Yes, you can run studies on Prolific that involve deception about specific elements of the study or its true purpose, provided you follow Prolific's ethical requirements and participant protection standards.
This article explains what's allowed, what isn't, and what you must do to confidently check your study design before launch.
What counts as deception on Prolific
Deception means intentionally withholding or misrepresenting information about your study's purpose, procedures, or participant interactions.
Common examples of permitted deception include:
Telling participants they are interacting with another participant when they're actually interacting with an AI or pre-programmed system
Describing a study as being about one topic (e.g., marketing) when the true focus is another (e.g., discrimination or decision-making)
Temporarily misleading participants about bonus payments for study purposes. For example, telling participants they will receive a bonus when they will not, or claiming bonuses will be donated to charity when this is not true.
Deception should only be used when methodologically necessary and participants must be fully debriefed at the end of the study.
What is not allowed
Some forms of deception are not permitted on Prolific, even if no real data is collected or stored.
Simulated collection of personal data
Your study must not collect or simulate the collection of personally identifiable information (PII).
This includes scenarios where participants see realistic interfaces or workflows that appear to collect personal data, even if:
The data is not saved
The research team cannot access the data
Participants are told the data is fake or not recorded
Examples of what's not allowed:
Simulated ID uploads or identity verification checks
Fake age verification or document submission flows
Interfaces that resemble real-world financial, legal, or identity systems
Adding warnings or disclaimers does not make these setups acceptable, they still create a participant experience that involves apparent PII collection.
For more detail, see Can I ask participants for their personal information or identifiers?
What you must do if your study involves deception
If you plan to use deception, all of the following are required.
1. Apply the deception pre-screener
You must apply the Deception pre-screener and select:
“Yes, I would be comfortable to take part in such a study.”
This ensures that only participants who have opted in to deceptive studies can take part.
Participants cannot see which pre-screeners are applied to a study, so they won't know that deception is involved.
2. 2. Provide a thorough debrief
You must provide a clear and complete debrief at the end of the study that:
Explains the true purpose of the research
Describes how and why deception was used
Resolves any misleading information, including bonuses or incentives
If your study involves sensitive topics or potential distress, include appropriate support resources.
Participants should also be given the opportunity to withdraw consent after debriefing.
3. Plan for participants who don't complete the study
Participants who withdraw or time out must still be debriefed.
Recommended approaches include:
Providing an on-screen debrief immediately after the deceptive element
Including debrief information in follow-up messages or completion pages
This is especially important for studies involving sensitive or potentially distressing deception.
How deception studies work on Prolific
Multi-phase studies: You can use deception in earlier phases, but you must fully debrief participants once the deception is no longer necessary.
Rejections: Deception doesn't change Prolific's rejection rules. You must not reject participants for responses influenced by deception.
Bonuses: You must fully explain and resolve any deception about bonuses during debriefing.
Pre-launch checklist
Before publishing your study, confirm:
You've applied the deception pre-screener
Your study does not collect or simulate PII
You've planned a full debrief for all participants, including those who don't complete the study
Any misleading elements are clearly explained to participants by the end of the study
If your study meets all these requirements, you're ready to launch.
If it doesn’t, contact Prolific Support using the icon at the bottom right of this page before launching. We can help you make sure your study meets our requirements and runs smoothly.