Last updated January 22, 2025.
This Privacy Policy describes the data collection practices of The Earnest Analytics (FKA Earnest Research) Company (“Earnest”, “we”, “us” and/or “our”). This Privacy Policy applies to all websites owned and operated by us and related online and offline services (collectively, the “Services”). For purposes of jurisdictions with applicable privacy laws, the Earnest Analytics (FKA Earnest Research) Company (43 W 24th ST, 5th Fl, New York, New York 10010) is the controller of any “personal data” or “personally identifiable information” (each as defined in such laws) that we collect about residents of those jurisdictions in connection with the Services.
Please read this Privacy Policy carefully to understand how we handle your information. This Privacy Policy should be read together with, and is incorporated into, the Earnest Terms of Use (“Terms of Use”). If you are a customer using the Services to access our solutions or data products pursuant to an agreement between you and Earnest (such as a license agreement), then your use of the Services is also governed by the applicable agreement(s) entered into between you and Earnest, which may include applicable privacy-related provisions. Except as otherwise stated, this Privacy Policy does not apply to de-identified and/or aggregate data that we obtain or collect to build our data products.
- What Information We Collect
Information You Provide To Us
Depending on how you interact with us, we collect information that you provide to us when you use our Services, including by browsing our website; communicate with us for any purpose via email, phone, social media, or in any other medium, including in person (like at a conference); or otherwise interact with us. The information we collect may vary on the nature of the interaction, and may include the following:
- Contact information, including first name, last name, email address, phone number, company name;
- Registration information, including username, password, and phone number;
- Business demographic information, including position, title, business address, business e-mail address, and phone, and the size, location, and needs of your company;
- Financial information, including address, employer identification number, and other information required to receive payment by automated clearing house if you are a vendor and elect to be paid in that manner; and
- Other information you provide to us, including information and feedback you provide to us through a questionnaire, application, communication, or customer support inquiry.
Information We Collect Through Automated Means
We and certain of our vendors automatically collect certain information about the computer or devices you use to access the Services, including but not limited to IP address; device information and location; browser type; pages and files viewed or downloaded; searches, filter actions and other queries; referring website; operating system; system configuration information; and frequency of visits to the Services. We also collect certain real-time information about the ways that you use, interact with, and navigate the Services, including cursor movements and clicks, pages you visit, links you click on, how you scroll through the Services, customer service interactions, and screen recordings.
We and our vendors collect this kind of information using technologies such as cookies, flash cookies, pixel tags (also known as a “clear GIFs” or “web beacons”), and HTML5 (the language in which some websites are coded). Cookies and flash cookies are small data files stored on your browser or device, and HTML5 may store certain information on your browser or device. Pixel tags are small bits of code embedded in webpages, online advertisements, or emails that can, for example, help us measure the number of visitors who view a page on our website or notify us if you click on an ad or open an email from us.
These technologies serve a variety of purposes, including but not limited to enabling the Services to function, allowing us to provide you with certain features, helping us offer you a more tailored experience in the future (e.g., by recognizing you), and assisting us with analytics, advertising, auditing, research, reporting, and fraud prevention.
You may have certain choices about cookies and other similar technologies on the Services. For example, you may be able to set your browsers or devices to notify you when cookies are set and/or give you an opportunity to reject them. Consult the “help” or “settings” menu of your browser or device, or your owner’s manual, for more information. You cannot reject cookies that are strictly necessary to the functioning of the Services. Please note that by blocking, disabling, or managing any or all cookies, the Services may not function as intended and you may not have access to certain features or offerings. For information on managing flash cookies, click here. For more information about online advertising in relation to the Services, see the subsection titled “Online Advertising” in Section 5 below.
Information We Collect from Other Sources
We collect information from third party sources, such as our corporate affiliates; your calendar, if you integrate it with our Services; conferences; third party vendors; lead generation providers and others who supply business contact information, analytics, and data; other individual(s), including individuals at your organization; and publicly available sources, including publicly visible social media profiles. This information may include log-in and verification information; name, telephone number, email address, physical address and other contact information; company name, occupation, title, and other professional or employment information; social media information, such as links to your professional social media pages; education information; commercial information; internet activity information; and inferences about preferences and behaviors.
