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Knowvanta’s Commitment to Privacy

Last updated September 01, 2025 (the “Effective Date”)

 

This Privacy Notice (“Notice”) describes how Rickera LLC, d/b/a Knowvanta (“Knowvanta”, “we”, “our”, or “us”) collects, uses, discloses, and retains Personal Data in connection with our market research activities. This Notice applies to participants in qualitative and quantitative research studies conducted or managed by Knowvanta in the United States, the European Economic Area (EEA), the United Kingdom, and other jurisdictions. 

 

Knowvanta takes your privacy seriously. We may update this Notice from time to time.

 

We collect data on behalf of our research sponsors (our clients). The types of research engagements we conduct include face-to-face interviews, telephone, and online market research.

 

Note that with respect to any Personal Data collected, handled and/or stored in connection with the participating in our NTM/MAC or BE panels this Notice does not apply.  Our Third Party affiliates may contact you regarding market research opportunities for NTM/MAC or BE  and more details on privacy controls and protections regarding the NTM/MAC or BE panels are available here:

 

Privacy Policy

 

All the data we collect is presented to our client/research sponsors in aggregate form. However, clients may access certain Personal Data, such as audio or video recordings, only with your prior informed consent. In such cases, Knowvanta will disclose the identity of the research sponsor to you once doing so no longer poses a risk of study bias. 

 

Topics:

  • What Personal Data is collected?
  • How will we use your Personal Data?
  • For how long will we retain your Personal Data?
  • To whom will we disclose your Personal Data?
  • How do we protect your Personal Data?
  • International Data Transfers
  • How can you access your Personal Data?
  • Children
  • Changes to this Notice
  • How to contact us

What Personal Data is collected?

 

Personal Data may be collected from you when you participate in our market research studies. Personal Data is any information that may be used to identify you. If we collect Personal Data as part of the research engagement, we will obtain your consent for the processing of this Personal Data at the time that the research engagement takes place. These consents are aligned with our industry association Codes of Conduct and Legal/Ethical Guidelines for market research.

 

We may collect Personal Data directly from you, or indirectly through trusted third parties, such as recruiters, research panel providers, or client-provided contact lists. The specific types of Personal

Data we collect may vary by study, but may include:

 

  • Full name, mailing address, email address, and telephone number
  • Demographic information (e.g., age, gender identity, race/ethnicity, marital status, education level)
  • Health-related data (e.g., medical history, diagnoses, prescriptions, health insurance information)
  • Audio and video recordings of interviews or focus groups
  • Screener responses, incentive eligibility information, and survey answers
  • Professional credentials and affiliations (e.g., if you are a healthcare provider, your specialty, sub-specialty, associated hospital or practice name)

Where required, we will obtain your explicit consent for the collection and processing of your Personal Data at the time the research engagement takes place. These consents are obtained in accordance with applicable privacy laws and relevant industry codes of conduct and ethical research guidelines.

 

How will we use your Personal Data?

 

We may use Personal Data that we collect for the following business purposes, including:

 

(1) maintaining and supporting our services, delivering and providing the requested services including payment of honoraria to our research participants, and complying with our contractual obligations related thereto;

 

(2) satisfying governmental reporting, tax, and other requirements;

 

(3) storing and processing data, including Personal Data, in computer databases and servers located in the United States;

 

(4) verifying identity of our research participants;

 

(5) as requested by our research participants;

 

(6) for other business-related purposes permitted or required under applicable local law and regulation; and

 

(7) as otherwise required by applicable law.

 

Our legal basis for the processing of your Personal Data is your consent. In certain cases, we may also rely on our legitimate interest in conducting research activities and fulfilling contractual or legal obligations.

 

For how long will we retain your Personal Data?

 

Knowvanta has a responsibility to maintain records relating to our research activities, in accordance with legal obligations, client contractual terms and suggested industry guidelines.

 We will retain data for a period required by applicable law or per the guidelines dictated by our client contractual terms if different from our internal retention guidelines, after which time disposal will be completed in a secure manner.

 

To whom will we disclose your Personal Data?

 

  • We do not share your Personal Data with third-parties unless we obtain your consent or under the following circumstances:
  • Reporting an Adverse Event to the research sponsor’s pharmacovigilance department;

(ii)      Responding to witness summons, court orders, or legal process, or to establish or exercise our legal rights or defend against legal claims; or

 

  • When we believe it is necessary to share information to investigate or prevent fraud, or to take action regarding illegal activities, or as otherwise required by law;

We may also disclose Personal Data to authorized third-party service providers who assist us in conducting the research studies. While both the category and the specific service provider may change at the sole discretion of KnowVanta, as of the  Effective Date of this Notice,  these include:

 

  • Recruiters (both primary and ad hoc) who help identify and screen research participants
  • Independent moderators contracted by Knowvanta to facilitate focus groups or interviews
  • Video conferencing and recording platforms (e.g., Zoom, FocusVision)
  • Transcription and analytics vendors (when applicable)
  • Data storage and communications tools (e.g., Microsoft SharePoint, Outlook)
  • Our cybersecurity and infrastructure vendor, Charisma Tech

In limited cases, we may receive your phone number for rescheduling or follow-up communications. Knowvanta does not use automated dialing systems (ATDS). If our clients or vendors do, they are required to indemnify Knowvanta and ensure compliance with all applicable laws.

