Contents:
Stage 1: Requesting BYOP access
1. How to request BYOP access
2. Are there any new restrictions and limitations once I have BYOP access?
3. Why we've made these changes
4. Using BYOP after approval
Stage 2: Creating your BYOP registration link
1. How do I create a registration link?
2. Adding criteria to your registration link
3. Essential configuration settings
4. Adding prescreeners
5. Confirming your registration link details
6. Active registration links
7. Inviting participants to your studies
8. Stopping a registration link
9. Deactivated registration links
FAQ's
We've made some changes to our Bring Your Own Participants (BYOP) feature. This article explains the new process, restrictions, and what to expect when using this feature.
Stage 1: Requesting BYOP access
BYOP is now a request-only feature requiring manual approval. This change helps us maintain the quality and security of our participant pool.
How to request BYOP access
To be eligible to request BYOP access, you'll need to have spent at least £100/$125 on your workspace. Once you've met this requirement:
- Navigate to your 'Participants' page and click 'Bring participants'
- Click 'Request BYOP access' which will take you to a Google form where we ask you about the study you’re planning to run using the BYOP feature
- Our team will then review your request and approve it on a case-by-case basis
Are there any new restrictions and limitations once I have BYOP access?
Yes, we have added the following limitations if you’ve been granted access:
- Participant limits: A maximum of 200 participants can be added through a single BYOP campaign
- Campaign duration: BYOP campaigns can run for a maximum of 2 weeks. So, if you create a BYOP link on July 1st, it will automatically stop working on July 15th.
Why we've made these changes
We've implemented these changes to better protect the integrity of our participant pool and ensure high data quality for all researchers. These updates will help us prevent misuse of the platform while maintaining a reliable research environment for everyone.
Using BYOP after approval
Once approved, you'll receive a notification, and you'll be able to see the "New link" option on your "Bring participants" tab.
You can create and share BYOP registration links following the same process as before, but with the new limitations in mind. Follow the instructions below in Stage 2 for more details.
Stage 2: Creating your BYOP registration link
How do I create a registration link?
Click on ‘Participants’ on the left hand side of your workspace. Then select ‘bring participants’. You will see an option to create a new link by clicking on ‘New link’.
Adding criteria to your registration link
After creating your BYOP link, you'll be directed to the configuration page where you can customize your link settings.
Essential configuration settings
Add the required fields:
- Link name and description - These identifiers are only visible to you and help track your different recruitment campaigns
- Participant group selection - Choose to add new participants to an existing group or create a new one (learn more about participant groups)
Then fill in:
- Maximum participants [Optional] - Set a cap on how many people can register through this link (200 max)
- Expiry date [Optional] - Determine when the link will automatically deactivate (has to be within 2 weeks)
- Prescreening questions [Optional] - Add up to 5 criteria to ensure only qualifying participants can register
✋ Important: Only participants from our supported countries can register through your link. You can read more about the participants allowed on Prolific here: Who are the participants on Prolific?
Once you are happy with the criteria you’ve added to your BYOP registration link, click on ‘confirm details’.
Adding prescreeners
To add prescreening questions to your registration link:
- Click on 'Add screeners' to open a popup with all available screening questions
- Select up to 5 screener questions and specify your preferred answers
- Review your selections - you'll see a notification when you reach the maximum limit
Important to note:
- For a single question with multiple answer options: participants can sign up if they match ANY of your selected answers
- For multiple questions: participants must match ALL your criteria across EVERY question
After adding your prescreeners, they'll appear in a summary view where you can edit or remove them as needed.
Confirming your registration link details
After clicking 'Confirm details', you'll see a confirmation dialog that displays all your selections. Take a moment to carefully review this information:
- Verify that your link name and description are correct
- Check that your participant group settings are as intended
- Confirm that any prescreeners are correctly configured
Once you've verified everything is correct, click 'Create link' to activate your registration link. If you notice any errors, select 'Cancel' to return to the previous screen and make corrections.
✋ Important: After a link is created, its settings cannot be modified. You would need to create a new link if changes are required.
