Nielsen Pulse vs Media Rewards

Nielsen Pulse offers email-based support for US panelists at uspulsesupport@nielsen.com. The website also includes a Contact Us page with the same email address. There's no live chat or phone support listed.

The terms also allow panel members to contact Nielsen directly to request account deletion if they choose to leave.

Given that Nielsen is a large, established company, their support infrastructure should be reasonably reliable — though response times are not published, and the absence of live chat may be frustrating for users with urgent account issues.

Media Rewards is really on the ball when it comes to responding to inquiries. They are very active and want to make sure you’re getting rewarded and your info is valid. Most users report getting responses to their inquiries within a few hours. Believe it or not they actually have phone support which is quite the rarity these days.

The biggest sticking point for many users will be the privacy trade-off. The app requires you to grant location permissions, notifications, and install a research VPN on your device. Nielsen uses this access to track your device usage, web activity, streaming behaviour, and purchases. The terms explicitly state that this can include sensitive personal information such as race and ethnicity.

You also won't know if you qualify until after you complete the eligibility survey. Those who don't qualify are put on a waitlist, with no guarantee of ever being admitted to the panel.

Membership is household-wide by agreement. When you sign up, you're agreeing on behalf of all household members whose devices the app is installed on — and you're required to inform them and get their consent before doing so.

People employed by TV networks, cable or satellite providers, digital media platforms, or other media companies are not eligible to join. You also must keep your panel membership confidential and are not permitted to publicly identify yourself as a participant — including in app store reviews.

Points expire after 12 months and have no cash value. If you leave the panel for any reason, any unredeemed points are forfeited. Nielsen can also modify or discontinue the rewards program at any time.

As with many programs, the main concern most users think of when deciding to join Media Rewards is privacy concerns. Fortunately, the company has an extensive privacy policy that should address any issues you may have.

Though you might be concerned about battery life and performance with a largely app-based program, there's no need to be concerned. Media Insiders' app is very lightweight and you shouldn't notice any additional battery drain or decreased performance of your mobile device.