Every answer comes from a real person on a real phone.
Most panels ask you to trust them. We publish how it works: what we check, what we keep and for how long, and what happens when someone tries it on.
Four tiers. Prove more, earn more.
Tier 0 · Practice
Anyone who signs in. Practice questions only, never counted in anyone's results.
Tier 1 · Phone verified
One real cell phone number, checked by a code. Virtual and VoIP numbers are refused. Answers 15.2¢ questions.
Tier 2 · ID verified
A government ID and a live-face check, once. One face, one account. Unlocks targeting and free text. Answers 38.1¢ questions.
Tier 3 · Trusted panel
Tier 2 heads with a long record of careful answers and a name-matched payout account. First to answer. Answers 76.2¢ questions.
What “attested” means
Modern phones have a small, sealed chip that can sign a message in a way no app or emulator can fake. When a head answers, the 50heads app asks that chip to vouch for three things: this is a real phone, it hasn't been rooted or tampered with, and the app is the one we published.
We check that signature with Apple or Google before the answer counts. If it doesn't check out, the answer never reaches you and the head isn't paid. That is why emulators, click farms running scripts and modified apps can't answer at all.
Each answer in your results carries an attestation reference. It proves the answer came from a checked device, without saying whose.
Known-answer questions
A few questions have answers we already know. Heads who get them wrong too often stop seeing paid questions.
Timing and patterns
Answers that come too fast to have been read, or in lockstep with other accounts, are held back and reviewed.
Regular re-checks
Tier 1 heads who earned in a month confirm their phone again with a code. Tier 2 and 3 heads get a three-second face check at random. Miss it three times and you drop a tier.
What we keep, and for how long
| What | How long |
|---|---|
| ID and face photos | Not kept by us. The check provider deletes them after its decision, within 30 days. We keep only the yes or no. |
| Face match for spotting duplicate accounts | Held by the check provider while your account exists; deleted if you withdraw consent or close your account. |
| Phone number | While your account exists. A scrambled copy for 12 months after, so a closed account can't sign straight back up. |
| Touch and timing signals | 90 days. Summary patterns for up to 24 months. |
| Answers | Never shown with a name. If a head deletes their account, their answers are cut loose from it. |
| Payments, invoices and tax details | Six years after the tax year, because the law says so. |
If we get it wrong
Automated checks make mistakes. Heads can appeal once a month from the app or the web, and a person reviews every appeal. We publish how many we receive and uphold each quarter.
Read the transparency noteWhat you see as a requester
The tier and an attestation reference on every answer, the confidence line on every result, and a refund for anything we reject after it counted. You never see who answered, and heads never see who asked.