- How We Use Your Information
We and our vendors may use the information described above for the following purposes:
- to operate, maintain, and provide to you the features and functionality of our Services;
- to process, manage, and respond to your registration, inquiries, and requests;
- to communicate with you, including to provide customer support and notify you of important changes to our Services;
- to complete transactions with you;
- to personalize your experience and our communications with you;
- for advertising and marketing purposes, including to send you promotional materials about our company, our products and services;
- to analyze and understand use of the Services;
- to provide you with seminars and webinars;
- to improve our products and services, including by providing you with more material you are interested in, and improving the design and layout of our Services; and
- to secure our Services, prevent fraud, enforce the legal terms that govern your use of the Services, comply with applicable law, monitor, investigate, and protect the performance, integrity and security of our Services, and serve other legal and security purposes.
Combined Information. For the purposes discussed in this Privacy Policy, we may combine the information that we collect through the Services with information that we receive from other sources, both online and offline, and use such combined information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
Aggregate/De-Identified Information. We may aggregate and/or de-identify any information we collect so that such information can no longer reasonably be linked to you or your device (“Aggregate/De-Identified Information”). This may include information regarding your usage of the Services. We may use Aggregate/De-Identified Information for any purpose, including without limitation for research and marketing purposes, and may also disclose such Aggregated/De-Identified Information to any third parties, including advertisers, promotional partners, and sponsors, in our discretion.
- Legal Bases for Use of your Information
If you are an individual from the European Economic Area (“EEA”), the UK, or Switzerland, our legal bases under the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) for using your information are as follows:
- Where we have your consent to do so;
- Where use of your information is necessary to perform our obligations under a contract with you (e.g., to comply with the Terms of Use and deliver the Services);
- Where use of your information is necessary for our legitimate interests or the legitimate interest of others (e.g., to operate our Services; provide security for our Services; prevent fraud; analyze use of and improve our Services; and for similar purposes); and
- Where use of your information is necessary to comply with applicable legal obligations.
- How We Disclose Your Information
We may disclose any of the information identified above as follows:
- To Vendors, including providers of data storage, lead generation services, web hosting, customer service, security, analytics, advertising, and fraud prevention;
- To Business Partners, such as businesses with which we partner to offer you certain products, services, and promotions that may be of interest to you;
- To Affiliates, including any parent company, subsidiaries, joint ventures or other companies under common control (“Affiliates,”), in which case we will require such Affiliates to honor this Privacy Policy;
- To Customers with Whom You Are Affiliated, such as if you use our Services as an authorized user of our customer, we may share your information with the affiliated customer responsible for your access to the Services, for example to verify accounts and activity, investigate suspicious activity, or enforce our terms and policies;
- In Connection with Legal Compliance and Proceedings, such as when we believe disclosure is appropriate to respond to court orders, judicial or other official government requests, subpoenas, or warrants in the manner legally required; to defend against legal claims; or as otherwise required by law; and to obtain legal counsel in relation to such activities;
- For the Protection of Earnest and Others, such as when we believe disclosure is appropriate in connection with efforts to investigate, prevent, or take other action regarding illegal activity, suspected fraud or other wrongdoing; to protect and defend the rights, property or safety of our company, our users, our employees, or others; to comply with applicable law or cooperate with law enforcement; to establish or exercise our legal rights; or to enforce this Privacy Policy, our Terms of Use, or any other agreement;
- In Connection with Corporate Transactions, such as in the event that Earnest is involved in, or is contemplating, a merger, acquisition, sale, bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, receivership, assignment for the benefit of creditors, or the application of laws or equitable principles affecting creditors’ rights generally, or other change of control; or
- With Your Consent, such as if you have consented to additional disclosure of your information, including as set out in this Privacy Policy.
- Your Choices, Rights, and Privacy Information
Marketing Communications. You may instruct us not to use your information to contact you by email, postal mail, or phone regarding products, services, updates, promotions and special events that might appeal to your interests. You may do so by following the instructions located at the bottom of marketing email messages you receive from us or emailing us at [email protected]. Please note that, regardless of your request, we may still use and disclose certain information as permitted by this Privacy Policy or as required by applicable law. For example, you may not opt out of certain operational emails, such as those reflecting our transactions with you or services we provide to you.
Do Not Track (“DNT”). DNT is a privacy preference that can be set in certain web browsers. The internet industry is still working on DNT standards, solutions, and implementations, so we do not currently recognize or respond to browser-initiated DNT signals. You can learn more about DNT here.
