The new guidelines align global policies with developing regulations and technology and will help researchers with legal, ethical and practical issues of mobile research.

Mobile research accounts for $1.8bn global annual turnover as it expands from text-based surveys to personal video accounts and geo-location data collection among other things.

Finn Raben, director general of Esomar said: “With the omnipresence of smartphones it is of utmost importance that our sector is effectively expressing our traditional values of respect for individuals and scientific integrity in new and emerging mobile research methods.”

Andrew Cannon, executive director of the GRBN, added: “The use of mobile research methods will continue to grow, and we have improved guidance for practitioners by successfully reconciled two existing mobile research guidelines into the one authoritative document. We expect that this update will be one of many as the legal and ethical parameters of mobile research continue to evolve.”