SurveySavvy Connect vs Nielsen Pulse

An offshoot of venerable market research program Survey Saavy, this company has their act together when it comes to customer service. Most users report fast responses to inquiries.

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.

Some members report that the app slows down their regular device performance while others claim it has no effect at all. Device performance can depend on a variety of factors, so there's no way to independently verify that the Savvy Connect app has a negative effect on performance.

It should also be mentioned that because Survey Savvy employs an exacting methodology for selecting survey participants, you may find difficulty qualifying for surveys at times.

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.