Online Analytics. We and our vendors may use third-party analytics services on the Services to help us understand how users engage with the Services, including Google Analytics. These parties may use cookies and other technologies to help collect, analyze, and provide us with reports and/or data. For more information about Google Analytics and how it collects and processes data, please visit: https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites. To opt out of Google Analytics using your information for analytics purposes, see: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
Online Advertising. We may allow third-party advertising technologies (e.g., ad networks and ad servers, or other advertising partners) to place cookies or other tracking technologies on your browser or device to collect information about you to assist in the delivery of relevant advertising on other websites you visit and other online services you use. The ads may be based on various factors such as the content of the page you visit or have visited, information you provide, your searches, and other information we have collected about you. For example, if you visit our Services, you may see ads for us on other websites you visit.
We neither have access to, nor does this Privacy Policy govern, the cookies or other tracking technologies that may be placed on the device you use to access the Services by such non-affiliated third parties. If you are interested in more information about tailored browser advertising and how you can generally control cookies from being put on your computer to deliver tailored advertising, you may visit the Network Advertising Initiative’s Consumer Opt-Out link, the Digital Advertising Alliance’s Consumer Opt-Out link, or Your Online Choices to opt out of receiving tailored advertising from companies that participate in those programs. You also may opt-out from Google Analytics for Display Advertising or the Google Display Network by using Google’s Ads Settings.
For additional ways to opt out of targeted advertising activities under applicable law, see the “Consumer Privacy Rights” sub-section below.
Please note that these opt-outs apply per browser and per device, so you will have to opt out for each device—and each browser on each device—through which you access our Services. In addition, the opt-outs do not apply to advertisements in mobile applications.
Mobile devices often include settings to help you manage how your device collects and shares information for advertising purposes. For more information on how to manage those devices settings, please visit the Network Advertising Initiative’s mobile choice page at https://www.networkadvertising.org/mobile-choice.
Modifying your mobile device or browser settings or opting out of tailored advertising via your web browser may have different results depending on the type of device or web browser you use and the version of your device operating system. Opting out of tailored advertising does not prevent you from seeing ads online; instead, the ads you see are less likely to be customized to your interests. Opting out is generally effective only on a device-by-device, or browser-by-browser, basis. If you use more than one browser or device, the effect of any opt-out mechanism may be limited to the browser or device on which you used the mechanism.
Consumer Privacy Rights. Depending on the laws of your local jurisdiction, such as if you live in one of the states listed as having an effective law here, you may have certain rights and choices with respect to your information. For example, under local laws, you may be able to ask us to:
- Inform you about the categories of personal information we collect or disclose about you; the categories of sources of such information; the business or commercial purpose for collecting your personal information; and the categories of third parties with whom we disclose personal information;
- Provide access to and/or a copy of certain information we hold about you;
- Update or correct your information;
- Delete certain information;
- Provide you with information about the financial incentives that we offer to you, if any;
- Restrict or prevent certain uses of your information; and/or
- Opt you out of the processing of your personal information for purposes of profiling in furtherance of decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects, if applicable.
Your jurisdiction may provide you with additional rights. For example, residents of the EEA, UK, and Switzerland may also object to certain uses of their information; request the transfer of certain information to certain third parties if technically feasible; and lodge a complaint with the relevant supervisory authority. If you intend to lodge such a complaint, we encourage you to contact us first so we can seek to resolve your concern.
We will consider all requests and provide our response within the time period required by applicable law. Please note, however, that certain information may be exempt from such requests in some circumstances. For example, if we need to keep processing your information for our legitimate interests or to comply with a legal obligation, we may not be required to delete certain information. When we delete any information, it will be deleted from the applicable active database, but may remain in our archives to be overwritten or deleted in the ordinary course of business. We may also retain your information for fraud prevention or similar purposes. We reserve the right not to comply with certain requests if such compliance is not required in your country or state of residence. We also may need to take reasonable steps to verify your identity before responding to a request, which may include, at a minimum, depending on the sensitivity of the information you are requesting and the type of request you are making, verifying your name and email address. If we are unable to verify who you are, we may be unable to respond to your requests.
Depending on your jurisdiction, you may be permitted to designate an authorized agent to submit certain requests on your behalf. In order for an authorized agent to be verified, you must provide the authorized agent with signed, written permission to make such requests or a power of attorney. We may also follow up with you to verify your identity before processing the authorized agent’s request. For security and legal reasons, we may not accept requests that require us to access third-party websites or services.
If you would like further information regarding your legal rights or would like to exercise any of them, please contact [email protected].
