Is Branded Surveys a Scam? 

If you’re thinking of using Branded Surveys, you need to know if Branded Surveys is safe. Is Branded Surveys a scam? 

Below, we explain whether Branded Surveys is a scam and discuss some steps you can take to improve your safety when using this survey platform. 

What Is Branded Surveys?

Branded Surveys is a market-research platform. Members get paid to share their opinions. 

Users sign up for free on Branded Surveys, build out their demographic profile, and then get matched to surveys that align with their background and interests. 

Every completed survey earns the user points, which can be redeemed for rewards like prepaid cards, bank transfers, and gift cards. To redeem rewards, you need to earn at least 500 points. 500 points are equivalent to $5 USD. 

According to Branded Surveys, their platform is trusted by more than three million members. 

Branded Surveys is a product of Branded Research, Inc., which was acquired by Dynata in 2022. See our Dynata opt-out guide. 

Is Branded Surveys a Scam?

No, Branded Surveys is not a scam. It’s a legitimate survey platform. 

The platform gets positive reviews from third-party publications, including The Penny Hoarder and FinanceBuzz. 

That said, both note that the earnings from Branded Surveys are modest, and survey availability can vary.

FinanceBuzz said: “In a few hours of casual survey-taking, I earned 1,575 points, which is equal to $15.75. The time and effort required were similar to other paid survey sites I’ve tried.”

Millennial Money gave Branded Surveys a 9.5 out of 10 rating. Its conclusion? “Overall, Branded Surveys is a great, easy-to-use, and secure survey site to use in your spare time to earn points that you can redeem for cash or free gift cards.”

User reviews of Branded Surveys are more mixed:

• 4.1 out of 5.0 stars (from 110,469 reviews) on Trustpilot.
• 4.3 out of 5.0 stars (from 10,456 reviews) on Google Play. 
• 4.5 out of 5.0 stars (from 10,729 reviews) on the App Store. 
• 2.2 out of 5.0 stars (from 1,022 reviews) on Sitejabber. 
• 2.3 out of 5.0 stars (from 168 reviews) on PissedConsumer. 
• 3.75 out of 5.0 stars (from 391 reviews) on the Better Business Bureau.

On online forums, people report varying experiences.

For example, one person mentioned that they’ve been a Branded Surveys member for many years, and although they no longer receive as many surveys as they used to, they remain a member because cashing out is fast and easy.

However, they also noted that they frequently complete surveys only to be told that they don’t qualify for them and receive only one or two points as a result. In addition, they pointed out that Branded Surveys’ customer service is not helpful.

They said: “I’d give Branded a mixed review of  about 4 stars out of 10. Better than some but surely not as good as others.”

Another person said they don’t have many problems with not receiving credit after completing surveys, but they do receive a fair amount of “no surveys available.” 

Even still, this user said: “You get a lot of this survey is full on Branded, but it is currently one of my best money makers.  I have $76 in my account right now after six weeks.”

Several users reported getting banned for no apparent reason. 

Dynata is not Better Business Bureau (BBB) accredited. It has received 667 total complaints on the BBB website in the last three years. (Read our review “Is BBB a Scam?”)

Security

In its privacy policy, Branded Surveys notes that it maintains an “appropriate level of technical, administrative, and physical safeguards” to protect your personal data.

It also says that the company regularly reviews, monitors, and evaluates its protection systems and privacy practices. 

Privacy 

Branded Surveys explains the kind of information it collects, why, and with whom it shares it in its privacy policy. 

It collects the following information:

• Personally identifiable information (PII) and demographic data, including your name, phone numbers, address, email addresses, date of birth, occupation/education, unique panelist/respondent identification number you’re assigned by Branded Surveys, and racial and gender information. 
• Sensitive data, i.e., PII that reveals health and medical conditions, political opinions/views, sexual orientation or sexual life, race/ethnic origin, trade union membership, and religious or philosophical beliefs. 
• Automated data, such as device info (OS, apps, IP, MAC, device IDs), location/geo‑data (with permission. Once you give permission, the service can collect your geolocation data “at any time, whether the app is open or not,”), cookies, digital fingerprints, log files, watermarking.
• Third-party data from ad networks, data brokers, and social media, if you connect accounts
• Additional information users submit, such as photos and videos. 

