By choosing to turn on ad verification, panelists allow us to confirm which ads from Amazon they saw. This can include Amazon’s own advertising or ads from third-party businesses that advertise through Amazon Ads. Panelists invited to participate in ad verification on their mobile device may turn on ad verification to receive more, relevant surveys each month based on the ads they see from Amazon. Participating in ad verification does not increase the amount of ads from Amazon you see and you can turn it off at any time. The Amazon Shopper Panel app will collect and use information about where and when you see ads from Amazon, for example the app or website where you viewed the ad and the time of day you viewed it. This helps us make ads from Amazon more relevant. We always handle your information in accordance with Amazon’s Privacy Notice.
Ads from Amazon can include Amazon’s own advertising or third-party businesses that advertise through Amazon. Ads can include both products sold in Amazon's store, such as electronics or clothing, and products or services not sold in Amazon's store, such as ads for restaurants or hotels. You may encounter an ad from Amazon as you shop in Amazon's store, as you read an article on a third-party app or website, such as news, sports, or entertainment sites, or as you watch video content across Amazon sites and apps, such as Amazon Freevee.
Every web enabled device, including your phone, computer, and the servers that run websites, has a unique Internet Protocol (IP) address. IP addresses enable information, including ads, to be sent between devices, websites, and apps across the internet. IP addresses are a string of numbers that would be difficult for humans to memorize for the websites that you visit. To make internet navigation easier, your devices use Domain Name Systems (DNS). A DNS maintains a directory of domain names (such as "amazon.com") and translates them to IP addresses so that you can just type the name of the website. If you choose to enable ad verification, the Amazon Shopper Panel app will guide you through updating your phone settings to use an Amazon DNS instead of your current DNS, which is typically provided by your Internet Service Provider (ISP). The Amazon DNS will work the same as your device's current DNS, except when you see an ad from Amazon. In those cases, the Amazon DNS will provide a different, Amazon-owned IP address that allows us to confirm you saw an ad from Amazon, and where and when you saw it, for example the app or website where you viewed the ad and the time of day you viewed it. The Amazon Shopper Panel will only use the app permissions to confirm the ads from Amazon that you see. The Amazon Shopper Panel does not receive or share any personal information with third-parties.
When you toggle ON ad verification, you must allow "permission to track" via the iOS prompt for the Amazon Shopper Panel app to enable ad verification. You will then receive a prompt to allow notifications, which are also required to enable ad verification. The Amazon Shopper Panel app will then guide you through updating your device settings to use an Amazon DNS instead of your current DNS. Once you update your device settings, the ad verification status on the ad verification tab will show as ON. You can toggle ad verification OFF at any time from within the app.
When you toggle ON ad verification, you will receive a standard Android device prompt to allow the Amazon Shopper Panel to setup a Virtual Private Network (VPN) connection. The Amazon Shopper Panel will not install a VPN on your device but does use VPN device permissions to setup an Amazon DNS, which enables Amazon to collect and use information about the ads you see from Amazon. The Amazon Shopper Panel app will then guide you through updating your device settings to use an Amazon DNS instead of your current DNS. You can only turn ON ad verification if your "Private DNS" setting is "Automatic". Once you update your device settings, the ad verification status on the ads tab will show as ON. You will also see a VPN key badge on the status bar while ad verification is enabled. You can toggle ad verification OFF at any time from within the app.
No, the Amazon Shopper Panel will not install a VPN on your device. On Android, the Amazon Shopper Panel app uses VPN device permissions to setup an Amazon DNS, which makes it easy for panelists to opt out of ad verification if they choose to. When enabling ad verification on Android you will see a "VPN connection request" to activate those permissions. Because we are using these VPN permissions, you will also see a VPN key badge on the status bar while ad verification is enabled. You cannot participate in ad verification while connected to a VPN.
No, you cannot participate in ad verification if you have a third party VPN enabled.
If you believe that ad verification may be disrupting your internet connection, disable ad verification by toggling it off from within the app. We recommend checking that your "Private DNS" setting is "Automatic". If you’re still experiencing the issue after you re-enable ad verification, you can get more help by selecting "Contact us" within the "More" tab's menu to contact a Customer Support representative.
Ad verification can only be enabled when your "Private DNS" setting is "Automatic". Turning your "Private DNS" setting to "Off" or manually entering a hostname of a DNS provider while ad verification is enabled will cause your device to lose internet access.
Yes. If you opt-out of interest based ads you will still see ads from Amazon, but they will not be based on your interests. You can choose to enable verification of non-interest based ads you see from Amazon.
Notifications need to be enabled on iOS to participate in ad verification. Notifications do not need to be enabled on Android.
If you turn off ad verification for more than a cumulative 48 hours within a month, you will no longer qualify to receive more, relevant surveys based on the ads you see from Amazon.
You may withdraw consent and delete your personal information that is associated with the Amazon Shopper Panel including receipts, survey responses, ad verification information, details you provide about yourself, and your rewards history by selecting "Delete your data and opt out” within the "More" tab's menu. If you proceed with that request, you will be removed from the Amazon Shopper Panel. You will still be able to redeem rewards earned in previous months, but you will be ineligible to receive any rewards earned during the current month. If you decide you would like to rejoin the Amazon Shopper Panel, you may be added to the waitlist as availability is limited. If you have been added to the waiting list, we will notify you if a spot opens up.
All participation in the Amazon Shopper Panel is voluntary. You can easily disable ad verification at any time by toggling OFF within the Ad verification settings, located in the More tab. Once you disable ad verification, the status will show as OFF and your device will automatically resume using its default DNS settings. On Android, after disabling ad verification you will also need to turn off "Always-on VPN" or you will continue seeing a VPN key badge with the message "Disconnected from always-on VPN". To turn off "Always-on VPN" on Android: