Effective Date: November 2025
Pew Research Center (“we,” “us,”, “Pew” or “our”) shares your concerns about maintaining the integrity and privacy of personal information collected on the internet. We are committed to protecting your privacy, and this Privacy Notice (“Notice”) is intended to describe our information (“Personal Information”) collection and dissemination practices in connection with Pew Research Center family of websites located at www.pewresearch.org or any website or service that links to or refers to this Notice (collectively, the “Sites”).
Please review the entire Notice and feel free to contact us using the contact information below if you have any questions. By using the Sites, you consent to the collection, use, and disclosure of your information in accordance with the Notice.
I. HOW WE OBTAIN YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
We may collect the following kinds of information when you use the Sites:
Information you provide directly to us. For certain activities, such as when you register, subscribe to our alerts, download our datasets, or contact us directly, we may collect some or all of the following types of information:
- Contact information, such as your full name, email address, mobile phone number, and address;
- Username and password; and
- Any other information you choose to provide to us.
We may combine such information with information we may already have about you.
Information we collect automatically. We may collect certain information automatically when you use our Sites, such as your Internet protocol (IP) address, device and advertising identifiers, browser type, operating system, Internet service provider, pages that you visit before and after using the Sites, the date and time of your visit, information about the links you click, the pages you view, the general manner in which you navigate the Sites, and other standard server log information. We may also collect certain location information when you use our Sites, such as your computer’s IP address, your mobile device’s GPS signal, or information about nearby WiFi access points and cell towers.
We and third parties that provide content or functionality on our Sites, may use cookies, pixel tags, Local Shared Objects, and similar technologies to automatically collect this information. For more information about cookies, pixel tags, Local Shared Objects, and similar technologies, please see the “Cookies” section below.
We may also collect technical data to address and fix technical problems and improve our Sites, including the memory state of your device when a system or app crash occurs while using our Sites. Your device or browser settings may permit you to control the collection of this technical data. This data may include parts of a document you were using when a problem occurred, or the contents of your communications. By using the Sites, you are consenting to the collection of this technical data.
We may also receive information about you from other sources, including through third-party services and organizations, or information which is publicly available. For example, if you access third-party services, such as Facebook, Google, or Twitter, through the Sites to login to the Sites or to share information about your experience on the Sites with others, we may collect information from these third-party services.
II. LAWFUL BASIS FOR PROCESSING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
To use your Personal Information, we must have a valid reason, which under some laws is called the “lawful basis for processing” or “legal grounds for processing.” We may process your Personal Information based on these reasons:
- Your Consent: Sometimes, we will use your Personal Information because you actively indicated it is okay that we do so. This includes, for example, when you create an account on the Sites.
- Keeping Our Agreement Obligations: This includes using your Personal Information to fulfill our agreement with you by, for example, when you make a donation to us.
- Legitimate Interests: We sometimes use your Personal Information because we believe it is in our best interest or the interest of someone else. Legitimate interests work when we use your Personal Information in ways that make sense and do not intrude on your privacy much. Or when we have a very good reason for it. Here is what it normally means for us:
- Sites’ Improvement: We may use data to enhance the Sites’ features and functionality, making them more useful and user-friendly.
- User Engagement: Keeping Site users, subscribers and others informed about updates, new features, and content that may interest them.
- Research and Development: Using aggregated and anonymized data to conduct research on trends and user behavior to improve our services or Sites.
- Security and Fraud Prevention: Protecting the Sites and its users from security threats, fraud, and abuse.
- Legal Compliance: Ensuring compliance with relevant laws and regulations, including the rules from other countries besides yours.
- Business Operations: Managing day-to-day operations and ensuring the Sites’ sustainability and growth.
- Following the Law: This includes processing your Personal Information to follow the law, such as keeping records of your cookie choices to comply with data laws, or managing donation information.
- Other Reasons: This includes using your data for any other reason that the law allows.
If we use legitimate interests as the reason for using your Personal Information, you can ask us for more details about why we think it is a good idea. Just get in touch using the contact details here.
When we use your Personal Information because you gave us permission (consent), you can change your mind at any time. However, this will not undo the things we did with your Personal Information before you changed your mind. It also will not change the things we are allowed to do with your Personal Information based on other reasons.
Where we receive your Personal Information as part of providing our services to you to fulfill a contract, we require such Personal Information to be able to carry out the contract. Without that necessary Personal Information, we will not be able to provide the services to you.
