Privacy Policy
FieldNotes is operated by FieldNotes, Inc. ("FieldNotes," "we," "us," or "our"). This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect through the FieldNotes website, client portal, expert portal, and expert interview and consultation services (together, the "Services"), how we use it, and the choices you have. The Services are offered to users located in the United States and are intended for professional and business use.
FieldNotes is built around research confidentiality: clients and experts are never given each other's contact details, and transcripts are scrubbed of identifying information before they are shared beyond the engagement. This policy describes that model in plain terms.
1. Information we collect
From clients and website visitors. When you create an account or submit a request, we collect your name, work email address, company name and type, and the content of your request — your research questions, project context, and any preferences you provide. If you contact us, we keep the correspondence.
If you connect an AI assistant or other software agent to FieldNotes through an API key or our Model Context Protocol integration, requests it submits on your behalf are collected and handled the same way as requests you submit directly, and are attributed to your account.
Payment information. Payments are processed by Stripe. Your card number goes directly to Stripe and is never stored on FieldNotes systems; we keep a reference to your payment method, your billing country (used for the compliance screening described below), and records of charges. Clients on invoicing arrangements provide billing contact details instead.
From experts. When an expert joins the network, we collect their name, contact details, professional background and employment history (provided by the expert or collected with their authorization), the representations they make when accepting engagements, and the payment details they supply so we can pay them.
Calls and recordings. Expert interviews and direct consultations are recorded and transcribed — the recording and the transcript are the product. All participants are notified before recording begins; joining a call after the recording notification constitutes consent to recording.
Technical information. We keep standard server logs (IP address, request time and path) for security and reliability, and we set cookies needed for sign-in sessions. If you sign in with Google, we receive your name and email address from your Google account. We do not run third-party advertising trackers or analytics on the Services.
2. How we use information
- To run engagements: matching requests with experts, scheduling calls, conducting and recording interviews, producing and delivering transcripts.
- To process payment when an engagement reaches its charge event, and to pay experts.
- For compliance screening: material non-public information (MNPI) review of requests, conflict checks when matching experts, and sanctions/embargo screening based on billing country.
- To scrub transcripts of identifying information before they are delivered or added to the FieldNotes Library (see Section 4).
- To send service emails: sign-in links, request confirmations, scheduling invitations and reminders, delivery notices, and receipts.
- To provide support, maintain security, and comply with legal obligations.
3. AI-assisted processing
We use AI tools to help match requests with experts, screen requests for MNPI, and scrub transcripts of identifying information. A human reviews AI output where the system is unsure. Engagement content processed this way is handled under contracts that restrict our providers from using the data for anything other than providing their service to us.
4. Anonymity and transcript scrubbing
- Clients and experts are never given each other's names or contact details. Experts see only what is operationally necessary for the engagement: the research topic, context, and questions.
- Before a transcript is shared beyond the engagement that produced it, we remove the expert's identity and identifying details, and the client's identity and any client-provided introduction or thesis material.
- Scrubbed transcripts may be retained in the FieldNotes Library and made available to other clients and subscribers, as described in the Client Terms of Service. Scrubbed transcripts are not attributed to the commissioning client and do not identify the client's organization.
5. Who we share information with
We do not sell personal information, we do not use it for targeted advertising, and we do not share it for third-party advertising.
We share personal information only with the service providers that operate parts of the Services for us — payment processing (Stripe), optional Google sign-in, service-email delivery, call hosting and recording, transcription, the AI-assisted processing described in Section 3, and cloud hosting — and each receives only what it needs to do its job, under contracts that limit how it may use the data. A current list of our service providers is available on request at support@fieldnotesexpert.com.
We may also disclose information when required by law, regulation, or valid legal process; to protect the rights, safety, or property of FieldNotes, our clients, or our experts; or as part of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, in which case this policy continues to apply to the transferred information.
6. Retention
Call recordings and transcripts may be retained indefinitely, including after an account closes — the growing transcript library is a core part of the Services, and transcripts shared beyond the engagement that produced them are first scrubbed as described in Section 4. Account information is kept while your account is active and afterward as needed for legal, tax, and financial record-keeping. Server logs are kept on a short rolling window.
7. Your choices
- You can ask us to access, correct, or delete the personal information we hold about you by emailing support@fieldnotesexpert.com. We will act on requests within a reasonable time.
- Deletion has two limits: transcripts already scrubbed of your identity are no longer personal information about you and remain in the library, and we keep records we are legally required to keep (for example, charge records).
- Service emails (sign-in links, scheduling, receipts) are part of operating the Services and are sent only in connection with your account and engagements. We do not send third-party marketing.
- Our Services do not respond to browser "Do Not Track" signals; we also do not run the cross-site tracking those signals are aimed at.
8. Security
Traffic to the Services is encrypted in transit, and access to production systems is restricted. No system is perfectly secure; if a breach affecting your personal information occurs, we will notify you as required by law.
9. Eligibility
The Services are for users eighteen (18) years of age or older acting in a professional or business capacity. We do not knowingly collect information from children.
10. Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we will post the updated version here with a new effective date, and for material changes we will notify account holders by email. Continued use of the Services after a change takes effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
11. Contact
Questions about this policy or your information: support@fieldnotesexpert.com.
FieldNotes, 1178 Broadway, 3rd Floor #3084, New York, NY 10001, United States.