This Privacy Notice (“Notice”) applies to individuals who join or participate in an online research community powered by Fuel Cycle — whether the community is branded with a client’s name or presented as an unbranded, independent community. It explains what personal information is collected from you as a community member, how that information is used, and what rights and choices you have.

Fuel Cycle Inc. and its subsidiaries operate the technology platform that powers your community. We are headquartered at 11859 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 400, Los Angeles, CA 90025.

The organization that sponsors and administers your community (the “Community Sponsor”) controls how your information is used for research purposes. Fuel Cycle processes your information as a service provider on behalf of the Community Sponsor and for the limited purposes described in this Notice. Questions about a specific study or research activity should be directed to the Community Sponsor.

Our data privacy team can be reached at privacy@fuelcycle.com. California residents: see our California Notice for additional rights and disclosures.

1. What This Notice Covers

This Notice applies to you when you:

• Register as a member of a Fuel Cycle-powered research community (branded or unbranded).
• Complete surveys, polls, or questionnaires within the community.
• Participate in discussions, focus groups, or video/audio research sessions.
• Upload images, videos, or other content as part of a research activity.
• Interact with other members, moderators, or Community Sponsor representatives through the platform.

This Notice does not govern Fuel Cycle’s own corporate website (fuelcycle.com), its marketing to business clients, or the employment application process. Those activities are governed by the Fuel Cycle Privacy Policy available at fuelcycle.com/legal.

2. Personal Information We Collect

Information You Provide When Joining

When you register for the community, we collect:

• Registration details — such as your name, email address, username or screen name, and password.
• Profile information — such as demographic details (age, gender, location, household income, occupation) that the Community Sponsor uses to screen and segment research participants.
• Screener responses — answers to qualification questions used to determine your eligibility for specific studies.

Information You Provide While Participating

When you take part in research activities, we collect:

• Survey and questionnaire responses — including your opinions, preferences, attitudes, and other feedback you share as part of research studies.
• Discussion and forum posts — written contributions you make to community boards or group discussions.
• Video and audio content — if you participate in video interviews, video diaries, or focus groups conducted through the platform.
• Images and files — photos, screenshots, or other files you upload in connection with a research task.
• In-platform messages — communications you send to moderators or support staff through the community platform.

Information Collected Automatically

We and our service providers automatically collect certain technical information when you use the platform:

• Device and browser data — such as device type, operating system, browser type, screen resolution, and IP address.
• Usage data — such as pages or screens you viewed, features you used, time spent on the platform, and actions taken (e.g., survey completions, login activity).
• General location data — such as city or region, derived from your IP address. We do not collect precise GPS location unless you explicitly grant permission.

This information is used to operate and secure the platform, troubleshoot technical issues, and help the Community Sponsor understand how members engage with the community.

Sensitive Information

Some research studies may ask about sensitive topics — such as health conditions, financial circumstances, racial or ethnic background, or political views. We will only collect such information when you have provided your explicit, opt-in consent unless required or permitted by law. You are never required to answer questions about sensitive topics in order to remain a community member.

3. How We Use Your Information

Your personal information is used for the following purposes:

• To operate the community — maintaining your account, enabling participation in studies, delivering surveys and research tasks, and providing technical support.
• To fulfill research activities — collecting, aggregating, and analyzing your responses on behalf of the Community Sponsor for legitimate market research purposes.
• To communicate with you — sending study invitations, platform announcements, community updates, and responses to your support requests. You can manage communication preferences from your account settings.
• To verify eligibility and quality — screening responses to confirm you meet study criteria and to maintain the integrity of research data (e.g., detecting fraudulent or duplicate accounts).
• To improve the platform — analyzing usage patterns to enhance platform performance, usability, and features. We may create aggregated or de-identified data for this purpose.
• For security and compliance — detecting and preventing unauthorized access or fraudulent activity, complying with legal obligations, and enforcing platform terms and conditions.

4. How Your Information Is Shared

We share your personal information only as described below:

• With the Community Sponsor — your profile information, screener responses, and research participation data are shared with the organization that operates your community. The Community Sponsor uses this information to conduct market research and may use aggregated or de-identified findings for business purposes. The Community Sponsor’s own privacy policy governs how they handle your information after receiving it.
• With Fuel Cycle’s service providers — companies that support our platform operations, including cloud hosting providers (such as AWS), data analytics services, and communication tools. These providers are contractually restricted from using your information for any purpose other than providing services to Fuel Cycle.
• For legal and safety purposes — we may disclose information to law enforcement, regulators, or other parties when required by law, or when we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of Fuel Cycle, community members, or others.
• In connection with a business transfer — if Fuel Cycle is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you of any material change in the entity responsible for your information.

We do not sell your personal information. We do not share your research responses with advertisers or use your community participation data to target you with advertisements.

5. Incentives and Rewards

Many research communities offer incentives (such as points, gift cards, or sweepstakes entries) for participation. If your community offers incentives, please note:

• Fulfilling incentive payments may require us to collect additional information, such as your mailing address or payment details.
• For certain reward types, tax-related information may be required under applicable law.
• Incentive fulfillment information is used only for that purpose and is not shared with the Community Sponsor beyond what is required for administration.