III. HOW WE USE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
We generally use the information we collect online to:
- Provide and improve the Sites;
- Contact you, including for fundraising purposes;
- Fulfill your requests for products, services, and information;
- Send you promotional materials from us or on behalf of our affiliates and trusted third-party partners;
- Analyze the use of the Sites and user data to understand and improve the Sites;
- Customize the content you see when you use the Sites;
- Prevent potentially prohibited or illegal activities and otherwise, in accordance with our Terms and Conditions; and
- For any other purposes disclosed to you at the time we collect your information or pursuant to your consent.
IV. HOW LONG WE KEEP YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
We will retain your Personal Information for as long as is necessary to fulfill the purpose for which we obtained your Personal Information and any other purposes permitted by law, and in compliance with our data retention policies. For example, we will retain and use your Personal Information to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations (e.g. if we are required to retain your data to comply with applicable laws), resolve disputes, and enforce our legal agreements and policies.
V. SHARING OF PERSONAL INFORMATION WITH THIRD PARTIES
We are committed to maintaining your trust, and we want you to understand when and with whom we may share the information we collect.
- Authorized third-party vendors and service providers. We may share your information with third-party vendors and service providers that help us with specialized services, including billing, payment processing, customer service, email deployment, business analytics, marketing, advertising, performance monitoring, hosting, and data processing.
- Corporate affiliates. We may share your information with our corporate affiliates that are subject to this Notice.
- Business transfers. We may share your information in connection with a substantial corporate transaction, such as the sale of a website, a merger, consolidation, asset sale, or in the unlikely event of bankruptcy.
- Legal purposes. We may disclose information to respond to subpoenas, court orders, legal process, law enforcement requests, legal claims or government inquiries, and to protect and defend the rights, interests, health, safety, and security of Pew Research Center, our affiliates, users, or the public.
- With your consent or at your direction. We may share information for any other purposes disclosed to you at the time we collect the information or pursuant to your consent or direction.
If you access third-party services, such as Facebook, Google, or Twitter, through the Sites to login to the Sites or to share information about your experience on the Sites with others, these third-party services may be able to collect information about you, including information about your activity on the Sites, and they may notify your connections on the third-party services about your use of the Sites, in accordance with their own privacy policies.
If you choose to engage in public activities on the Sites, you should be aware that any information you share there can be read, collected, or used by other users of these areas. You should use caution in disclosing personal information while participating in these areas. We are not responsible for the information you choose to submit in these public areas.
VI. SECURITY
We use reasonable measures to help protect information from loss, theft, misuse and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration and destruction. You should understand that no data storage system or transmission of data over the Internet or any other public network can be guaranteed to be 100 percent secure. Please note that information collected by third parties from your use of the Sites may not have the same security protections for information you submit to us, and we are not responsible for protecting the security of such information. Should the third parties acquire your Personal Information from Pew Research Center as a processor of ours, then we ensure that we have contracts with those third parties to ensure that your Personal Information is processed lawfully and at the same or better standards than we use.
VII. YOUR CHOICES AND RIGHTS
You may opt out of our email newsletters by clicking the “unsubscribe” at the bottom of each newsletter and following the subsequent instructions. You may also opt out of all communications from Pew Research Center by contacting us using the contact information below.
You may update the Personal Information that you provide directly to us at any time. For example, you may review, correct, update, and delete certain account information by logging into your account. If you would like to review, correct, update, port or delete Personal Information that you have provided to us or that we have collected automatically or from other sources, you may contact us as indicated in the Contact Information section. We will respond to your request as required by applicable laws.
Before processing your request, we may need to verify your or your authorized agent’s identity, in which case we may request additional information from you or your authorized agent, or send you a one-time use access code to the email address or phone number associated with your account.
We will use reasonable efforts to respond to your request promptly. We generally will not charge a fee for processing or responding to your request, apart from in exceptional circumstances. In those cases, we will explain the reasons and indicate the amount in question. Should we need to refuse your request, we will explain to you the reasons for this.
If you wish to lodge a complaint on how we have handled your request or Personal Information, you may contact us as indicated in the Contact Information section. You may also lodge a complaint with a data supervisory authority in the jurisdiction of your habitual residence, place of work, or of an alleged violation of data protection laws, by using their provided contact details.
Residents of certain U.S. states and other global locations are entitled once a year, free of charge, to request and obtain certain information regarding our disclosure, if any, of certain categories of Personal Information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes in the preceding calendar year. We do not share Personal Information with third parties for their own direct marketing purposes.
VIII. THIRD-PARTY ADVERTISING, LINKS, AND CONTENT
Some of the Sites may contain links to content maintained by third parties that we do not control. We allow third parties, including business partners, advertising networks, and other advertising service providers, to collect information about your online activities through cookies, pixels, local storage, and other technologies. These third parties may use this information to display advertisements on our Sites and elsewhere online tailored to your interests, preferences, and characteristics. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these third parties, and the information practices of these third parties are not covered by this Privacy Notice.
