Overview
Askable is committed to keeping our platform fair and free from fraud. To do that — and to meet our legal obligation to know who we contract with and pay — we verify the identity of every participant. This page explains how we verify your identity, why we do it, and what happens to your information along the way.
We use a trusted third party, Jumio, to carry out identity verification. Jumio’s privacy notice, which explains how it collects, uses and discloses information, is available at https://www.jumio.com/privacy-center/privacy-notices.
You can verify your identity in one of two ways:
Face detection, which collects biometric information (a “faceprint”), or
Document verification, using a government-issued ID.
Face detection is optional. You can always choose document verification instead, and you can switch between the two.
Why do we ask you to verify your identity?
Askable pays participants real money for their time, so we have a responsibility to make sure the people we pay are real, unique individuals and that payments reach the right person.
Keeping the platform fair matters to us. Like many platforms, we deal with people who create duplicate accounts to get around our safeguards. Verifying identity protects genuine participants like you: it helps make sure research opportunities go to real people, and it stops anyone from using your identity fraudulently on our platform.
As a participant, you work with us as a contractor. Like any business, we need to confirm who we’re contracting with and paying before we can pay you for your work.
Option 1: Face detection
What information do we collect?
With face detection, two things happen:
A liveness check.
A brief on-screen prompt confirms you are a real, live person — not a photo or pre-recorded video. Think of it as a short selfie prompt. The result (pass or fail) is returned instantly, and nothing from this step is stored.
A faceprint.
A still image of your face is used to create a faceprint — a unique numerical pattern based on your facial features. A faceprint works a bit like a fingerprint and confirms that your account is unique to you.
How does it work?
When you register as a participant, you’ll be asked to verify your identity and can choose face detection or document verification. After you choose, we show you a consent page. If you agree, you continue; if you don’t, you can use document verification instead.
You’re redirected to Jumio to complete the following steps:
Liveness check — a brief on-screen prompt confirming you’re present in real time. This step stores no data.
Faceprint creation — a still image is taken and converted into your faceprint. This is done by Jumio, which stores your image and faceprint. Askable receives only a random reference number — we don’t send your name, email or any other details with it.
Uniqueness check — your faceprint is compared against other faceprints held by Jumio to confirm that the same person isn’t running multiple accounts or impersonating someone else. If there’s no match, you’re verified and ready to join studies.
Deletion — your faceprint is automatically and permanently deleted 90 days after your most recent verification check. If you attempt to verify or create another account, this 90- day period restarts, so we can keep detecting duplicate accounts. You don’t need to do anything.
How long is your data kept, and where?
Jumio holds your image and faceprint for 90 days after your most recent check, then
permanently deletes them. If you attempt another verification, the 90-day period restarts. Askable holds only your reference number, which is deleted on the same basis.
Depending on where you’re located, Jumio processes and stores this data in either the European Union or the United States. This means your information may be transferred to and stored in a country other than the one you live in. Jumio handles it under a strict contract that requires it to protect your data and use it only for verification
Who can access your biometric data?
Access to your faceprint is kept to an absolute minimum. The only people and systems that can access it are:
A small, named group within Askable’s engineering team — and only when investigating a flagged account or handling an appeal.
Jumio, our verification partner, under a strict contract that limits use of your data to verification only.
Your faceprint is never:
shared with research clients or any study owner
sold, rented or traded to any third party
used for advertising or profiling
used for any purpose other than confirming your identity.
Option 2: Document verification
What information do we collect?
Askable doesn’t collect this information directly — it’s collected by Jumio under its privacynotice, available at https://www.jumio.com/privacy-center/privacy-notices.
How does it work?
When you register as a participant, you’ll be asked to verify your identity and can choose face detection or document verification. You can also switch to document verification at any time by contacting support@askable.com.
You’re redirected to Jumio to complete document verification. You’ll need a government-issued ID, such as a passport or driver’s licence. In the Jumio session, Jumio captures a short clip from your camera and an image of your ID.
When you finish, Jumio tells Askable whether you passed. Askable doesn’t receive a copy of your ID or any other personal information — only a “pass” or “fail” result.
How does it work?
Askable keeps the result and reference data from Jumio for 90 days. This does not include your ID documents. If you attempt to create another account, the 90-day period restarts so we can keep detecting duplicate accounts.
Jumio holds your ID information and deletes it 90 days after your most recent check, restarting if you attempt another verification. As with face detection, Jumio processes and stores this data in either the European Union or the United States depending on your location, so your information may be transferred and stored overseas.
What if I’m flagged during the check?
Occasionally the system may flag an account for review — for example, if there’s an
unexpected similarity to an existing account. If this happens, your account is temporarily limited to survey participation while our team looks into it, and we may ask for a photo so we can complete a comparison check. You’ll be notified, and you can appeal through our support team. A member of our team reviews every appeal — decisions that limit your account are never made by automated systems alone. We aim to resolve appeals within 14 business days. If you’re confirmed as a genuine participant, full access is restored straight away.
What if I change my mind?
You can ask us to delete your identity verification information at any time. To prevent fraudulent accounts being created, we delete it 90 days after your request.
What if I close my Askable account?
If you close your Askable account, we delete your identity verification information. To prevent fraudulent re-registration, we keep your reference number for a further 90 days after closure, then permanently delete it. Jumio deletes the data it holds on the same basis.
Your rights
We only use your biometric data for the purposes described here and with your consent. Depending on where you live, you may also have the right to:
Withdraw your consent at any time.
Request deletion of your biometric data.
Request access to the biometric data we hold about you and how it’s used.
Request re-verification if you think a result is wrong.
Object to processing of your data (this may limit your access to the platform).
Complain to a regulator — raise concerns with your local data protection authority. For example, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (oaic.gov.au) in Australia, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ico.org.uk) in the UK, or your national supervisory authority in the EU.
For full detail, see our Privacy Policy at https://www.askable.com/legal/privacy-policy
Questions?
For more detail, see our Privacy Policy at https://www.askable.com/legal/privacy-policy, or get in touch with the Askable Privacy team at privacy@askable.com.