6. Cookies and Similar Technologies

The community platform uses cookies and similar technologies to:

• Keep you logged in and remember your preferences.
• Understand how members navigate and use the platform.
• Deliver the correct survey or research task to the right member at the right time.

We do not use community platform cookies for cross-site advertising or behavioral tracking outside the community. You can manage or disable cookies through your browser settings; however, doing so may affect your ability to log in or use certain platform features.

7. Your Privacy Rights and Choices

Depending on where you live, you may have the following rights with respect to your personal information:

• Access — request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Correction — ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Deletion — request that we delete your personal information, subject to certain exceptions (for example, information we are legally required to retain).
• Restriction — ask us to limit how we use your information in certain circumstances.
• Portability — receive your information in a structured, machine-readable format where applicable.
• Withdraw consent — where processing is based on your consent, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing.

To exercise these rights, you may:

• Log in to your community account and update your profile or account settings.
• Contact Fuel Cycle at privacy@fuelcycle.com.
• Contact the Community Sponsor directly (see your community’s help or contact page).

For EEA residents: email eurep@fuelcycle.com. For UK residents: email ukrep@fuelcycle.com.

We will respond to requests within the timeframe required by applicable law and will not discriminate against you for exercising your privacy rights.

Leaving the Community

You may close your community membership at any time by contacting support or using the account settings in your community platform. Upon leaving, your account will be deactivated and your personal information will be handled in accordance with our retention practices and applicable law. De-identified or aggregated research data (which cannot be used to identify you) may be retained by the Community Sponsor for legitimate research purposes.

8. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as your community account is active, or as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this Notice, comply with legal obligations, or resolve disputes. When your information is no longer needed, we will securely delete or de-identify it.

The Community Sponsor may have separate retention obligations under applicable research ethics guidelines or legal requirements. Please review the Community Sponsor’s privacy policy for details.

9. Security

Fuel Cycle maintains rigorous data security practices, including:

• SOC 2 Type II certification, reflecting independent verification of our security controls.
• Regular code scans and penetration testing.
• Encryption of data in transit and at rest.
• Role-based access controls to limit who can view your information.

No system is completely immune from security incidents. If we become aware of a breach that affects your personal information, we will notify you and relevant authorities as required by law.

10. Children’s Privacy

Community membership and participation in research studies is limited to individuals 18 years of age or older (or the age of majority in your jurisdiction). We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors. If you believe a minor has registered for the community, please contact us at privacy@fuelcycle.com and we will take steps to remove the account.

11. International Data Transfers

Your personal information may be stored and processed in the United States or other countries where Fuel Cycle or its service providers operate. If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom, or Switzerland, we rely on appropriate transfer mechanisms — including the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (EU-US DPF), the UK Extension to the EU-US DPF, Standard Contractual Clauses, and other recognized safeguards — to protect your information when transferred internationally.

To learn more about the DPF program and view Fuel Cycle’s certification, visit www.dataprivacyframework.gov.

12. EU-US Data Privacy Framework & Independent Recourse

Fuel Cycle Inc. complies with the EU-U.S. DPF, the UK Extension, and the Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Framework as set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce. If there is any conflict between this Notice and the applicable DPF Principles, the DPF Principles shall govern.

EEA, UK, and Swiss individuals with DPF inquiries or complaints should contact Fuel Cycle first:

Fuel Cycle Inc., 11859 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 400, Los Angeles, CA 90025

EEA email: eurep@fuelcycle.com  |  UK email: ukrep@fuelcycle.com

If your complaint is not resolved, Fuel Cycle has committed to refer unresolved complaints to BBB National Programs’ Data Privacy Framework Services (free of charge). See bbbprograms.org/dpf for more information. Under certain conditions, binding arbitration through the DPF Panel may also be available.

13. Legal Basis for Processing (EEA/UK Members)

Where EU or UK data protection law applies, Fuel Cycle processes your community member data on the following legal bases:

• Contractual necessity — to operate your account and provide access to the community platform.
• Legitimate interests — to maintain platform security, detect fraud, and improve our services, provided these interests do not override your rights.
• Consent — for the collection of sensitive personal information, or where otherwise required by law.
• Compliance with legal obligations — where we are required by law to process or retain your information.

As noted above, the Community Sponsor acts as the data controller for research activities conducted through the platform; Fuel Cycle acts as a data processor in that context.

14. Changes to This Notice

We may update this Notice from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or applicable law. We will notify you of material changes by posting an updated Notice in the community platform or by other reasonable means. The “Last Updated” date at the top of this Notice reflects the most recent revision. Your continued participation in the community after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated Notice.

15. How to Contact Us

General inquiries

Fuel Cycle Inc.

11859 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 400

Los Angeles, CA 90025

Email: privacy@fuelcycle.com

Tel: (323) 556-5400

EEA representative

Email: eurep@fuelcycle.com

The DPO Centre Europe, Alexandra House, 3 Ballsbridge Park, Dublin, D04C 7H2

www.dpocentre.com  |  +353 1 631 9460

UK representative

Email: ukrep@fuelcycle.com

The DPO Centre Ltd, 50 Liverpool Street, London, EC2M 7PY, UK

www.dpocentre.com  |  +44 203 797 6340