Legal & Transparency
OpinionSurveys (opinionsurveys.online) is a research survey platform consisting of a Chrome browser extension and a companion web application. It is operated as an independent project.
The platform enables researchers, instructors, and organizational teams (collectively "survey creators") to conduct longitudinal opinion studies by distributing scheduled question waves to enrolled participants through the Chrome extension.
This privacy policy applies to: the OpinionSurveys Chrome extension (version 1.1.0 and later) and all pages on opinionsurveys.online.
p_k3j9xm2q) created locally on your device the first time you use the extension. This ID is used solely to associate your responses with one another across waves. It is not linked to your identity.If you have been briefed by your researcher and confirmed this in the extension's consent disclosure screen, the following additional data is collected to provide behavioral context for your survey responses:
youtube.com). Full URLs including paths, query strings, and fragments are never captured.| Data point | Collected | Sent to Firebase | Requires consent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Survey question responses | Yes | Yes | Enrollment only |
| Anonymous participant ID | Yes | Yes | Enrollment only |
| Visited hostname (e.g. github.com) | Yes | Yes | Research briefing consent |
| Page title (capped at 120 chars) | Yes | Yes | Research briefing consent |
| Domain category label | Yes | Yes | Research briefing consent |
| Cookie category labels (names only) | Yes | Yes | Research briefing consent |
| Full URL (path, query string, fragment) | Never | Never | — |
| Cookie values or session tokens | Never | Never | — |
| Page content, body text, or HTML | Never | Never | — |
| Passwords or form inputs | Never | Never | — |
| Name, email, or any PII | Never | Never | — |
| IP address | Never | Never | — |
| Location data | Never | Never | — |
To be completely transparent, the following data points are never collected under any circumstances, regardless of consent status:
_ga → "analytics"). The value, domain, expiry, and all other cookie attributes are never stored, logged, or transmitted.OpinionSurveys uses a two-layer consent model:
Survey creators (researchers, instructors, team leads) are required to fully brief all participants before they install the extension. This briefing — whether in a classroom, via email, or through a formal research information sheet — must explain the nature of the study, the data being collected, and how it will be used. This is a condition of using the platform.
The very first time a participant opens the extension after installation, they see a full disclosure screen listing exactly what the extension collects and what it does not collect. The participant must click "I understand — continue to enroll" to proceed. This action records a researchConsent: true flag and an ISO 8601 timestamp in the extension's local storage.
Browsing context collection — domain visits, page titles, and cookie category labels — is technically gated on this flag. If it is not set, the collection code does not run, regardless of any other state.
The extension uses Chrome's chrome.storage.local API to cache survey configuration, your anonymous participant ID, wave completion records, and any responses queued during network outages. This data is stored only in your browser and is cleared if you uninstall the extension.
Survey responses and (where consented) browsing context data are transmitted to Google Firebase Realtime Database over HTTPS. Importantly, this Firebase project is owned and controlled by your survey creator — not by OpinionSurveys. OpinionSurveys does not operate a central data collection server. The platform code (the extension and website) facilitates the connection between participant and researcher, but does not store or have access to your data independently.
Firebase security rules on each survey's database are configured to be write-once per participant per wave — your responses cannot be modified after submission, and you cannot read other participants' responses.
Your participant ID is a randomly generated 8-character alphanumeric string created locally on your device (e.g., p_k3j9xm2q). It is generated using Math.random() at first use and stored in chrome.storage.local. It contains no encoding of your identity, device, location, or any other attribute. It is used only to group your responses across waves within a study.
Survey creators access their results using an admin code. This code is stored in Firebase exclusively as a SHA-256 hash — the original plaintext is never persisted on any server. Even if the Firebase database were fully compromised, admin codes could not be recovered from the stored hashes.
All data transmitted between the extension and Firebase uses HTTPS. The extension communicates with Firebase through its standard REST API. No unencrypted connections are used.
