Tiny Tip Tuesday #36

Terms and Conditions or Informed Consent

In the previous tip, we discussed how a survey introduction or disclaimer can add value to the terms and conditions you mention in the survey. Surveys can be used to collect personal information, such as name, phone number, email address, other personal preferences, and so on. Thus, there could be risks involved in collecting and storing this sensitive data.

Let's take a look at how adding an informed consent agreement or terms and conditions to your survey can help. An informed consent agreement is a written statement in which a person or an organization agrees or gives permission to perform certain actions.

Important aspects of the informed consent agreement:

It's best to cover how you will store and utilize customer data in the consent form.
The consent form gives an added legal binding to the policies and data privacy practices you mention in the terms and conditions.
You have the consent of your customers beforehand and they are well aware of how you will handle the data they provide.
You can use the consent form to mention the goals of your survey and what the customers can expect out of it.
You may also mention the user responsibilities, payment terms, subscription cancellation and refund rules, and anything that would cover general terms and conditions your users should be aware of.

Can you think of any other case why an informed consent agreement is vital in a survey? Let us know in the comments!