StudyScout Privacy Policy

Effective date: August 23, 2026
Last updated: August 23, 2026

Overview

StudyScout is a Chrome extension that helps Prolific participants monitor studies available to their Prolific account, filter and sort those studies, and receive optional browser notifications and sounds when new studies appear.

This Privacy Policy explains what information StudyScout handles, why it is needed, where it is stored, and how users can control or delete it.

StudyScout is independently developed and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or operated by Prolific.

StudyScout’s single purpose

StudyScout’s single purpose is to monitor and display studies available to an authenticated Prolific participant and provide user-configured notifications about newly available studies.

StudyScout handles only the information reasonably necessary to provide this functionality.

Consent

StudyScout does not access Prolific authentication information, inspect Prolific browser storage, discover Prolific tabs, poll the Prolific studies service, or begin background monitoring until the user reviews the extension’s disclosure and affirmatively selects Enable StudyScout.

If the disclosure changes in a material way, StudyScout may require the user to review and accept an updated disclosure before monitoring resumes.

Users can revoke consent at any time from StudyScout’s settings.

Information StudyScout handles

Prolific authentication information

After the user grants consent, StudyScout reads the Prolific access token and its expiration information from Prolific’s browser storage on app.prolific.com.

The access token is used only to authenticate requests for the user’s available studies from Prolific’s participant studies service at internal-api.prolific.com.

StudyScout:

• Does not ask for or collect the user’s Prolific password.

• Does not send the access token to the StudyScout developer.

• Does not send the access token to advertising, analytics, or other third-party services.

• Does not write the access token to persistent local storage.

• Does not display the access token in the popup or settings interface.

• Does not intentionally log the access token.

Prolific website and tab information

StudyScout detects whether an app.prolific.com tab is available. It may temporarily use the tab’s URL and Chrome tab identifier to establish active monitoring, request authentication information after consent, reload the page when the user explicitly requests authentication recovery, or open and focus a Prolific study.

This activity is limited to Prolific pages and is not used to create a general browsing history.

StudyScout does not monitor websites unrelated to Prolific.

Available study information

StudyScout receives information about studies available to the authenticated Prolific account. Depending on what Prolific provides, this may include:

• Study identifiers and titles.

• Researcher or provider names.

• Reward amounts and currencies.

• Estimated completion times.

• Estimated reward rates.

• Available places.

• Device compatibility information.

• Peripheral or equipment requirements.

• Prolific study URLs.

StudyScout processes this information locally to display, filter, sort, and notify the user about available studies.

Settings and consent information

StudyScout stores the following information locally using Chrome extension storage:

• Whether the user granted StudyScout’s data-access disclosure.

• The disclosure version and the time consent was granted.

• Study display and notification preferences.

• Minimum reward and maximum duration filters.

• Device and equipment filters.

• Sorting preferences.

• Whether browser notifications are enabled.

• The selected notification sound.

Temporary runtime information

While the browser session is active, StudyScout may temporarily store:

• The Prolific access token and expiration time.

• Tracking and authentication status.

• Currently displayed studies.

• Previously seen study identifiers.

• Unread study state.

• Notification delivery state.

• Polling, retry, and rate-limit timing.

• Prolific tab identifiers.

• Sanitized operational error categories and timestamps.

This information supports monitoring, notification reliability, duplicate suppression, error recovery, and the extension’s user interface.

Support communications

StudyScout displays the support email address awisherop@gmail.com and allows users to copy it to their clipboard. StudyScout does not read clipboard contents.

If a user voluntarily sends an email to this address, the developer will receive the sender’s email address and any information included in the message. Support communications are used only to respond to the request, investigate issues described by the user, maintain security, and improve StudyScout.

Users should not include their Prolific password, access token, or other sensitive authentication information in support messages.

How information is used

StudyScout uses the information described above only to:

• Authenticate requests to Prolific’s participant studies service.

• Retrieve studies available to the user’s Prolific account.

• Display, filter, and sort available studies.

• Detect newly available studies.

• Provide user-configured browser notifications and sounds.

• Maintain notification, unread, retry, and rate-limit state.

• Recover from expired authentication or temporary connection failures.

• Preserve the user’s consent and preferences.

• Respond to voluntarily submitted support requests.

• Maintain and secure functionality directly related to StudyScout’s disclosed purpose.

StudyScout does not use this information for user profiling, advertising, credit decisions, generalized market research, or purposes unrelated to its disclosed functionality.

Storage and retention

StudyScout does not operate a developer-controlled server for extension data.

Persistent local storage

Consent metadata and user preferences are stored in chrome.storage.local on the user’s device. They remain until the user changes or deletes them, revokes access where applicable, clears the extension’s storage, or uninstalls StudyScout.

