Version: 2025.04.11

Welcome to Peira!

We’re excited to have you join our platform. Before you start using Peira, please read these Participants Terms and Conditions ("Terms") carefully. They outline your legal rights and obligations (and ours) when you use our platform.

Definitions and Overview

Definitions

We are Peira Network Limited ("Peira", "we", "us");

Peira is the platform we provide to connect researchers with participants and enable researchers to conduct Studies;

Researchers are individuals who use Peira to conduct Studies and/or recruit participants for Studies;

Participants are individuals who participate in Studies listed on Peira, and their submissions in participating in Studies are Submissions;

Studies are research studies, questionnaires or experiments created and managed by Researchers. Studies encompass: (i) those created by Researchers on third-party platforms and listed on Peira; and (ii) those created by Researchers using Studies Creation Service and hosted on Peira;

Points are benefits that Peira may offer Participants for their Submissions under Crowdsourcing Service, which are not designed to bear any financial value;

Paid Rewards are rewards that contains financial value that Researchers or Peira may offer Participants for their Submissions under Crowdsourcing Service. They can be in the form of fiat currency or cryptocurrency;

Mobile Sensing is the collection of data (including biometric data including heart rate, activity levels) from Participants’ wearable devices or mobile applications during Studies, typically on a continuous basis until the Study concludes;

Wearable Devices are devices worn by Participants (e.g., smartwatches, fitness trackers) capable of collecting and transmitting Mobile Sensing data to Peira or Researchers.

Peira offers two services:

• Crowdsourcing Service: connecting Researchers with Participants for Studies; and
• Studies Creation Service: enabling Researchers to create and conduct Studies on our platform.

When you register as a Participant, you enter into an agreement with us under these Terms.

When you agree to take part in a Study, a separate agreement is formed between you and the Researcher based on their Study listing and any additional terms they specify (such as consent forms) (collectively, "Study Terms"). We are not a party to that agreement.

Account Registration

To use Peira as a Participant, you must:

1. Provide your name, email address and any other information that Peira may request, and create a password;
2. Confirm you are over 18, authorized to use Peira, and using Peira for professional or academic purposes, not as a consumer; and
3. Ensure all information provided is accurate and updated promptly if it changes.

You hereby consent to allow us to share your account information with Researchers for purposes related to Studies. Researchers receiving this data will act as data controllers under applicable data protection laws, and their privacy notices will govern their use of your data. We are not responsible for their actions or misuse of your data once shared.

You will be asked to provide additional pre-screening data (e.g., demographic information) – this is not essential but you are encouraged to provide as it help match you with Studies.

When you register to use Peira as a Participant, you are offering to enter into a binding agreement with us under these Terms. If we accept your registration, then you will be legally bound by these Terms.

Upon registration, we’ll create a Participant Account for you. You’re responsible for keeping your login details secure and must not allow others to use your account. Notify us if you suspect unauthorized access.

Your Responsibilities to Peira

You agree:

• to use Peira honestly and respectfully, without misrepresenting your identity or affiliation;
• to comply with applicable laws when participating in Studies;
• to treat Peira staff and Researchers respectfully, without discrimination or abuse (breaches may result in immediate account termination);
• to provide accurate and complete Submissions to the best of your ability;
• not to use Peira for advertising, automation (e.g., bots), or scraping data; and
• not to disassemble, de-compile, reverse engineer or create derivative works based on the whole or any part of Peira or the services we provide nor attempt to do so, except to the extent as may be permitted by law.

Participating in Studies

There are principally two types of Studies listed on Peira:

• External Studies: Studies that are created by Researchers on third-party platforms and listed on Peira;
• Peira-native Studies: Studies that are created by Researchers using Studies Creation Service and hosted on Peira.

Whether participating in External Studies or Peira-native Studies, the following apply:

You are free to participate in a Study or not. If you do agree to participate, you will be entering into a separate agreement between you and the Researcher on the Study Terms. Please note the following:

• Researchers are responsible for the conduct of the Studies, including setting the parameters for and the content of the relevant Study;
• we will not moderate the content of Studies, or the content of Submissions;
• we are not responsible for the integrity and quality of Studies, or for how they are conducted;
• we are not responsible for any other software or services which any Researcher requires you to use in order to participate in any Study;
• if any issues arise in connection with a Study, the Researcher is responsible for resolving them in much the same way they would resolve issues arising from comparable offline studies; and
• when you provide a Submission, you do so as an independent contractor. Any Paid Rewards you earn may constitute income, and you are responsible for paying tax on that income. See “Taxes and reporting” below for more information.

