unless a study specifically asks for it with your consent.

04How we use it

• To reply to enquiries, prepare proposals and manage our relationship with clients.
• To register panel members, check that you match the profile a study needs and invite you to studies you qualify for.
• To screen, schedule and run group discussions and interviews.
• To arrange participation incentives and referral rewards where a study offers them.
• To keep the website secure and to stop spam, fraud and automated abuse.
• To measure how the website is used and how our advertising performs, so we can improve both.
• To meet our legal and regulatory obligations.

We do not sell personal data and we do not use it for automated decisions that have legal or similarly significant effects on you.

05Legal basis

We process personal data on one or more of these grounds:

• Consent, which you give when you join the panel, sign up for a group discussion or agree to cookies where consent is required. You can withdraw consent at any time.
• Steps before or under a contract, for example when you request a proposal or take part in a study.
• Legitimate interests, such as answering business enquiries, securing the website and improving our services, where these are not outweighed by your rights.
• Legal obligations that apply to SMRC.

06If you take part in research

• Your name will not appear in any report we deliver.
• The organisation that commissions a study does not receive your contact details. It may observe a group discussion or interview, live or recorded, where you have agreed to this.
• Sessions are recorded only with your consent and the recordings are used for research purposes only.
• Taking part is always voluntary. You can decline any question, leave a session or ask to be removed from the panel at any time.

07Who we share it with

We share personal data only where needed and only with:

• Service providers that run the website and our communications for us, including our web host (Hostinger), our security and delivery network (Cloudflare, which also provides the Turnstile spam check on our forms) and our email delivery provider.
• Google, for website analytics (Google Analytics) and advertising measurement (Google Ads).
• Research platforms and partners that SMRC uses to run a particular study, limited to what that study requires and under SMRC's instructions.
• Authorities, where the law requires it.

These providers may only use the data to provide their service to SMRC.

08International transfers

Some of our providers store or process data outside the United Arab Emirates. Where this happens, we rely on providers that offer appropriate safeguards as required by applicable data protection law.

09How long we keep it

• Enquiries: for as long as needed to respond and manage the business relationship that follows.
• Panel membership: while you remain a member. Ask us to remove you and we will delete your panel record.
• Group discussion screening and recordings: for as long as the study and its quality checks require, then deleted or anonymised.
• Analytics data: according to the retention settings of Google Analytics.

We may keep limited records for longer where the law requires it.

10Security

The website is served only over encrypted HTTPS connections. Access to personal data is limited to SMRC staff who need it for their work and our forms are protected against automated spam. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your data.

11Your rights

Under the UAE Personal Data Protection Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021) and, where they apply to you, other data protection laws such as Saudi Arabia's Personal Data Protection Law and the EU GDPR, you can ask SMRC to:

• give you access to the personal data we hold about you;
• correct data that is inaccurate or incomplete;
• delete your data;
• restrict or object to how we use it;
• give you your data in a portable format;
• stop using your data where you have withdrawn your consent.

To make a request, email [email protected] with the subject line "Data request". We may need to confirm your identity first. We will respond within the time the law allows. If you are not satisfied with our answer, you can complain to the UAE Data Office or the data protection authority where you live.

12Cookies

Cookies are small files stored in your browser. smrcme.com uses these types:

For visitors in the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom, analytics and advertising storage is set to denied by default. You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings and opt out of Google Analytics with Google's browser add-on. Blocking essential cookies may stop the forms from working.

13Children

Our website, panel and sign-up forms are for adults aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children through this website.

14Changes and contact

We may update this policy when our services, tools or legal requirements change. The date at the top of the page shows when it was last updated.

For any question about this policy or your personal data, contact SMRC at [email protected] or +971 52 472 6013.