Research Defender
Research Defender is a survey fraud prevention platform, operated by Rep Data, Inc., that scores respondents across 130+ criteria and uses an adaptive ML layer and an industry-wide No-Fly List to block fraudulent responses for market research companies, brands, and other survey operators.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersNew Orleans, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Research Defender does
Research Defender is a survey fraud prevention platform operated by Rep Data, Inc., a privately held US company founded in 2018 and headquartered in New Orleans. The platform targets market research companies, brands, and other organizations running consumer, academic, political, or customer-experience surveys, addressing what the company characterizes as a market where 33% of standard source responses and 26% of top-source responses are fraudulent, with 84% of that fraud being too subtle for traditional cleaning to detect.
The product is architected as three integrated defense layers. The first is a fraud prevention tech stack that scores each respondent across 130+ criteria before, during, and after survey completion, incorporating behavioral analysis, device fingerprints, geo verification, and timestamps. The second is Second Shield AI, an adaptive machine-learning layer trained on labeled reconciliation outcomes from thousands of active client projects, claimed to block multivariate fraud patterns with 97% accuracy. The third is the Rep Data No-Fly List, an industry-wide suppression list built on visibility into 4.1 billion cumulative survey entrants across ~250 sample sources, with ~15 million daily entrants and 294.7 million fraudulent responses eliminated in the trailing twelve months.
The business operates four distribution channels — API integration, Defender Links (redirect-based, no-code), a DIY sampling tool, and a services team for enterprise buyers — with usage-based and transaction-fee pricing on quote-based, typically multi-year enterprise contracts. Customer segmentation is horizontal across the market research industry. Research Defender operates as a sub-brand of Rep Data, Inc., which appears to be a bootstrapped organization with 1-10 employees and no disclosed funding rounds.
Research Defender firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Research Defender
- Legal name
- Rep Data, Inc.
- Website
- https://researchdefender.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Research Defender is a survey fraud prevention platform, operated by Rep Data, Inc., that scores respondents across 130+ criteria and uses an adaptive ML layer and an industry-wide No-Fly List to block fraudulent responses for market research companies, brands, and other survey operators.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Research Defender industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Survey Fraud Prevention Software
- NAICS
- Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910), Investigation and Personal Background Check Services (561611)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Fraud Risk & Financial Crime Controls Advisory (BPAKADAL)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Security Consulting, Risk Assessment & Security Program Design (BPABAMAE), Remote Proctoring, Test Security & Online Assessment Platforms (BPACAMAL)
Keywords
Where Research Defender is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New Orleans
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Research Defender business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Fraud Prevention API Services: Access to Research Defender's fraud prevention capabilities through API integration, charged based on survey volume or transaction volume.
- Sample Purchase with Built-in Fraud Defense: Direct sample purchasing through DIY sampling tool with integrated fraud prevention as part of the service offering.
- Enterprise Professional Services: Custom implementation and support services for enterprise clients requiring dedicated assistance.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Usage-based | Multi-year contract | Quote-based enterprise pricing |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels3 records
Research Defender product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Research Defender is a survey fraud prevention platform that scores respondent risk in 130 ways across pre, mid, and post survey stages. The platform combines a fraud prevention tech stack, an adaptive machine-learning layer (Second Shield AI), and an industry-wide Rep Data No-Fly List to eliminate fraudulent responses from market research surveys conducted across approximately 250 sample sources.
Product overview
Research Defender is a single unified survey fraud prevention platform offered by Rep Data, built around three integrated defense layers: the core Research Defender fraud prevention tech stack (scoring respondent risk in 130 ways), Second Shield AI (adaptive machine-learning layer that learns from reconciliation data), and the Rep Data No-Fly List (industry-wide suppression list). Access is available via API, Defender Links (DIY redirect tool), direct sample purchase through Rep Data's DIY sampling tool, or through their services team.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Second Shield AI: An adaptive machine-learning fraud prevention layer that sits between the fraud prevention tech stack and live fieldwork. Learns from every survey response overturned in reconciliation across thousands of Rep Data clients to identify subtle, multivariate fraud patterns.
