Why is Indeed collecting demographic data from jobseekers?

FAQ at a glance

1. What is demographic data, and what categories of demographic data does Indeed collect?

   Demographics are the qualities of a group of people. Indeed’s optional survey asks users to provide age (birth year), race & ethnicity, gender identity, disability status, LGBTQIA+ community membership and arrest/conviction history.
   
   

2. Does 'demographic data' include my address, National Insurance number, telephone number or email address?

   No.
   
   

3. Will employers be able to see my personal demographic data from Indeed’s demographic survey?

   No, the demographic data you share with Indeed will be kept confidential. Employers won't see your demographic data responses to Indeed’s survey without your permission. See Question 4 for more information on voluntary self-identification questions from employers.
   
   

4. Will my demographic data be used to review my job application?

   No, the demographic data that you share with Indeed is not part of what employers review when reviewing your job application. If you previously consented to share 'voluntary self-identification' data with Indeed, you can revoke that consent here. 
   
   Separately, some employers are permitted or required by law to ask each job applicant for demographic data. You may see these voluntary self-identification questions when applying for jobs on Indeed. Your responses to those questions are provided to the employer, and the employer is responsible for separating your demographic data when reviewing your job application.
   
   

5. How can I share my demographic data? 

   Sign in on uk.Indeed.com, click or tap the person icon at the top right of your screen, and then select My demographics from the drop-down menu.
   
   

6. What is Indeed trying to achieve by collecting this data? 

   We want to ensure that our technology is helping all people get jobs fairly. If our products aren't serving certain groups of users, we need to know so that we can make improvements.
   
   

7. How will the demographic data I submit through the Indeed survey be used?

   Indeed can use the data to:

   • Ensure our products make opportunities available for everyone (ex, see Fair Chance)
   • Evaluate fairness across Indeed's offerings (ex, see AI Ethics)
   • Help employers in their inclusive recruitment efforts (but don't worry, they wouldn't see your individual data)
     
     

8. I no longer want to share my demographic data with Indeed. How can I remove it?

   You can update or remove your data or select My demographics from the global navigation drop-down.
   
   

9. I don't want to share my demographic data. Can I still use Indeed?

   Yes, of course.
   
   

10. Where does Indeed collect demographic data from job seekers?

    Indeed currently collects demographic data from jobseekers in the US, UK, Ireland and France, but plans to expand to more countries.
    
    

11. Why am I seeing Demographic Data promos?

    Indeed needs to gather data on a diverse section of jobseekers to make recruitment fair for all. Demographic data promos appear on different parts of Indeed and may be personalised based on a jobseeker's profile or search history.

FAQ deep dive

Below, you will find more detailed answers to the questions above.

1. What is demographic data, and what categories of demographic data does Indeed collect?

   Broadly speaking, 'demographics' represent the various characteristics of a population. These characteristics can include factors such as age, race and disability status. While many categories of 'demographics' can be captured, Indeed is currently only looking to capture a subset of these categories from job seekers who volunteer this information. See below for more information.
   
   UK-based job seekers can share the following data across six categories. You can choose which categories you share. The six categories include:
   
   
   • Age (Birth year)
   • Race & Ethnicity
   • Gender
   • Disability status
   • LGBTQIA+ community membership
   • Arrest or conviction history
     
     

2. Does 'demographic data' include my address, National Insurance number, telephone number or email address?

   No. While you are required to have a profile on Indeed to submit your demographic data, Indeed does not capture the address, National Insurance number, telephone number or email address as part of the jobseeker demographic data survey. Only the demographics listed above are captured as part of the survey. 
   
   

3. Will employers be able to see my demographic data from Indeed’s demographic survey?

   No. Indeed is committed to our jobseekers’ privacy. We don't share your demographic data (the six categories described above) with employers. You can read more about Indeed’s Privacy Policy. 
   
   
   • We won't share your demographic data with employers. However, the information we collect from our surveys is separate from the voluntary self-identification questions from employers. Your responses to those employer questions asking for demographic data are provided to the employer.
   • We won't show your demographic data on your profile or CV.
   • Indeed may share a summary of aggregated (group) data with employers upon request, but employers won't be able to see your individual demographic data responses without your permission.
     • Example of aggregate data: 45% of applicants identify as male or 10% of hired applicants identified as Hispanic or Latino.
       