The extension writes a small number of short-lived cookies to opinionsurveys.online to manage participant session preferences. These are strictly functional — they are not used for tracking, advertising, or analytics.
snooze_{surveyCode}) — Set when you click "Remind me tomorrow" on a notification. Expires after 24 hours. Suppresses repeat notifications during that window.dismiss_{surveyCode}_{waveId}) — Set when you choose to skip a specific wave. Expires after 30 days. Prevents the skipped wave from reappearing.Both cookie types are scoped with secure: true and sameSite: "strict" attributes and are readable only by the extension itself. They are not accessible to third-party scripts.
The opinionsurveys.online website does not use any advertising cookies, tracking pixels, or third-party analytics cookies.
Survey data is stored in Google Firebase Realtime Database, a service provided by Google LLC. Firebase is subject to Google's privacy policy. Each survey creator sets up their own Firebase project — OpinionSurveys does not operate a shared Firebase instance. Data residency and retention within Firebase are subject to the survey creator's Firebase project configuration.
The opinionsurveys.online website loads Fraunces, DM Sans, and DM Mono typefaces from Google Fonts. Google Fonts may log request metadata (font name, browser, IP address) per Google's privacy policy. The Chrome extension popup loads these fonts as well when an internet connection is available.
No other third-party services, SDKs, analytics tools, advertising networks, or data brokers are used by OpinionSurveys.
OpinionSurveys does not operate a central data store and therefore does not have a universal data retention policy. Retention of your data is governed by two locations:
Data cached in chrome.storage.local — including your participant ID, survey configuration, and completion records — persists until you uninstall the extension. Uninstalling the extension clears all locally stored data permanently.
Once transmitted, your survey responses and browsing context data are retained in the survey creator's Firebase project. Retention periods are set by the survey creator, not by OpinionSurveys. If you wish to request deletion of your data, you should contact the researcher who administered your study. Because participant IDs are anonymous, researchers will need additional context from you to identify your records.
When all question waves in a study are complete, the extension automatically initiates an offboarding sequence: you receive a final notification after approximately 3 days, and the extension displays instructions to uninstall. Uninstalling removes all local data. Your responses in Firebase are retained until the researcher deletes them.
Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have rights regarding your data under laws such as the GDPR (EU/EEA), CCPA (California), or other applicable privacy regulations. Because OpinionSurveys facilitates research studies rather than operating as a data controller in its own right, the exercise of most data rights is managed through your survey creator.
For rights requests related to opinionsurveys.online platform data specifically (not study data), contact us directly using the details in the Contact section.
If you are using OpinionSurveys to conduct research, you are acting as a data controller for the participant data collected through your surveys. By using this platform, you agree to:
OpinionSurveys does not review or validate the content of individual surveys and is not responsible for researchers' compliance with applicable laws and ethical standards.
OpinionSurveys is not directed at children under the age of 13. The platform does not knowingly collect data from children under 13.
For studies involving participants aged 13–17, survey creators are responsible for obtaining appropriate parental or guardian consent in accordance with applicable laws (including COPPA in the United States) and their institutional ethics requirements. The in-extension consent screen is not a substitute for legally required parental consent for minor participants.
If you believe a minor under 13 has been enrolled in a study using this platform without appropriate consent, please contact us immediately at the address below.
We may update this privacy policy from time to time as the platform evolves. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision. We will not retroactively reduce participant protections without notice.
For material changes affecting data collection practices — particularly any expansion of what the extension collects — we will update the version number of the extension and display an updated disclosure screen to existing participants before the new collection behavior takes effect.
Continued use of the extension after a policy update constitutes acceptance of the revised terms.
For questions about this privacy policy, requests related to your data, or to report a concern about a survey you have enrolled in, please reach out:
We aim to respond to all privacy-related inquiries within 5 business days. For urgent concerns related to ongoing data collection without consent, please mark your message as urgent.
opinionsurveys.online is operated as an independent project. This privacy policy does not constitute legal advice and is provided for transparency and informational purposes.