Terms and Conditions for Participation in Market Research Studies

These Terms and Conditions govern participation in market research, opinion, customer experience, satisfaction, behavior, consumption habits, product or service evaluation, and other research activities organized or managed by:

• Entity: AUTENTIC LABS SL
• Tax ID: B24842650
• Registered office: Carrer de Llull, 63 2 6. 08005 Barcelona SPAIN
• Email: hola@autentic.ai
• Website: autentic.ai

Hereinafter, "AUTENTIC".

Autentic may conduct the study on its own initiative or on behalf of a client, sponsoring entity, or company interested in learning the opinions of participants.

These Terms govern the conditions applicable to voluntary participation in any of the following activities: online, telephone, in-person, or mobile app surveys; individual in-depth interviews; discussion groups or focus groups; research communities, forums, or consumer panels; experience or usage diaries; concept, product, packaging, advertising, communication, or service tests; studies via video call, audio, photography, or audiovisual recording; and any other research technique communicated to the participant in advance.

The specific conditions of each study, including its duration, format, requirements, incentive, recording, or use of samples, will be communicated before participation. In case of contradiction, the specific conditions will prevail over these Terms for that study.

The activities governed by these Terms have a research, analysis, or understanding purpose regarding opinions, behaviors, preferences, and experiences.

Unless expressly stated otherwise, participation does not constitute an employment, commercial, agency, representation, or partnership relationship between the participant and the Research Entity.

It is also stated that responses will not be used to directly sell products or services to the participant, nor does participation imply an obligation to purchase products, contract services, or receive commercial communications, and no decisions with legal or similarly significant effects will be made about the participant based exclusively on their responses, unless expressly disclosed and supported by a valid legal basis.

Participation is voluntary.

The participant may reject an invitation, refuse to answer specific questions except those that are essential to verify participation criteria or technically continue the study, interrupt participation at any time, and withdraw consent for processing activities based on it.

Abandoning a study will not generate a penalty. However, it may affect the right to receive an incentive if participation has not been completed.

People who meet the criteria indicated in each study may participate, such as age, residence, profession, sector of activity, consumption experience, use of certain products, or any other legitimate selection criterion.

The participant declares:

• a) That they are over 18 years old.
• b) That they have sufficient capacity to accept these Terms.
• c) That they meet the requirements communicated for the study.
• d) That the information provided during selection and participation is truthful and corresponds to their own experience or opinion.
• e) That they will not impersonate third parties.
• f) That they will not use automated systems, fictitious identities, or fraudulent methods to participate.

Autentic may request proportionate checks to verify eligibility, avoid duplicates, or manage incentives. These checks must not involve collecting excessive or unnecessary data.

As a general rule, studies will be addressed to people over 18 years old.

When a study allows minors to participate, the authorizations and safeguards required by law will be requested from their legal representatives.

Throughout the study, language adapted to the minor's age will be used and questions or dynamics that may harm their well-being, dignity, or interests will be avoided.

Autentic may exclude any participant when there are reasonable doubts about their age or the validity of the authorization provided.

Before accessing the study, the participant may answer selection questions intended to determine whether they meet the required profile.

Answering the selection questions does not guarantee admission to the study or the right to receive an incentive.

Exclusion for not meeting selection criteria does not imply a negative assessment of the participant. Criteria may respond to methodological needs, statistical quotas, profiles already covered, or legitimate instructions of the study.

The participant undertakes to:

• a) Respond personally.
• b) Act in good faith.
• c) Provide sincere and reasonably complete responses.
• d) Maintain respectful conduct.
• e) Not deliberately alter the functioning of the study.
• f) Not record, copy, photograph, or disclose confidential content; this includes merely communicating to third parties the characteristics of the product or service shown for evaluation.

Autentic may terminate participation when offensive, discriminatory, threatening, fraudulent, disruptive, or Terms-breaching conduct occurs, and may claim the corresponding liability for breach of the rules by the participant, which may include compensation for damages and lost profits.

When the session or activity is going to be recorded, prior information will be provided in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

Recording will be carried out on the basis of consent. Refusal to be recorded will prevent participation. Identifiable image, voice, or statements will not be used for advertising, testimonial, or promotional purposes unless there is a specific, separate, and express authorization.

The interview must be conducted according to quality criteria. Each interview is subject to quality review, both automated through artificial intelligence and by the Autentic team.

An interview may be discarded and, consequently, will not entitle the participant to the incentive when:

• a) The responses do not meet the content criteria established for the study.
• b) The audio quality does not allow transcription and analysis.
• c) The video quality does not allow analysis.
• d) The image or framing does not meet the minimum conditions for presentation to the client.
• e) Insults, offensive conduct, or any behavior contrary to these Terms occurs.
• f) Third parties appear either by voice or image.
• g) Techniques are used to commit fraud in the responses, implying that the intervention is not truthful.

The participant may request a review when they consider that they have met those requirements.

In certain studies, representatives of the client may access transcripts, review audio or video fragments, and receive results or reports.

Before participation, it will be indicated whether the client will have access to identifiable information or only to pseudonymized, anonymized, or aggregated information. If identifiable information is sent to the client, the client's identity will be disclosed before the start or at the end of the study to avoid conditioning the participant's opinion by knowing the identity of the client requesting the research.

