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Critical Research Privacy Policy

Last Updated: August 4, 2025 Effective Date: August 4, 2025

Critical Research respects your privacy concerns. Our privacy and security policies demonstrate our responsibilities to the individuals about whom we report information and to our clients who rely on us to safeguard the information they order.

If you have any questions or concerns about Critical Research’s privacy and security policies, please contact us at privacy@criticalresearch.com.

About This Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to the services provided and the website owned or operated by Critical Research. It describes how we collect, use, and share personal information.

If you do not agree with this policy, you should not use Critical Research’s services or visit our website.

Information Safeguards

Critical Research maintains strict standards on our collection, use, and distribution of all information. We do not provide services to consumers or individuals. Critical Research does not collect or compile information on particular persons or subjects, except to fulfill legitimate requests from businesses that have met our pre-qualification requirements.

We provide reports only to the clients who ordered the report, and the clients can use the report only for the particular purpose for which they ordered the report. We obtain the information available through our online services from public sources or publicly available sources and third parties as necessary. We do not sell or provide access to information about our clients, the inquiries they may make, or the individuals that they request information about, except as required by law. Critical Research keeps all transactions through our website and systems confidential.

Information Collection

We collect personal information for multiple reasons based upon the nature of your relationship or interaction with us.

  • Directly from You: We collect personally identifiable information from individuals using our website only when it is voluntarily provided via contact forms. This may include contact information such as name, email address, service need, and other details you provide to us.
  • From Public and Third-Party Sources: When our clients order a report, we obtain information from public sources, such as police departments, sheriffs’ offices, courts, motor vehicle departments, and other state and local agencies. We also collect information from third parties as necessary to provide our services. We attempt to report accurate information, though we do rely on these sources—as creators of the records we provide—to maintain accurate records.
  • Automatically When You Visit Our Website: As is true of most websites, we may collect technical information from your browser, such as your IP address, browser type, and operating system. We use this information to ensure our website is working properly, to improve performance and functionality, and for security purposes. This information is not linked to your personally identifiable information.

How We Use the Information We Collect

We use your information to provide and improve the services we offer. This includes:

  • Fulfilling Service Requests: The primary purpose of collecting information is to fulfill legitimate requests from our business clients.
  • Operating and Improving our Services: We use information to operate, evaluate, and maintain the functionality of our website and services.
  • Communication: We use your contact information to respond to your inquiries submitted through our contact forms.
  • Preventing Fraud and Abuse: We may use information to maintain the security of our website and prevent fraud.
  • Complying with Law: We use your information to comply with any applicable laws, regulations, and legal processes.

How We Share Your Information

We will not share your personal information with anyone outside Critical Research except in the following circumstances:

  • With Our Clients: We provide reports only to the clients who ordered them for the specific purpose for which they were ordered.
  • With Third-Party Service Providers: We work with trusted third-party service providers to help us run our business, such as vendors for website security, analytics, or other business-related functions. We share the minimum amount of information necessary for them to provide their services.
  • For Legal Reasons: We may be required to disclose or preserve for future disclosure your personal information if we believe it is reasonably necessary to protect Critical Research’s rights or property, or to comply with a law, regulation, subpoena, or other valid legal process.
  • Business Transfers: In the event that we are involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your personal information may be sold or transferred as part of that transaction. However, the new entity will be bound by this privacy policy.

We Do Not Sell Your Information

Critical Research provides information to clients as part of our background screening services. This is done with the consent of the individual being screened and is for authorized business purposes only. We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for their marketing purposes. We are committed to protecting the privacy of the data we handle and ensuring it is used only for the legitimate purpose for which it was collected.

Clients

We provide information to business clients only—not to the general public. Critical Research clients and markets may include human resources, loss-prevention and risk-management departments, employment agencies, investigators, finance companies, attorneys and government bodies as necessary. All Critical Research clients must undergo a stringent pre-qualification process and demonstrate a legitimate business need for the information.