       

4. Will my demographic data be used to review my job application?

   No, the demographic data that you share with Indeed is not part of what employers review when reviewing your job application. If you previously consented to share 'voluntary self-identification' data with Indeed, you can revoke that consent here. 
   
   Some employers are required by law to ask each job applicant for demographic data. You may see these voluntary self-identification questions when applying for jobs on Indeed. Your responses to those questions are provided to the employer, and the employer is responsible for separating your demographic data when reviewing your job application. Employers that ask applicants for their demographic data may be permitted or required to collect such data under UK law. Additionally, where employers use Indeed functionality to request disability status information, they represent that they are government contractors or subcontractors who are required to seek this information from job applicants to comply with the Department for Work and Pensions' requirements. This process is separate from Indeed's collection of demographic data.
    
   • Employers collect this information to provide aggregated data or information on groups of job applicants to the government agencies responsible for enforcing anti-discrimination laws so they can do their jobs. (For more information, visit the websites for the Equality and Human Rights Commission and the Department for Work and Pensions.)
     
     

5. How can I share my demographic data?

   Sign in on uk.Indeed.com, click or tap the person icon at the top right of your screen, and then select My demographics from the drop-down menu.
   
   

6. What is Indeed trying to achieve by collecting this data?

   A commitment to inclusivity and fairness in the recruitment process is core to our mission. Indeed wants to be a place where all candidates get a fair and equitable chance. Inclusive recruitment can help employers broaden their candidate pool and make recruitment decisions based on a candidate’s skills and abilities to do the job.
   
   As a data-driven company, we believe you can’t improve something if you can’t measure it. We are identifying methods to measure fairness in our offerings, and we need demographic data from jobseekers to achieve these goals.
   
   As we grow, Indeed can build products that provide insights into recruitment. With Indeed’s data and analytics, our goal is to make it easier for employers to engage, manage and hire candidates more inclusively.
   
   

7. How will the demographic data I submit through the Indeed survey be used?

   Indeed can use your data in the following ways:

   • To evaluate our offerings. By evaluating fairness in our offerings, we can work towards ensuring that they make opportunities available for everyone. For example, Indeed was able to better understand our jobseeker population, which informed product improvements that helped justice-impacted jobseekers through the Fair Chance recruitment initiative.
   • As we describe in our statement on algorithms and fairness, a commitment to fairness is core to our mission, and we are working to understand how to assess and test our technology (e.g. the AI Ethics team works across the business to build tools, systems and processes that advance responsible and inclusive technology).
   • Assist employers in their inclusive recruitment efforts: Indeed may share a summary of aggregate data, providing information on groups of jobseekers, with employers in the future.
   • We may share aggregated demographic data related to overall applicants or recruits – for instance, when 45% of total applicants identify as male or when 10% of total applicants identify as Asian.

   Indeed is committed to your privacy.

   • We won't share your individual demographic data with employers without your permission.
   • We won't show your individual demographic data on your profile or CV.
     
     

8. I no longer want to share my demographic data with Indeed. How can I remove it?

   You can update or remove your data or select My demographics from the global navigation drop-down.
   
   

9. I don't want to share my demographic data. Can I still use Indeed?

   Yes. Sharing your demographic data is entirely optional. You can still use Indeed if you choose not to share your demographic data, and you have control over how much or little you share. Refusal to share this information won't result in adverse treatment from Indeed. We hope, however, that you will consider sharing to help us improve our offerings. If you have any other questions about demographic data, please contact our customer support team for further assistance.
   
   

10. Where does Indeed collect demographic data from jobseekers?

    Indeed is committed to helping all people get jobs in a fair way. We currently collect demographic data from jobseekers in the US, UK, Ireland, and France but plan to expand to more countries.
    
    

11. Why am I seeing Demographic Data promos?

    Indeed needs to gather data on a diverse section of jobseekers to make recruitment fair for all. Demographic data promos appear on different parts of Indeed and may be personalised based on a jobseeker's profile or search history.