Contents:
1. What is ‘About you’?
2. How do I add an answer?
3. How do I delete and update an answer?
4. What about answers to sensitive questions?
5. Sensitive answers are password protected
6. Privacy concerns
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 (e.g., 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 (e.g., Geographic)
- Select or type your answers to the questions. Remember, all questions are optional, and most personal questions include a 'Rather not say' option.
- Remember to click ‘Save answers’ before navigating away from the page
💡 Important: 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. 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, simply click the red bin icon to the right of the answer you want to remove. Important notes:
- Once you click this button, both the answer and the question will disappear from your 'About you' page for a few days. You won't be able to update it right away. Check back when the question reappears to enter a new answer.
- For sensitive questions, please see the section below for how to access them.
What about answers to sensitive questions?
Some questions on your About You page are marked with an (i) to show that 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 (see above for how to do this).
Sensitive answers are password protected
To protect your sensitive About You responses from being viewed accidentally (e.g., 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 will need to complete this verification process as well.
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:
Privacy concerns
We appreciate you're giving us a lot of information about yourself, but 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 does not identify you in any way.
We allow selected researchers, approved by Prolific, to collect personal data / personally identifiable information (PII) in their studies. You can read more about this here: Personal information in studies.
If a study is collecting personal data, this will be made clear to you in the study detail page before you consent to take part. It will also include information about what personal data you will be asked to provide. This will allow you to make an informed choice about whether you wish to participate in the study.
The majority of researchers aren't allowed to ask for any personally identifiable information (PII). They may ask you questions that are similar to questions in the 'About You', just to confirm the information.
You can read more about we protect your data in Practices, Security and Privacy.
Need further help?
Click here to contact us