Browser-session storage

Authentication information, study information, study history, notification state, and other runtime information are stored in chrome.storage.session. This information is temporary and is cleared when the browser session ends.

A runtime reset clears temporary authentication and runtime information while preserving consent and user preferences.

Revoking access clears the consent record and temporary authentication, study, notification, and runtime information. Saved display and notification preferences may remain so they are available if the user later enables StudyScout again.

Uninstalling StudyScout removes information stored by the extension through Chrome’s extension storage system.

Support email

Support communications voluntarily sent by email may be retained for as long as reasonably necessary to respond to the request, maintain support records, investigate security or reliability concerns, or comply with applicable legal obligations. Users may request deletion of their support correspondence by contacting awisherop@gmail.com.

Information sharing and transfer

StudyScout does not sell, rent, or trade user data.

The extension does not transmit Prolific authentication information, available-study information, browsing information, or extension settings to the StudyScout developer.

The extension’s only functional network communication involving Prolific data is with Prolific’s HTTPS services:

• https://app.prolific.com

• https://internal-api.prolific.com

The Prolific access token is sent to Prolific’s internal participant API only as necessary to authenticate requests for available studies.

StudyScout does not transfer extension data to:

• Advertising networks.

• Analytics providers.

• Data brokers.

• Information resellers.

• Social networks.

• Unrelated third parties.

• Developer-operated analytics or telemetry services.

If a user contacts the developer by email, that communication is processed by the user’s chosen email provider and the developer’s email provider. Information voluntarily included in that communication is handled separately from the automatic operation of the extension.

Advertising, analytics, and telemetry

StudyScout contains no advertising, behavioral tracking, analytics, or telemetry.

StudyScout does not use or transfer user data for personalized, retargeted, or interest-based advertising.

StudyScout does not monetize user data.

Human access to information

Because StudyScout’s Prolific authentication, study, and runtime information remains on the user’s device and is not transmitted to the developer, the developer does not have access to that information.

A human may see information only when a user deliberately includes it in a support communication, or when access is otherwise required by law or necessary to address a security matter involving information already possessed by the developer.

Security

StudyScout takes the following measures to limit and protect access to user information:

• Prolific network requests use HTTPS.

• Authentication information is kept in temporary Chrome session storage.

• Host access is limited to the two Prolific origins needed for the extension’s functionality.

• Study links are restricted to validated HTTPS URLs on app.prolific.com.

• Authentication tokens are not exposed to StudyScout’s popup or settings pages.

• The extension does not load or execute remote code.

• No developer-controlled server receives extension authentication, study, or runtime data.

• StudyScout requests only the Chrome permissions required for its existing features.

No security mechanism can guarantee absolute protection, but StudyScout is designed to minimize the amount, duration, and exposure of the information it handles.

User choices and deletion

Users can control StudyScout’s information handling in several ways:

• Disable tracking: Stops study monitoring and clears active study, unread, retry, notification, and alarm state while retaining consent and preferences.

• Reset StudyScout: Clears temporary authentication and runtime information while retaining consent and preferences.

• Revoke access: Stops monitoring and deletes the consent record and temporary authentication, study, notification, and runtime information.

• Change settings: Updates locally stored display and notification preferences.

• Clear extension storage: Chrome’s extension-management tools can be used to remove locally stored extension data.

• Uninstall StudyScout: Removes StudyScout and its Chrome extension storage.

• Contact support: Users may request deletion of support communications by emailing awisherop@gmail.com.

Third-party services

StudyScout depends on Prolific’s website, browser authentication format, and internal participant API. Prolific’s handling of information is governed by Prolific’s own terms and privacy policy.

StudyScout is not responsible for Prolific’s services, availability, security, or privacy practices.

The Chrome Web Store and Chrome browser are provided by Google and are subject to Google’s applicable terms and privacy policies.

Children’s privacy

StudyScout is intended for people eligible to participate in studies through Prolific. It is not directed toward children under 13, and the developer does not knowingly collect personal information from children through the extension.

Chrome Web Store Limited Use disclosure

StudyScout’s use and transfer of user data is limited to providing or improving the extension’s disclosed single purpose.

StudyScout does not sell user data, use it for advertising, transfer it to data brokers, use it to determine creditworthiness, or permit humans to read it except with the user’s explicit consent for a specific purpose, when necessary for security, or when required by law.

The use of information received from Google APIs will adhere to the Chrome Web Store User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated when StudyScout’s functionality, information-handling practices, or legal obligations change.

The “Last updated” date at the top of this page will identify the latest revision. If an update materially changes how StudyScout collects, uses, or shares user data, StudyScout will prominently disclose the change and obtain any consent required before the new practice begins.

Contact

Questions, privacy requests, and support inquiries can be sent to:

Email: awisherop@gmail.com