Platforms for video conferencing, recording, transcription, hosting, participant panels, data analysis, or incentive management will be used to conduct the study. The participant must respect the technical and security conditions communicated.

Autentic will seek to select providers that offer sufficient privacy, confidentiality, and security safeguards.

The Research Entity may use automated or artificial intelligence tools for auxiliary tasks such as transcribing interviews, translating responses, generating preliminary summaries, and supporting qualitative or statistical analysis.

These tools will not necessarily replace human review.

The participant's information will not be used to train third-party artificial intelligence models for those third parties' own purposes, unless this has been clearly disclosed and there is an appropriate legal basis.

When use of a tool may involve relevant risks, processing of sensitive data, international transfers, or significant decisions, the required safeguards will be applied.

When the study includes a product test, the participant must:

• a) Read and follow the instructions for use.
• b) Respect warnings and precautions.
• c) Not use the product for purposes other than those intended.
• d) Report allergies, intolerances, or relevant circumstances when requested and necessary.
• e) Not deliver the product to third parties unless authorized.
• f) Keep or return it according to the instructions received.

Products should not be tested when there is a known contraindication, a relevant allergy, or any circumstance that may pose a risk to the participant. Autentic may suspend the test for safety reasons.

Concepts, prototypes, packaging, campaigns, designs, unreleased products, strategies, documents, and materials shown during a study will be confidential.

The participant undertakes to:

• Not photograph or record them.
• Not publish them on social media.
• Not discuss them with third parties.
• Not copy, reproduce, sell, or distribute them.
• Return or destroy them when requested.

This obligation will continue after the end of the study while the information is not public, the provider, or whoever holds all rights.

The participant must maintain confidentiality regarding the identity of the client and the non-public objectives of the study, as well as the products, concepts, campaigns evaluated, and materials shown.

Some studies may offer economic compensation, points, vouchers, products, prize draws, or other incentives. These conditions will be communicated before participation.

The incentive is intended to compensate time, availability, or expenses associated with participation. It does not constitute salary or employment remuneration.

The Research Entity may deny or withdraw the incentive when:

• a) False data has been provided.
• b) There is duplicate participation or participation using multiple identities.
• c) Automated, random, or participation-incompatible responses are detected.
• d) The essential requirements communicated have not been completed.
• e) Confidentiality rules have been breached.
• f) There is fraud or manipulation.
• g) Participation has not been completed for reasons attributable to the participant.
• h) Quality requirements are not met.

Exclusion must be based on reasonable and proportionate grounds.

When an incentive may be subject to tax obligations, withholdings, or declarations, applicable law will apply. Autentic may request the data strictly necessary to comply with its tax or accounting obligations.

The participant will be responsible for their own tax obligations when legally applicable.

The Research Entity may exclude a person or suspend their access to future studies when they breach these Terms, provide false or misleading information, breach confidentiality, attempt to manipulate results, use unauthorized automated tools, or create legal, technical, or security risks.

Exclusion will be applied proportionately and may be limited to a specific study or extended to future studies when seriousness or recurrence justifies it.

Autentic may modify, postpone, or cancel a study for methodological, operational, legal, technical, or security reasons, or by decision of the client.

When possible, affected people will be informed. Cancellation will not give rise to compensation, without prejudice to payment of expenses or compensation previously committed when reasonable in view of work already performed.

Questionnaires, scripts, methodologies, databases, reports, designs, platforms, brands, materials, and content provided by Autentic or by the client are protected by intellectual property, industrial property, or confidentiality rights.

Participation does not grant the participant any right over these materials. Their reproduction, extraction, communication, distribution, publication, transformation, or unauthorized use is prohibited.

Personal data will be processed in accordance with the Privacy Policy for Participants in Market Research Studies, which forms part of these conditions.

Acceptance of these Terms does not by itself imply consent for all data processing activities. Optional consents must be requested separately where applicable.

Autentic will act with professional diligence and adopt reasonable measures to conduct studies safely.

However, it will not be liable for failures arising from the participant's device or connection, interruptions of third-party services outside its reasonable control, indirect losses or non-guaranteed expectations, personal decisions made based on materials shown exclusively for research purposes, or confidentiality breaches committed by participants.

Nothing in these Terms will limit non-waivable rights or exclude liabilities that cannot legally be excluded.

Communications related to the study may be made by email, platforms, or other channels indicated by the participant.

Communications necessary to manage an accepted study will not be commercial in nature.

Receipt of invitations to future studies will be managed according to the applicable legal basis and the preferences expressed by the participant.

Autentic may update these Terms to reflect legal, technical, methodological, or organizational changes.

The applicable version will be the one in force when the person accepts participation in a study, unless a later modification is required by legal obligation or is more favorable to them.

Relevant changes will be communicated by appropriate means.

If any provision is declared null, invalid, or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in force. The affected provision will be interpreted or replaced, to the extent legally possible, by another that produces an equivalent and valid result.

These Terms will be governed by Spanish law and by European Union law where applicable.

Claims may initially be addressed to:

When the participant has the legal status of consumer or user, they may resort to the competent administrative or judicial bodies in accordance with applicable law. Otherwise, the Courts of the city of Barcelona will have jurisdiction.