What is the scope of an unregistered IRB? The community college I attend has an IRB that is not registered with the FDA and is supposed to review projects conducted by students or faculty. I (as a student) would like to conduct a survey (that involves minimal risk) through a mobile application that would be meant for, and open to the general public. I contacted my institution’s IRB and they said that this type of research would be out of the scope of my community college’s IRB. Is this true? Do I even need IRB approval for my research? I do not plan on publishing any information or receiving any federal or state funding, but the data collected through my survey might be used to create a product/service that might require FDA approval. Again, the survey and the mobile application through which the survey is conducted will not be submitted for FDA approval, but a product created from the data I collect (which is all anonymized before I receive it) might be. What do you recommend for my situation? I do not have the resources to get approval from a commercial IRB, and the universities I have contacted (who have federally registered IRBs), say they cannot review research from a student of another institution.
Do I even need IRB approval for my research?

Quite probably, but if you are exempt you must get the exemption from an IRB.

What do you recommend for my situation?

You are trying to use a community college to solve a problem (research and product development) that community colleges are not intended to solve.  Don't do that.  If you want to learn to do research, get a PhD at a research university.  If you want to make a product, go get a job at a company that makes products.