As part of Prolific's commitment to protecting participant privacy, we only keep personal data for as long as necessary.

If your account has been inactive for over 12 months or you have been on the waitlist for an extended period, we'll send you a deletion notice via email. Following the steps in that email will keep your records active. However, if you take no action, your details will be permanently deleted, and we cannot guarantee future access to a Prolific participant account. This means:

If you haven’t logged into Prolific for a while, you may receive an email asking you to log in. By simply logging in, you can ensure your details are kept on record so that you can come back anytime you wish.

If you want your account deleted, no action is required, your account will be deleted on the date specified in the email.

If you're having trouble accessing your account, you can follow the below step-by-step guides:

Please note, if your account is currently on hold, signing in won’t change your account’s status, but it will prevent your account from being deleted.

If you continue to experience issues logging in, see I can't log in to my account

If you missed the deadline, you can reregister for the waitlist. However, we cannot guarantee future invitation or access to a Prolific account, so we strongly recommend acting quickly.

If your account is deleted while you still have a balance, any unclaimed balance will be forfeited. This includes payable balance and studies awaiting approval. To receive your balance, log in before the date quoted in the email. You'll then be able to cash out.

Yes. If you've been on the waitlist for a while without receiving or accepting an invitation, you'll receive an email. To renew your interest, simply follow these steps:

While we can't specify exact invitation timing, we continuously review our waitlist based on researcher needs and participant demographics.

Related resources:
1. How will you use my personal data
2. Data protection and privacy/GDPR