Information We Distribute

Output from Critical Research’s public-records database consists of criminal records for individuals matching client search criteria. Search results may include court records from county, state, federal, and international courts. Search results can also include information from state sex-offender registries. Critical Research clients are restricted to ordering reports for authorized business purposes only. Critical Research also provides a service to verify prior employment and education as provided by job applicants to employers.

Legal Compliance

Critical Research’s privacy and data security standards follow legislative and regulatory requirements for consumer reporting agencies. Critical Research complies with state and federal guidelines and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Critical Research maintains a process whereby individual consumers may request, access, and correct their information in accordance with legal requirements. For additional information on your rights under the FCRA, please refer to the FTC’s website at http://www.ftc.gov.

Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies

“Cookies” are small pieces of information that your browser stores on your computer’s hard drive. We do not presently use cookies to collect and store information about your activity on our website, other than what may be used by third-party services.

  • Third-Party Cookies: Our website may use third-party services that use cookies. For example, Google reCAPTCHA, as described below, may use a cookie to help prevent spam and abuse.
  • Managing Cookies: You can set your browser not to accept cookies. If you do this, some areas of our website may not function properly. To learn how to manage cookie settings in your browser, refer to your browser’s help documentation.

Google reCAPTCHA

To protect our website from spam and abuse and to ensure a secure and reliable experience for our users, we utilize Google reCAPTCHA. This service helps us distinguish between human users and automated bots.

  • How reCAPTCHA Works and What Data It Collects: Google reCAPTCHA analyzes various signals and information about user interactions with our website to determine if the activity is suspicious. This process may involve the collection and processing of certain data, including but not limited to your IP address, cookies, device and browser information, user interaction data, and other information related to your activity on our site.
  • Data Sharing and Google’s Policies: Data collected by this service is transmitted to Google. We encourage you to review Google’s own privacy practices for more information:
    • Google’s Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy
    • Google’s Terms of Service: https://policies.google.com/terms

Do Not Track & Global Privacy Control (GPC)

  • Do Not Track (DNT) Signals: Your browser settings may allow you to send a DNT signal to websites you visit. A DNT signal is a preference you can set in some browsers to direct websites not to track you. Since the internet industry has not adopted a DNT standard, our website does not currently respond to DNT signals from your browser.
  • Global Privacy Control (GPC): GPC is a signal that you can set in your browser to indicate your privacy preference regarding certain types of data processing. Where required by state law, we treat GPC signals as a request to opt out of the “sale” or “sharing” of your personal information for purposes such as targeted advertising.

Children’s Privacy

This website is not intended for children. In accordance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), we will not knowingly collect personal information from children under age 13. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child under 13, we will promptly remove it from our systems.

Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your location and applicable privacy laws, such as the FCRA, California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), or GDPR, you may have certain rights regarding the personal information we hold about you. These rights may include:

  • Right to Access: The right to request access to and obtain a copy of your personal data.
  • Right to Rectification: The right to request the correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.
  • Right to Deletion: The right to request the deletion of your personal data under certain circumstances.
  • Right to Opt-Out: The right to opt-out of the “sale” or “sharing” of your personal information. Note: Critical Research does not sell or share personal information as defined by the CCPA.

Please note: Any background check data regulated by the FCRA is generally exempt from CCPA data rights requests.

To exercise your rights, please contact us using the information provided in the Contact Information section below. To verify your identity, we may require you to provide basic personal information.

Updates and Changes to this Policy

This policy may be amended as necessary. We will post any changes on this webpage and update the “Last Updated” date to reflect those changes. We encourage you to review this page periodically to stay informed of our privacy practices.

Contact Information

If you have any questions about this policy, please contact us using the following information:

Contact Information:
Critical Research
ATTN: Compliance Department
5755 North Point Pkwy, Suite 279
Alpharetta, Georgia 30022
E-mail: privacy@criticalresearch.com
Phone: (877) 316-4808