Branded Surveys uses this information for both research and non-research purposes.

Research purposes include matching you to surveys, managing rewards, and communicating invitations and results.

Non‑research purposes include the marketing of Dynata or third‑party services, building audience/“look‑alike” models, ad retargeting and effectiveness, fraud detection, and profile validation. 

It may share your data with your consent (e.g., with survey sponsors, ad partners, DMPs, affiliate panels, for legal & corporate reasons (e.g., subpoenas, M&A and corporate reorganizations, legal claims, to protect rights), and with vendors & subcontractors (e.g., for fraud‑prevention, data append, and reward fulfillment). 

It may also share it with program partners (i.e., if you join via a partner, they get your basic enrollment information) and use it for sale/licensing (it may license aggregated or individual PII to data brokers for non‑research purposes).

You can unsubscribe or delete your account at any time. Data already collected remains unless you separately request deletion via Dynata. 

Branded Surveys can retain your data while you use the platform and for up to 1 year after inactivity. 

Afterward, your PII may be sold/transferred to data brokers unless you contact Branded Survey and tell them you do not wish for them to do so. 

Depending on where you reside, you may have the right to review, correct, and delete your personal data. 

So, Should You Use Branded Surveys?

Depends on your goals and preferences.

If your top priority is maximizing small earnings and you don’t mind heavy data collection, Branded Surveys can be a solid, low‑effort option.

However, if you’re privacy‑conscious, you may want to explore alternative options. 

Curious about other market research and survey platforms? We’ve written guides for the following: 

• Is InboxDollars a Scam?
• Is Apex Focus Group a Scam?
• Is Flash Rewards a Scam?
• Is Survey World a Scam?
• Is KashKick a Scam?
• Is Freecash a Scam?

How to Use Branded Surveys Safely and Privately

• Use a masked or dedicated email address. Create a new (ideally throw‑away) email address just for survey sites or use a masked one to keep your primary inbox separate from marketing or data‑broker lists.
• Keep profile information minimal. Only fill out the required demographic fields. Skip sensitive questions (health, religion, political views) unless you really want those higher‑paying match opportunities. 
• Turn off background location. In your phone’s Settings, allow the app to access Location “While Using” (not “Always”), or turn it off entirely between surveys.
• Turn off advertising IDs. On iOS, go to Settings → Privacy → Tracking and toggle off; on Android, reset or turn off your advertising ID in Google Settings.
• Revoke unneeded permissions. Deny access to your contacts, photos, camera, and microphone unless a survey explicitly asks for a photo or video upload (making sure to restore the default afterward). 
• Use a privacy‑focused browser. That way, you can block third‑party cookies and trackers.
• Clear cookies/cache after sessions. This scrubs some identifiers.
• Opt out of ad targeting. Visit Branded Surveys’ Cookie Consent Tool (located in its privacy policy) and turn off interest‑based ads. 
• Use a strong, unique password. And don’t reuse it elsewhere. 
• Monitor your Branded Surveys account activity. Check your points regularly and report anything suspicious immediately to customerservice@gobranded.com.
• Stay below the W-9 threshold to avoid providing your SSN. Branded Surveys freezes accounts at $599 earnings until you supply a W‑9. 
• Redeem regularly. Don’t let points sit in your Branded Surveys account, as they may expire or your account may get suspended (some users report this happening for no obvious reason). Cash out as soon as you hit your personal minimum.
• Unsubscribe & uninstall when you’re done. Use the email unsubscribe link and delete the app.
• Submit a data deletion request. Email privacy_branded@dynata.com if you would like all your PII erased (beyond simply uninstalling). Branded Surveys may license your data up to six months after you go inactive, so act quickly if you’re concerned.
• Keep an eye on policy changes. Branded Surveys can alter terms at any time, but they’ll notify you by email or app notification. If that happens, read the new policy to see what’s changed. 
• Opt out of Dynata. Branded Surveys is owned by the market research company Dynata. You can opt out of Dynata by following our step-by-step Dynata opt-out guide.