Active registration links
After your link is created successfully, a confirmation notification will appear in the top right corner of your screen. On the dashboard, you'll see the link status marked as 'active' along with a counter showing the number of successful signups.
Below this information, you'll find your unique registration link. You can:
- Click 'Copy' to copy the entire link to your clipboard
- Use the social media icons to share your link directly - clicking these will open the respective platform with a pre-filled message template
Inviting participants to your studies
When you wish to invite participants to take part in a study, you just need to add the relevant participant group while setting the study up. Under the ‘recruit participants’ section of the study setup page, select ‘use a saved group of participants’. You can choose which participant group(s) to invite to the study.
You can read more about this section of the study setup page here: Setting up a study - audience.
Stopping a registration link
If you would like to deactivate an active registration link so that participants can no longer use your link to sign up, you can navigate to the bottom of the page and click ‘stop’. You will then see a pop up to confirm you want to stop the registration link.
If participants try to sign up after the link has been stopped or has expired, they will receive a message informing them that the link is no longer valid. They will still be able to sign up to Prolific if they would like to and will go onto our participant waitlist.
Deactivated registration links
If a registration link results in a significantly higher than average ban rate among the participants who have been recruited through it, the registration link will be permanently deactivated. This preventative measure is essential to our quality control process and helps us ensure that all researchers on our platform have access to a participant pool that consistently provides high-quality data and reliable responses.
If your link is deactivated due to quality concerns, the workspace owner will receive an email notification. You'll also see "deactivated" status indicators on both the "Bring your own participants" main overview page and the specific link's details page.
What can I do about a deactivated link?
Once a registration link is deactivated, it cannot be reactivated, so you'll need to create a new one. To avoid future deactivations, only share your link with relevant users or within closed online communities. Be sure to instruct recipients not to share the link with anyone outside your intended audience. If you discover your link has been shared externally, immediately stop the current registration link and create a new one. This approach allows researchers to collaborate with their existing networks while simultaneously safeguarding the quality and integrity of our participant pool.
FAQs
Is there a limit to the number of links I can create?
There is no limit to how many campaigns you can make simultaneously, as long as you remain within the 200 person limit
What kind of participants can I invite?
All participants on Prolific must be at least 18 years old and living in supported countries. You can see the list of countries Prolific supports for participants further up in this article, and you can also read more about this here: Who are the participants on Prolific?
As long as they meet these criteria, you can invite any participants whom you’d to invite to take part in your research!
Will participants in my group be able to take other researchers' studies?
No, participants who sign up through a Bring Your Own Participants link will only see studies published in the workspace where the link was created.
How does it impact participant anonymity if I invite people I know?
Participants are anonymized when they sign up for Prolific. Depending on how many participants you invite, this may be sufficient to anonymize each participant in the group, as you will not know which participant has which Prolific ID. We are working on solutions to improve this - more information on this is coming soon.
Why can't I see as many participants in my participant group as I expected to?
When participants join Prolific they are required to complete certain steps before they can take part in studies, and this includes verifying their identity. If we are unable to verify the participant’s identity they will be informed that they unfortunately cannot take part in studies on Prolific. They will also be provided with a link to contact the Participant Support Team if they have any questions about this.
We have these checks in place so that we can maintain a high standard of participants. You can read more about this in our blog: Why participants get banned.
Participants who join successfully using your link will be added to your chosen participant group, but you won’t see if a participant you’ve invited has been unable to join Prolific.
Why is BYOP now request-only?
This change helps us prevent fraud and maintain the integrity of our participant pool.
Can I extend my campaign beyond 2 weeks?
No, the 2-week maximum is a fixed security measure. You can create a new campaigns simultaneously, as long as you’re still within your 200 participant limit.
Do these changes affect participants who have already joined through my previous BYOP links?
No, existing participants in your groups will not be affected by these changes.
What if I have an existing BYOP campaign running?
Any existing BYOP campaigns running longer than 2 weeks or targeting more than 200 participants will be automatically capped now that these changes are live. Data collectors will be notified of these changes and if you fall into this category.
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