What is Prolific Assistant?
Prolific Assistant is a browser extension that notifies you when studies are available for you to take.
If you see a study you like, simply click it and you'll enter it immediately. If you decide you'd rather not take the study, you can return it.
Features:
Shows how many studies are available on the extension icon
Provides a desktop notification for every new study found
Lets you enter studies straight away
Shows the last time studies were checked for
How can I download Prolific Assistant?
How does Prolific Assistant work?
When new studies become available on your Prolific account, you will get a desktop notification in the form of a popup and/or sound. The extension will also show a full list of studies that are currently available to you.
You can click a study in the extension to open it and start taking part straight away.
This means you can keep an eye on available studies while you carry on with other activities online.
At the top of the extension, the “Last fetch” section shows how long ago your account was last checked for studies.
How do I enable sounds/notifications?
Prolific Assistant can show desktop notifications and play a sound when new studies are found. To use these features, you need to enable notifications in both your browser and your operating system.
Step 1: Enable notifications in the extension
Click the Prolific Assistant icon in your browser toolbar
Go to the Settings tab
Make sure Desktop notifications is turned on
Choose your preferred alert sound and volume
Step 2: Enable notifications in your browser
Chrome
Go to chrome://settings/content/notifications
Make sure "Sites can ask to send notifications" is turned on
Check that Chrome is not listed under "Not allowed to send notifications" — if it is, remove it
Firefox
Go to about:preferences#privacy
Scroll to Permissions → click Settings... next to Notifications
Make sure Prolific Assistant is not set to Block
Step 3: Enable notifications in your operating system
macOS
Open System Settings → Notifications
Find Google Chrome (or Firefox) in the list and click it
Make sure Allow notifications is turned on
Set the alert style to Alerts or Banners (not "None")
Make sure Do Not Disturb / Focus mode is turned off (check the Control Centre)
Windows
Open Settings → System → Notifications
Make sure Notifications is turned on at the top
Scroll down and find Google Chrome (or Firefox)
Make sure it is turned on
Make sure Focus assist / Do Not Disturb is turned off (check the Action Centre)
Still not getting notifications?
Try closing and reopening your browser
Make sure the extension is up to date (check the Chrome Web Store or Firefox Add-ons page)
Try removing and reinstalling the extension
Does Prolific support the use of other extensions?
No. Prolific only supports the official Prolific Assistant. Using unsupported extensions could cause issues with your Prolific account, so we advise against them.