Contents:
1. 🔑 Use a unique password 
2. 🔐 Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
3. 🔍 Look out for suspicious activity
4. 👤 Your account is yours — and yours alone
5. ⚠️ Be wary of impersonators and scams

While we do everything we can at Prolific to protect our users and their data, you are also responsible for taking steps to ensure the safety and security of your account.

Maintaining good account hygiene and not allowing anyone else to access your account is essential for protecting yourself from scams, breaches, and identity theft.

🔑 Use a unique password 

Reusing passwords is like using the same key for your house, car, and office—if someone gets that key, they have access to everything.

What to do:

  • Use strong, unique passwords for each account - do not re-use the same password you’ve used on other sites (which makes account takeover much easier for scammers)
  • Avoid common passwords (e.g. Prolific123!, 12345?) 
  • Never use personal information or easily guessable words in your passwords 
  • Consider using a passphrase (e.g. BlueCarrot!DrivesFast22) for stronger security and easier recall

💡 Pro tip: Use a password manager to generate, store and autofill complex passwords securely.

🔐 Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Even if someone steals your password, MFA can stop them accessing your account.

Accounts without MFA are more likely to be compromised. Protecting your Prolific account – including your balance and your information – with this extra layer is really important. 

Benefits of MFA:

  • MFA is a security method that helps users add an extra layer of security to their account by requiring them to provide two or more verification factors to sign in. 
  • This helps block unauthorized access, even if one factor (like a password) is compromised.
  • It only takes a few minutes to set up - see our dedicated Help Centre article on how to do this here

💡 Best practice: Enable MFA on your email account as well, and check that your recovery methods (phone number, back-up email) are up-to-date and secure.

🔍 Look out for suspicious activity

Cybercriminals often use leaked or stolen credentials in credential stuffing attacks — automated login attempts across websites using previously exposed passwords.

How to stay safe:

  • Use services like Have I Been Pwned to see if your email has been exposed in a data breach
  • If you think your login details have been stolen, change your account password 
  • Regularly review your account activity 
  • Let us know if you think your account has been compromised 

Signs your account could be compromised:

  • Your account details (email, country, demographic info) have changed without your knowledge
  • You receive approval or rejection emails for studies you didn’t complete
  • Your submissions or earnings history show inconsistencies
  • You've been locked out due to login attempts from unusual IP addresses or devices

If you think your account has been compromised, get in touch with our Support team immediately.

👤 Your account is yours — and yours alone

Your account is personal to you and must never be shared with others.

The following activity is a serious breach of our Researcher Terms and could even be a criminal offence:

  • Selling, sharing, renting or lending your account or allowing someone else to access it in any way;
  • Buying, renting or borrowing someone else’s account or using an account that isn’t your own—even for a “quick study” or “extra cash”.

In addition, this sort of behaviour can expose you to serious risks, including loss of funds, unauthorized access to your personal data, and misuse of that data (for example, identity fraud and/or tax fraud). 

We actively monitor for this kind of behaviour, and take it very seriously. We will immediately and permanently terminate any account involved in such activity. 

Remember:

  • Only you are permitted to access and use your account
  • You must never share your login details or take studies on behalf of anyone else
  • If we suspect your account has been shared or misused in any way, we will immediately ban or terminate it

We take the integrity of our platform seriously — protecting it helps protect all of our users.

⚠️ Be wary of impersonators and scams

Unfortunately, scammers exist across the web and social media, and may attempt to steal personal data or trick people into handing over account access.

Prolific impersonators may:

  • Offer ‘exclusive study access’ in exchange for login details
  • Offer you tools or browser extensions to reserve spots in studies, or alert you to studies becoming available
  • Pose as Prolific employees on Twitter, Telegram, WhatsApp, or unofficial Facebook groups
  • Claim to offer a way to boost earnings faster or ‘guarantee’ approvals
  • Claim to specialize in Prolific account recovery

Stay safe by following these tips:

  • Be cautious of anyone claiming to represent Prolific other than via our official channels'
  • We will never ask for your password or ask you to share personal details via social media or unofficial channels
  • If you’re ever unsure whether a message is truly from us, play it safe—reach out to Researcher Support