 

We will ensure that any third party to which we disclose Personal Data provides at least the same level of privacy protection required by applicable data protection laws. All recipients must agree in writing to confidentiality obligations and appropriate data protection standards that meet our compliance requirements.

 

You have the right to limit the use and disclosure of your Personal Data, and we are committed to respecting those rights. We offer individuals the opportunity to opt out of disclosures of Personal Data to a third party, or the use of Personal Data for a materially different purpose than originally collected or subsequently authorized. We will obtain explicit opt-in consent before disclosing any Sensitive Data to a third party or using it for purposes other than those initially authorized.

 

How do we protect your Personal Data?

 

We have implemented physical and technical safeguards to protect Personal Data from loss, misuse, and unauthorized access, disclosure, alternation, or destruction.

 

For example, electronically stored Personal Data is maintained on secure, access-controlled systems hosted via Microsoft platforms, including SharePoint and Outlook. These systems are protected by firewall security and require user authentication, including multi-factor authentication (MFA), to access. Access is limited to trained personnel with a legitimate need to know. Encryption is used to protect data both in transit and at rest, in accordance with recognized industry standards.

 

To the extent that we keep physical records containing your Personal Data, we limit access to such Personal Data to staff members whom we reasonably believe need that information to provide our services to you.

 

Despite these precautions, no data security safeguards guarantee 100% security all the time.

 

We have designated the Knowvanta Compliance Department to oversee our information security program. The Compliance Department shall review and approve any material changes to this program as necessary. Any questions, concerns, or comments regarding this Notice also may be directed to ask@knowvanta.com. We will maintain, monitor, test, and upgrade information security policies, practices, and systems to assist in protecting the Personal Data that we collect.

 

Our personnel will receive training, as applicable, to effectively implement this Privacy Notice.

 

International Data Transfers

 

Where personal data is transferred from the European Economic Area (EEA) or the United Kingdom to countries that are deemed by some regulators as not providing an adequate level of data protection (such as the United States), we implement appropriate safeguards, including the use of Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission and/or other legally recognized mechanisms. 

 

How can you access and update your Personal Data?

 

Access

 

You have the right to obtain confirmation about whether Personal Data is included about you in our databases. Upon request, we will provide an individual access to your Personal Data within thirty (30) days of receipt of such request. We will permit an individual to know what Personal Data about him/her is included in our databases and to ensure that such Personal Data is accurate and relevant for the purposes for which we collected the Personal Data. You may review your Personal Data stored in the databases by written request.

 

Rectification and Erasure

 

You may request that we rectify or delete any of your Personal Data that is incomplete, incorrect, unnecessary or outdated. In making modifications to your Personal Data, you must provide only truthful, complete, and accurate information.

 

Objection

 

You may object, at any time, to your Personal Data being processed for a specific purpose.

 

Restriction of Processing

 

You may restrict processing of your Personal Data for certain reasons, such as, for example if you consider your Personal Data to be inaccurate or you have objected to the processing.

 

Data Portability

 

You may request the Personal Data you provided to us in a commonly used and machine-readable form.

 

Right to Withdraw Consent

 

You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time, including processing related to existing contracts for our Services.

 

To exercise any of the abovementioned rights, please contact us by phone, postal mail or email at the How to contact us section of this Privacy Notice.

 

We recommend that you include documents that prove your identity and a clear and precise description of your request. Please note that in some cases, especially if you wish us to delete or cease the processing of your Personal Data, we may no longer be able to provide our Services to you.

 

Children

 

We do not knowingly collect or maintain information from individuals who are under 13 years of age, and no part of our Site is designed to attract people under the age of 13. Protecting the privacy of children is very important to us. If we obtain knowledge that an individual who had provided Personal Information to Knowvanta is under the age of 13, we will take steps to remove that individual’s information from our databases.

Changes to this Notice

 

This Privacy Notice may be amended from time to time, consistent with applicable data protection and privacy laws and principles. We will notify you if we make changes that materially affect the way we handle Personal Data previously collected, and we will allow you to choose whether your Personal Data may be used in any materially different manner.

 

How to contact us

 

If you have any questions or complaints about this Privacy Notice or our data collection practices, please contact us at the details listed below and specify your country of residence and the nature of your question.

 

Mail: Compliance Manager

Ricker LLC d/b/a KnowVanta

PO Box 436

Chalfont, PA 18914

Email: ask@knowvanta.com 

 

If you consider our processing activities of your Personal Data to be inconsistent with the applicable data protection laws, you may lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority responsible for data protection matters.