While the majority of Studies provide for Participants to remain anonymous to the Researcher, the use by the Researcher of any data comprising your Submissions and any further personal data you provide in connection with a Study (e.g., where this has been requested by the Researcher) will be governed by the relevant Study Terms, and in particular any privacy notice included by the Researcher in the Study listing.

Your obligations to Researchers:

In order to preserve research integrity, copyright and, where relevant, confidentiality, Researchers will expect you not to publish or otherwise disclose the contents of any Studies. Some Researchers may require you to agree to specific confidentiality obligations in the Study Terms. Your duty of confidentiality in relation to any Study is to the Researcher and not to Peira.

If you breach your confidentiality obligations to any Researcher, then we may be compelled to disclose your identity to the Researcher in order for them to pursue civil remedies against you, and you may further be liable to us for our associated costs.

Specific terms regarding participation in External Studies

External Studies take place outside of Peira, and are listed on Peira for Researchers to recruit Participants under Crowdsourcing Service only. External Studies take place outside of Peira and Peira does not have any oversight of them.

Peira is not responsible for the stability or quality of the third-party platform used to host External Studies.

Specific terms regarding participation in Peira-native Studies

Peira-native Studies take place on the Peira platform. Therefore, both the Study content and questions and your Submissions will be held and accessed by Peira in order to support the Researcher with that Peira-native Study.

We will only handle your Submissions to Peira-native Studies insofar as we need to in order to administer those Peira-native Studies and support the Researcher. We will not use Submissions for our own purposes, except where we need to review an extract or part of a Submission to resolve a dispute between a Participant and a Researcher.

The Researcher is the data controller of the data comprising your responses to a Peira-native Study and any other personal data you choose to share with the Researcher (just like any External Studies you access through Peira). This is because Researchers decide what data to collect and how it will be used. This means the Researcher’s privacy notice or privacy information - and not ours - will apply in relation to that data. It is the Researcher’s responsibility to ensure its collection and use of your personal data complies with data protection laws and we are not responsible for the use or misuse of any data by them.

We are generally a data processor of your Submissions in respect of Peira-native Studies. As we help to administer Peira-native Studies on behalf of Researchers, we will have access to Participants’ Submissions for those Peira-native Studies. We therefore act as a data processor on behalf of the Researcher in relation to the data which makes up your Submissions to the extent we store and process them.

We will share Submissions with the Researcher but no one else. When we help to administer an Peira-native Study on behalf of a Researcher, we need to share or make Participants’ Submissions available to that Researcher. However, we will not share your Submissions with anyone else. The only exception to this is where we may disclose confidential information where we are required to do so by law, or to our lawyers or insurers if necessary in order to take confidential advice or to establish or defend a claim, for example.

We will delete Submissions once the Peira-native Study is complete. We will only keep Participants’ Submissions and any other information relating to the Peira-native Study for as long as we need to in order to administer that Peira-native Study. In most of the circumstances, once we have shared these with the Researcher and the Peira-native Study is complete, those Submissions will be automatically deleted. This is usually around six (6) months after completion of the Peira-native Study.

Mobile Sensing Studies

Some Studies may involve Mobile Sensing, requiring you to use a Wearable Device to collect and transmit data (e.g., heart rate) continuously until the Study ends.

Depending on the Study Terms, either you or the Researcher are responsible for providing and maintaining a compatible Wearable Device; Peira is not obligated to supply devices.

Participation is voluntary, and you may decline Studies involving Mobile Sensing. If you participate, you agree to the Study Terms, including any consent forms for Mobile Sensing data collection.

Peira is not liable for Wearable Device malfunctions, data transmission failures, or health-related risks arising from Mobile Sensing.

Paid Rewards

In respect of certain Studies, Paid Rewards may be offered by Researchers, or Peira, for your Submissions approved by the relevant Researchers. Not every Study listed on Peira platform carries a Paid Reward. The offer of Paid Rewards, whether by Researchers or by Peira, is on an entirely discretionary basis. If a Study listed on Peira carries a Paid Reward, the form and amount of the Paid Reward will be identified in the relevant Study listing.

Researchers (and not Peira) will decide whether to approve or reject your Submission. We ask Researchers to do this promptly after completion of each Study.

If the Researcher determines that your Submission is not of reasonable quality or does not meet the requirements of the Study, your Submission may be rejected and you may not be paid any Paid Reward.

We reserve the right to determine whether or not you are eligible for any Paid Reward, based on the Researcher’s determination that your Submission is not of reasonable quality or does not meet the requirements of the Study.