Depending on applicable law, you may have the right to appeal our decision to deny your request, if applicable. If we deny your request, we will provide you with information on how to appeal the decision, if applicable, in our communications with you. To exercise such an appeal right, email us at [email protected].
Residents of Colorado. Residents of Colorado may click here to view more information regarding each category of personal information we process, the purposes for which we process each category, and the categories of entities to whom the personal information is disclosed. Residents of Colorado may click here to view more information about the categories of personal information that are “sold” (as defined in Colorado law) or used for “targeted advertising” (as defined in Colorado law, defined as “sharing” by the CCPA). Please note that we do not engage in profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects.
Notice of right to opt out of sales of personal data and processing/sharing of personal data for targeted advertising purposes. Depending on your jurisdiction, you may also have the right to opt out of “sales” of your information and “sharing/processing of your information for targeted advertising.”
As explained in the “Online Analytics” and “Online Advertising” section above, we may provide personal information to third-party advertising providers for targeted advertising purposes. Under applicable law, this disclosure may be considered a “sale” of personal information or the sharing/processing of your information for targeted advertising.
If you would like to opt out of our online disclosure such as through cookie and pixel technology of your personal information for purposes that could be considered “sales” for those third parties’ own commercial purposes, or “sharing” or processing for purposes of targeted advertising, please select the floating logo in the bottom left of our website and follow the instructions. You must make this choice on each site/app on each browser/device you use to access the Services. You must also renew this choice if you clear your cookies or your browser is set to do that. You can also submit a request to opt out of the use of your email address and other personal information related to that email address for targeted advertising purposes by emailing us at [email protected]. Depending on your jurisdiction, you may be permitted to designate an authorized agent to submit such requests on your behalf. Please note that we do not knowingly sell the personal information of minors under 16 years of age.
Please note that if you have a legally-recognized browser-based opt out preference signal turned on via your device browser, we recognize such preference in accordance with applicable law.
- Privacy Information for California Residents
This section supplements our Privacy Policy with additional information for California residents about our information collection and use practices as required by the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 (“CCPA”).
Collection, Use, Disclosure, and Retention of California Residents’ Personal Information
If you are a California resident, the CCPA requires us to provide you with the following additional information about: (1) the purpose for which we use each category of “personal information” (as defined in the CCPA) we collect; and (2) the categories of third parties to which we (a) disclose such personal information for a business purpose, (b) “share” personal information for “cross-context behavioral advertising,” and/or (c) “sell” such personal information. Under the CCPA, “sharing” is defined as the targeting of advertising to a consumer based on that consumer’s personal information obtained from the consumer’s activity across websites, and “selling” is defined as the disclosure of personal information to third parties in exchange for monetary or other valuable consideration. Our use of third-party online advertising services, which are described in detail above, may result in the disclosure of online identifiers (e.g., cookie data, IP addresses, device identifiers, and usage information) in a way that may be considered a “sale” or “sharing” under the CCPA.
The following chart provides information about our practices in the 12 months leading up to the effective date of this Privacy Policy:
| Categories of information collected (see the “What Information We Collect” section above for additional information) | Purposes for which we used the information (see the “How We Use Your Information” section above for additional information) | Categories of entities to whom we disclose the information for business and operational purposes (see the “How We Disclose Your Information” section above for additional information) | Categories of Third Parties to Which We “Share” and/or “Sell” this Personal Information for Advertising/Analytics Purposes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Identifiers, such as name, email address, phone number, username, IP address, and device identifiers. |
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| Professional or employment-related information, such as company name, position, title, business address, business email address and phone, and the size, location, and needs of your company. |
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| Financial information, such as EIN and other information necessary to receive ACH payments. |
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| Internet or other electronic network activity information, such as information about how you browse and interact with the Services and information about your device and browser. |
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| Survey, feedback, or similar information, such as information you provide in response to a survey in relation to the Services. |
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| Customer service interaction information |
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| Other information that is reasonably capable of identifying you |
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Retention. We retain personal information as described in the “Retention” section below.
Other CCPA Rights. If we ever offer any financial incentives in exchange for your personal information, we will provide you with appropriate information about such incentives.
Please see the “Your Choices, Rights, and Privacy Information” section of our Privacy Policy above for information about the additional rights you have with respect to your personal information under California law and how to exercise them.