Products and services
- Research Defender A survey fraud prevention platform that eliminates fraudulent responses by scoring respondent risk in 130 ways across pre, mid, and post survey stages. It leverages 4.1 billion survey entrant visibility and ~250 sample sources to block bad actors across three integrated defense layers, serving market research companies and brands conducting consumer insights, academic research, political polling, and customer feedback collection.
- DIY Sampling Tool A self-serve sample purchasing tool positioned as the #1 DIY sampling tool, with built-in Research Defender fraud prevention. Allows users to buy sample directly with integrated fraud defense without requiring custom implementation.
Quantifiable outcome
- 294,717,861 fraudulent responses eliminated in last 12 months
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Research Defender
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Research Defender technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability2 records
Feature4 records
Research Defender partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators7 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Research Defender competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Dynata: Dynata is one of the largest first-party sample providers for market research with embedded fraud prevention in its panel operations, competing broadly for sample-quality spend against Research Defender.
- Cint: Cint operates a global sample marketplace and exchange with quality and fraud management as core platform features, overlapping with Research Defender's ecosystem-wide protection positioning.
- Toluna: Toluna is a consumer insights platform combining panels, survey technology, and fraud prevention, serving market research clients with overlapping capabilities to Research Defender's stack.
- Qualtrics: Qualtrics is the leading experience management platform with embedded survey tools and fraud detection features that compete broadly with Research Defender across enterprise survey research.
- Forsta: Forsta is a market research technology platform offering survey tools, panel management, and data quality features that overlap with Research Defender's fraud prevention offerings for enterprise clients.
Direct peers
- PureSpectrum: PureSpectrum is a market research panel-quality and fraud-prevention platform that directly competes with Research Defender on respondent scoring, sample quality, and fraud elimination for survey research clients.
- CloudResearch: CloudResearch provides vetted participant pools and bot/fraud detection for online research, overlapping directly with Research Defender's respondent scoring and suppression capabilities.
- Prolific: Prolific is an online research participant platform with built-in quality controls and fraud prevention, addressing the same survey data integrity problem Research Defender solves for market and academic research.
- Schlesinger Group: Schlesinger Group is a market research services firm with proprietary fraud prevention and data quality capabilities, competing with Research Defender for the same enterprise research buyers.
- Respondent.io: Respondent.io is a participant recruitment platform for market and academic research with built-in verification and quality features, competing with Research Defender's DIY sampling tool with integrated fraud defense.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Research Defender social profiles
Digital presenceResearch Defender financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Research Defender leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Research Defender funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Research Defender M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Research Defender
What does Research Defender do?
Research Defender is a survey fraud prevention platform that scores respondent risk in 130 ways across pre, mid, and post survey stages. The platform combines a fraud prevention tech stack, an adaptive machine-learning layer (Second Shield AI), and an industry-wide Rep Data No-Fly List to eliminate fraudulent responses from market research surveys conducted across approximately 250 sample sources.
Is Research Defender a public or private company?
Research Defender is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Research Defender founded?
Research Defender was founded in 2018. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Research Defender based?
Research Defender is headquartered in New Orleans, United States, in the North America region.
How does Research Defender make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Fraud Prevention API Services are the primary driver. The others are sample Purchase with Built-in Fraud Defense and enterprise Professional Services.
Who are Research Defender's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Dynata, Cint, Toluna, Qualtrics and Forsta. Direct peers are PureSpectrum, CloudResearch, Prolific, Schlesinger Group and Respondent.io.
Does Research Defender have an API?
Yes. Research Defender offers API access for integration. Users can access the API as one of four ways to get started with the product. The API enables developers to programmatically integrate fraud prevention capabilities into their survey systems.
What industry is Research Defender in?
Research Defender's product category is Survey Fraud Prevention Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAKADAL, Fraud Risk & Financial Crime Controls Advisory, with a secondary code of BPABAMAE, Security Consulting, Risk Assessment & Security Program Design. Its NAICS code is 541910.