You'd be helping us to improve Google products, both existing ones and those that are still in development. For example, we might ask you to try out a prototype and give us feedback on it, or we might interview you to help us plan a new product.

Visitors to google.com/usability are redirected to the latest version of our sign-up survey on GoogleRatings.com, which is owned by Google and used for hosting forms and conducting customer and user surveys.

You certainly don’t need to be a computer expert or Internet enthusiast to sign up. The range of people we’re hoping will sign up actually includes anyone that has ever used the Internet in any way.

When you sign up you can select which of the different types you are available for. This doesn't commit you to anything – we’ll always contact you with information about the particular study and its format before we make any arrangements.

Yes! Most of our studies take place in-person at our California offices in Mountain View, San Francisco, and San Bruno; our Washington offices in Seattle and Kirkland; and our New York office in Manhattan. We occasionally have in-person studies based in our other offices all over the world but remember, wherever you are, you may be able to participate in a study remotely (from your computer).

Your help in keeping our focus on the user is vital to our mission. While you don’t get anything just for signing up here, participation in a study session always entitles you to some token of our appreciation, such as a gift card or donation to your chosen charity. Rest assured though that you’ll always know exactly what you’ll receive before you participate.

We can't guarantee that you'll be invited to participate in a study, and it may actually be quite some time before you hear from us. As new studies are launched, we contact people we think might be a good match for the topic. You’ll usually hear from us via email: we’ll tell you the nature the study and include a link to a questionnaire to assess your eligibility. Just keep an eye on your inbox and know that even if you ever participate in a study we still think you’re awesome!

In usability studies and field studies, you’ll typically spend one to one-and-a-half hours with a Google researcher. This will almost always be during business hours (Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm). If you’re visiting your local Google office to participate, you’ll need to allow extra time for travel, which is at your own expense. Remote sessions may take place outside of typical business hours depending on your local time zone.

Yes – we want to try out our products with people who aren't already familiar with them, as well as those who are.

No. All the information you provide is kept confidential in accordance with Google's privacy policy. We only use it to help us find suitable participants for user studies. We (or an outside agency working on our behalf in accordance with Google's privacy policy) will only contact you if we want to invite you to participate in a study or need to clarify the information you provided.

You have to be at least 18 years old before you can sign up.

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Yes. Just complete our update form.

Complete our opt-out form.