For Studies that carry Paid Rewards payable in cryptocurrencies:

• To receive Paid Rewards payable in cryptocurrencies, you must first provide to Peira a valid cryptocurrency wallet address compatible with relevant Paid Reward. You can update your wallet address in your Participant Account settings. It is your responsibility to ensure that the wallet address provided is accurate, functional and secure.
• If your Submission is approved, we will transfer the Paid Reward to the wallet address you have provided as soon as practicable after approval. However, if you are liable to us for any reason we may withhold payment of any Paid Rewards to you as an offset against that liability.

We are not responsible for any failure or delay in the payment of Paid Rewards resulting from: (i) an inaccurate, defective, or unsupported wallet address provided by you; (ii) loss of access to your wallet due to forgotten private keys, compromised security, or other issues under your control; (iii) blockchain network congestion, forks, or failures; (iv) errors or downtime in third-party payment processor systems; or (v) changes in the value of the cryptocurrency between the time the Paid Reward is approved and the time it is received in your wallet. You acknowledge that cryptocurrency transactions are irreversible once processed, and we will not be liable for any loss arising from payments sent to an incorrect wallet address you have provided.

In limited circumstances, we may delay or suspend payment of Paid Rewards:

• if we are unable to confirm your identity or we reasonably believe that the transfer requested is unauthorised;
• if a payment has been made to your wallet address or linked payment account in error (see further details below); or
• if we reasonably believe that you are in breach of these Terms.

If a payment of Paid Reward is made to your wallet address or linked payment account, in error (e.g., if your Submission is approved when it should have been rejected, or if you are paid more for your Submission than you should have been), we reserve the right to recover the relevant amount from you. We will notify you where this is the case and may recover such funds by:

• offsetting the relevant amount against any future Paid Rewards you earn on Peira;
• requesting you to refund or return the relevant amount to us; or
• taking legal action.

Taxes and Reporting

The Paid Rewards you earn may constitute taxable income, for which you are personally liable. This means it is your responsibility to report and pay tax to the tax authority in the jurisdiction in which you are tax resident in respect of that income.

Points

Peira may, at its sole discretion, award Participants certain Points for their participation in the Studies. Points are a gratuitous benefit provided by us and do not constitute a contractual entitlement, payment, or reward for services rendered. Unlike Paid Rewards, Points are not tied to any agreement between you and a Researcher.

Points are credited to Participants as a proxy to their contribution and engagement towards the Peira platform. Participants with higher points may become more visible and recognized in the platform. Points are not designed to bear any financial value. Points are generally credited upon approval of the relevant Submission.

The decision to award Points, the number of Points awarded, the criteria for awarding Points, and any adjustments, suspension, or termination of Points awards are entirely at our discretion. We reserve the right to award Points to some Participants and not others, to vary the amount of Points awarded for similar activities, or to discontinue awarding Points at any time, with or without notice, and without any obligation to provide a reason.

We reserve the right to adjust, reduce, or revoke any Points awarded to you at any time, for any reason or no reason, including but not limited to suspected misuse of Peira, breach of these Terms, or errors in the awarding process. If your Participant Account is suspended, terminated, or closed, any accumulated Points will be forfeited immediately and cannot be reclaimed.

We will not be liable to you or any third party for any decision to award or not award Points, for any adjustment, suspension, revocation, or forfeiture of Points, or for any consequences arising from the use, non-use, or perceived value of Points. Points are provided “as is,” and we make no representations or warranties regarding their availability, utility, or purpose.

Intellectual Property

You agree that all intellectual property created by you in the course of your involvement in any Study and in the content of your Submission will vest in the relevant Researcher immediately upon you making a Submission and you hereby agree to waive all proprietary and moral rights you may have in each such Submission. To the extent that such proprietary rights do not automatically vest in the Researcher you agree to assign such rights and / or do all things possible to assist the relevant Researcher to perfect such rights for their sole use and benefit.

Peira retains ownership of the platform and its content. You may not copy or use it without our permission, except as allowed by law.

Data Protection

Our Participants Privacy Notice sets out full information about how we receive, use and transfer personal data relating to you.

In respect of personal data that we collect and hold about you in relation to your use of Peira, such as account and pre-screening data, we are a data controller.

However, in respect of any personal data you provide in connection with a Study (including your responses in any Submission), the data controller is the Researcher who is conducting that Study. We are not a data controller in that respect.

Each Researcher who receives personal data relating to you is a data controller, and is responsible for complying with applicable law in collecting and using that personal data. We are not responsible for any use, or misuse, of your personal data by Researchers.