Sale and Sharing of Personal Information. As explained in the “Online Analytics” and “Online Advertising” section above, we may provide personal information to third-party advertising providers for targeted advertising purposes. Under applicable law, this disclosure may be considered a “sale” or “share” of personal information.
If you would like to opt out of our online disclosure such as through cookie and pixel technology of your personal information for purposes that could be considered “sales” for those third parties’ own commercial purposes, or “sharing” or processing for purposes of targeted advertising, please select the floating logo in the bottom left of our website and follow the instructions. You must make this choice on each site/app on each browser/device you use to access the Services. You must also renew this choice if you clear your cookies or your browser is set to do that. You can also submit a request to opt out of the use of your email address and other personal information related to that email address for targeted advertising purposes by emailing us at [email protected]. Depending on your jurisdiction, you may be permitted to designate an authorized agent to submit such requests on your behalf. Please note that we do not knowingly sell the personal information of minors under 16 years of age.
Please note that if you have a legally-recognized browser-based opt out preference signal turned on via your device browser, we recognize such preference in accordance with applicable law.
“Shine the Light” Disclosure. California’s “Shine the Light” law gives California residents the right under certain circumstances to request information from us regarding the manner in which we share certain categories of “personal information” (as defined in the Shine the Light law) with third parties for their direct marketing purposes. We do not share your personal information with third parties for their own direct marketing purposes.
- Children’s Privacy
Our Services are not directed at or structured to attract children under the age of 18, and we do not knowingly collect or maintain personal information from persons under the age of 18. If we learn that we have inadvertently collected personal information (as defined by the United States Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act) from a child under the age of 18 without parental consent, we will take reasonable steps to delete the personal information as soon as reasonably possible. If you believe that we might have any personal information from a child under 18, please contact us at [email protected].
- Third Party Links and Features
This Privacy Policy applies only to the Services. This Services may contain links to third-party services, websites, or applications. If you choose to use these third-party services, or features, you may disclose your information not just to those third parties but also to their users and the public more generally, depending on how their services function. We are not responsible for the content or practices of such third-party services. The collection, use, and disclosure of your information will be subject to the privacy policies of the third-party services, and not this Privacy Policy. We urge you to read the privacy and security policies of these third parties.
- Security
Although we take certain measures to protect your information, no method of security is perfect. By using our Services, you acknowledge and accept that we cannot guarantee the security of your information, and that you provide information to us at your own risk. You are responsible for keeping your username and password confidential.
- Retention
We retain your information as necessary to provide the Services and to fulfill the transactions you have requested, and for other necessary purposes such as complying with our legal obligations, resolving disputes, enforcing our agreements, and for fraud prevention and related security purposes. In determining how long to retain information, we consider the amount, nature and sensitivity of the information, the potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure of the information, the purposes for which we process the information, applicable legal requirements, and our legitimate interests. For example, we retain your email address as an authentication credential (where applicable) as long as you have an account with us and an additional period of time after that for our legitimate interests and for our fraud and legal compliance purposes. If you opt out of email marketing, we maintain your email address on our suppression list for an extended time to comply with your request. We may delete or de-identify your information sooner if we receive a verifiable deletion request, subject to exemptions under applicable law. We may retain cached or archived copies of your information. Aggregated or anonymous data derived from your information, which cannot be traced back to your account, may remain on our production servers indefinitely. We reserve the right to use any aggregated or anonymous data derived from or incorporating your information.
- International Users
We are based in the United States. If you engage with the Services, your information may be stored and processed in the United States and other countries that may have data protection laws that differ from the laws in your country. For example, we and our vendors may access your information from the United States or other jurisdictions where we and they operate, and information may be accessible to law enforcement and national security authorities under certain circumstances. By using the Services or providing us with any information, you consent to the collection, processing, maintenance, and transfer of such information in and to the United States and other applicable countries in which the privacy laws may not be as comprehensive as, or equivalent to, those in the country where you reside and/or are a citizen.
- Changes to our Privacy Policy
We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time. We will make the revised Privacy Policy accessible through the Services, so you should review the Privacy Policy periodically. You can know if the Privacy Policy has changed since the last time you reviewed it by checking the “Last Updated” date at the beginning of this Privacy Policy. If we make a material change to this Privacy Policy, we will provide you with notice in accordance with legal requirements. By continuing to use the Services, you are confirming that you have read and understood the latest version of this Privacy Policy.
- Questions
If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at [email protected]. We will do our best to address your questions and concerns.