Some third parties collect information about users of our Sites to provide interest-based advertising on our Sites and elsewhere, including across browsers and devices. These third parties may use the information they collect on our Sites to make predictions about your interests in order to provide you ads (from us and other companies) across the internet. Some of these third parties may participate in an industry organization that gives users the opportunity to opt out of receiving ads that are tailored based on your online activities. Due to differences between using apps and websites on mobile devices, you may need to take additional steps to disable targeted ad technologies in mobile apps. Many mobile devices allow you to opt out of targeted advertising for mobile apps using the settings within the mobile app or your mobile device. For more information, please check your mobile settings. You also may uninstall our apps using the standard uninstall process available on your mobile device or app marketplace.
To opt out of interest-based advertising across browsers and devices from companies that participate in the Digital Advertising Alliance or Network Advertising Initiative opt-out programs, please visit their respective websites. You may also be able to opt out of interest-based advertising through the settings within the mobile app or your mobile device, but your opt-out choice may apply only to the browser or device you are using when you opt out, so you should opt out on each of your browsers and devices if you want to disable all cross-device linking for interest-based advertising. If you opt out, you will still receive ads but they may not be as relevant to you and your interests, and your experience on our Sites may be degraded.
Do-Not-Track Signals and Similar Mechanisms. Some web browsers transmit “do-not-track” signals to websites. Because of differences in how web browsers incorporate and activate this feature, it is not always clear whether users intend for these signals to be transmitted, or whether they even are aware of them. We currently do not take action in response to these signals.
IX. COOKIES
Cookies are small bits of information that are stored by your computer’s web browser. Pixel tags are very small images or small pieces of data embedded in images, also known as “web beacons” or “clear GIFs,” that can recognize cookies, the time and date a page is viewed, a description of the page where the pixel tag is placed, and similar information from your computer or device. Local Shared Objects (sometimes referred to as “Flash Cookies”) are similar to standard cookies except that they can be larger and are downloaded to a computer or mobile device by the Adobe Flash media player. For more information, please see our Cookie Notice.
We use cookies, Local Shared Objects, and similar technologies for technical reasons to enable the efficient operation of the Sites, to enhance the ease of use of the Sites, and to gather statistics on how you use our Sites. By using the Sites, you consent to our use of cookies and similar technologies. You may opt out of cookies and similar technologies in accordance with the “Choices” section above, but please understand that certain functionalities on the Site may no longer function for you if you choose to do so.
You may be able to refuse or disable cookies by adjusting your web browser settings. Because each web browser is different, please consult the instructions provided by your web browser (typically in the “help” section). Please note that you may need to take additional steps to refuse or disable Local Shared Objects and similar technologies. For example, Local Shared Objects can be controlled through the instructions on Adobe’s Setting Manager page. If you choose to refuse, disable, or delete these technologies, some of the functionality of the Sites may no longer be available to you.
X. INTERNATIONAL USERS
We maintain information in the United States of America and in accordance with the laws of the United States, which may not provide the same level of protection as the laws in your jurisdiction. By using the Sites and providing us with information, you understand and agree that your information may be transferred to and stored on servers located outside your resident jurisdiction and, to the extent you are a resident of a country other than the United States, that you consent to the transfer of such data to the United States for processing by us in accordance with this Privacy Notice.
Personal Information may be transferred out of, or to, the United States and to service providers in countries outside the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, and may be stored and processed manually and electronically through global systems and tools for the purposes outlined above.
For transfers of Personal Information from the EEA, UK, or Switzerland to other countries, Pew ensures that the European Standard Contractual Clauses 2021 cover the transfers unless an alternative mechanism for lawful transfers is applicable, including Binding Corporate Rules of the third parties importing the Personal Information (such as service providers).
XI. CHILDREN
We do not knowingly collect any Personal Information from children under the age of 13 without parental consent, unless permitted by law. If we learn that a child under the age of 13 has provided us with Personal Information, we will delete it in accordance with applicable law.
XII. CHANGES TO THE PRIVACY NOTICE
We may update this Notice from time to time. When we update the Notice, we will revise the “Effective Date” date above and post the new Privacy Notice. We recommend that you review the Notice each time you visit the Sites to stay informed of our privacy practices.
XIII. CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have any questions about this Notice or our practices, please contact us at:
901 E Street NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20004
USA
Telephone: (+1) 202-419-4300
Email: privacy@pewresearch.org
Additionally, you may also reach out directly to our Data Protection Officer at:
VeraSafe LLC
100 M Street SE, Suite 600
Washington, D.C. 20003
Email: experts@verasafe.com