For Mobile Sensing Studies, your Submissions may include health-related data (e.g., heart rate) collected via Wearable Devices. The Researcher is the data controller for this data, and their privacy notice governs its use. Peira acts as a data processor for Peira-native Studies involving Mobile Sensing, handling this data only to administer the Study as per the Researcher’s instructions.

Certain Researchers might request your permission to share direct identifiers (such as your name, contact information, or social media account details) along with other personal data needed for their Study. You must decide whether you are willing to share this information. The collection of certain information about you (such as direct personal identifiers) may enable the Researcher to identify you. We are not responsible for any use, or misuse, of your personal data by Researchers.

Limitation of Liability

Peira is provided "as is." We do not guarantee uninterrupted access or freedom from errors.

As mentioned above, in respect of any personal data you provide in connection with a Study (including your response in any Submission), the Researcher conducting that Study is the data controller, and is responsible for complying with applicable law in collecting and using that personal data. We are not responsible for any use, or misuse, of your personal data by Researchers.

Communications networks are not always stable, and we may need to take down or maintain Peira from time to time. Accordingly, we will not be liable if it is unavailable for any reason.

We are not responsible or liable for the actions of third parties (including other users of Peira, third party service providers who are linked from our website, social media service providers or the providers of any device or software which you use to access Peira).

We will not be liable for any indirect or consequential loss, damage, costs or expenses incurred or suffered by you in connection with your use of Peira. We are not liable for losses, damages, costs and expenses that are not foreseeable to both you and us at the time you open your account with us, or which are not caused by our breach of these Terms.

We will not be liable for any loss of sales or business, loss of revenue, loss of agreements or contract, loss of anticipated savings, loss of use of corruption of software, data or information, loss of reputation or damage to goodwill, loss of profit, or indirect or consequential loss.

Our total aggregate liability to you in connection with your use of Peira, however arising, is capped at HK$100, excluding liability for death, personal injury, or fraud where prohibited by law.

This clause shall continue in force on termination or expiry of our agreement with you.

Indemnity

If we, our shareholders, officers, directors, employees, agents, affiliates, successors, or assigns (collectively, the "Indemnified Parties") are subject to any third-party claim as a result of your breach of these Terms, or as a result of your negligence, misrepresentation, failure to comply with applicable law, or other wrongful act, then you will indemnify and hold harmless the Indemnified Parties against that claim. This means you will compensate the Indemnified Parties against all costs, expenses, losses, damages, or liabilities suffered or incurred in connection with that third-party claim, including any legal and professional fees. You will also provide all reasonable assistance and information requested from you in order to enable the Indemnified Parties to defend and settle the claim and mitigate any liability. We will not settle any claim against which you are required to indemnify the Indemnified Parties without your prior written consent, provided that your consent is not unreasonably withheld, conditioned, or delayed.

This clause shall continue in force on termination or expiry of our agreement with you.

Termination

You may close your Participant Account at any time by contacting us.

We may limit, disable and/or suspend access to your Participant Account, and/or terminate our agreement with you and close your Participant Account with immediate effect without notice to you for any reason, especially for breaches of these Terms.

Effects of termination

If we terminate when you are, or we reasonably suspect you are, in breach of these Terms, then any Submission you have completed which is under review will be deemed returned, and no Paid Reward (if applicable) will be payable to you for that Submission.

Termination will not affect any obligations, liabilities, rights or remedies you or we may have under these Terms prior to termination.

General

Transfers: You may not transfer your rights under our agreement with you without our prior written consent.

Matters outside our control: We will not be liable for any delay or failure to perform our obligations under these Terms due to matters outside our control (like power failures, epidemic, network or communications failures, etc.).

Entire agreement: These Terms, together with the other documents referred to in them, and any specific amendment, are the entire agreement between you and us relating to your use of Peira. You acknowledge that you have not entered into that agreement based on any other representation or warranty.

No waiver: If you are in breach of these Terms, we can only waive that breach by written notice. If we do not immediately take action in relation to your breach we may still do so later.

Severance: If any court or competent authority determines that any provision or part-provision of the Terms is unenforceable for any reason then that provision or part-provision will no longer apply and the rest of the Terms will continue in force.

Governing Law: These Terms are governed by the laws of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China (“Hong Kong”).

Disputes: The courts of Hong Kong will have exclusive jurisdiction over any claim, except that if you are not resident in Hong Kong then we may bring proceedings against you in any court in your country of residence. Disputes with Researchers are your responsibility.

Changes: We may revise these Terms from time to time. By continuing to use Peira you accept the revised Terms.