Facebook Viewpoints is an app that will pay you to partake in market research

(Image credit: Facebook)

What you need to know

  • Facebook has announced its new market research app, Facebook Viewpoints.
  • The app will reward you for participating in surveys, tasks, and research.
  • Facebook says it will use to this improve Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Portal, Oculus and the broader community.

Facebook has announced the release of its brand new market research app, Facebook Viewpoints, which will reward users for taking part in its programs.

According to the press release, users who participate in surveys, tasks, and research could receive financial rewards sent via Paypal for their time. The release states:

Today, we're introducing Facebook Viewpoints, a new market research app that rewards people for participating in surveys, tasks, and research. We believe the best way to make products better is to get insights directly from people who use them. We'll use these insights to improve products like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Portal and Oculus, and to benefit the broader community.

After setting up Viewpoints, users will be invited to join programs. Facebook, stickler for protecting personal data that is is, states that all users will be told exactly what information will be collected from them before you take part. It will also tell you how it's being used, and how many points you'll receive for completing the program.

We'll let you know how many points you need in order to receive a payment, and every time you reach that amount of points, you'll receive a payment sent directly to your PayPal account.

The image provided (above) notes a reward showing a user receiving $5 for earning 1,000 points, however, there is no indication that this is the set formula for points and rewards at this stage. The first program being launched is Facebook's Well-Being Survey, which seeks to understand how using social media can impact your well-being.

Information from this survey will help us build better products that aim to limit the negative impacts of social media and enhance the benefits.

Again on privacy, the release states:

When you join Facebook Viewpoints, we'll ask for information like your name, email address, country of residence, date of birth and gender. We may ask you to share additional information, like your location, to qualify you for individual programs.Before you begin any program, we'll let you know how the information you provide through that program will be used.We won't sell your information from this app to third parties. We also won't publicly share your Facebook Viewpoints activity on Facebook or on other accounts you've linked without your permission. And you can end your participation at any time.

Importantly, you must be 18 or older to partake, and each program will have its own eligibility criteria. The launch is currently only available to people in the US who have Facebook accounts, however, expansion geographically and to different platforms is coming next year.

The app is available to download for free on iOS and Android now!

Stephen Warwick