What is 'About You'?
'About You' is where you manage pre-screening questions that match you with appropriate studies. Researchers use these answers to find participants who meet their specific criteria, for example Spanish residents aged 18-75 who follow a vegetarian diet.
Your answers ensure you receive relevant studies and researchers find suitable participants.
Some questions are for Prolific's internal use only and won't be shared with researchers, but all information helps improve your study matching.
Answering all questions is optional, and most personal questions include a "Rather not say" option.
How do I add an answer?
To add an answer, follow these steps:
Visit your About You page by clicking "About you" in the top menu bar
Choose the category you want to update, for example Geographic
Select or type your answers to the questions, remember, all questions are optional, and most personal questions include a "Rather not say" option
Click "Save answers" once you're done
Please Note: If you enter the wrong answer, you can delete it, but you won't be able to enter the correct answer for a few days or weeks. Double-check your responses before clicking "Save."
How do I delete and update an answer?
If you've entered something incorrectly or would like to delete your answer, click the red bin icon to the right of the answer you want to remove.
Once you click this, both the answer and the question disappear from your About You page for a few days or weeks before reappearing. You won't be able to update it right away, check back when the question reappears to enter a new answer
Once you've re-answered, it may take a few more days for the studies you see to reflect your updated answer
For sensitive questions, see the section below on how to access them
For more on this specific process, see I deleted part of my 'About You', how can I add it back in?
What are priority questions?
Priority questions are the ones most frequently used by researchers. Answering them doesn't guarantee you'll receive more studies, but it does increase your chances since these are the screening questions most researchers rely on.
What about answers to sensitive questions?
Some questions on your About You page are marked with an (i) to show they may collect sensitive information, we call these "sensitive questions." By adding an answer to a sensitive question, you consent to the collection and use of this information as explained in our Privacy Notice.
This includes sharing this information with researchers when you take part in their studies, where relevant. For example, if a study requires participants who are short-sighted, your answer to the relevant About You question will be made available to the researcher conducting that study once you complete your submission. This information is only shared by reference to your Prolific ID, not your name or any other directly identifying details.
Remember, all questions are optional, and you can choose whether or not to provide an answer. You can also withdraw your consent to the use of your sensitive information at any time by deleting your answer.
Sensitive answers are password protected
To protect your sensitive About You responses from being viewed accidentally, for example when accessing the page in a public space, you'll need to enter your Prolific password to view or delete answers. If you have MFA set up on your account, you'll need to complete this verification process too.
After your password is accepted, you can view your answers for 5 minutes before the security validation resets, requiring you to enter your password again.
Password only (without MFA)
Password and MFA
The steps are the same as above, however, there's an additional step for MFA:
What if I don't know how to answer a question?
Some questions in About You might be difficult to answer, for example:
The question doesn't allow multiple choices, but you have multiple answers to provide
None of the available answers fit your situation
Answer as accurately as possible, but don't worry if the answers aren't exact:
If you have multiple answers for a question that only allows one, choose the most applicable option. For example, if you have two jobs, pick the employment area that covers the job you spend the most time doing or that provides most of your income
If no answer suits your situation, leave the question unanswered, this has the same effect as answering "N/A," "Other," or "None"
If your answer could refer to multiple places with the same name, don't worry. For example, if you live in Columbia, Missouri, don't worry that Columbia could also refer to South Carolina or Maryland, we'll combine this information with your other details to get a clear picture
If you have feedback or a question about an About You topic not covered here, contact us using the chatbot icon in the bottom right of your screen. Include:
A screenshot of the About You question showing the question and the dropdown of answers
The problem you're experiencing or your question
Privacy concerns
We appreciate you're giving us a lot of information about yourself, and we'd like to assure you your data is safe. When you join a study, you enter your Prolific ID and you might answer some basic demographic questions, this information doesn't identify you in any way.
We allow selected researchers, approved by Prolific, to collect personal data or personally identifiable information (PII) in their studies, see Personal information in studies for more.
If a study is collecting personal data, this will be made clear on the study detail page before you consent to take part, including what data you'll be asked to provide, so you can make an informed choice about whether to participate.
The majority of researchers aren't allowed to ask for any personally identifiable information. They may ask questions similar to those in About You, just to confirm the information.
See Practices, Security and Privacy for more on how we protect your data.