This mobile application is part of a research study. In order to use the app, you must consent to be a participant in the study. The consent form is available in the app after you download it and log in. Below is the privacy information provided in the consent form for this study.
8. Protecting and sharing research information
8.1 How will the researchers protect my information?
We will protect your information by securely storing it on U-M maintained servers and computers. We will replace your name and any other identifier with a unique ID. The key linking the unique ID and your identifiers will be retained in a separate file. We will use uniqnames for student status verification and identifying students who need to be blocked from viewing a participant’s profile. Uniqnames will not be linked to your data. Potentially identifiable data that could include your profile information and in-app messages will be stored separately from other data. At the completion of the study, uniqnames and the key linking identifiers to the unique IDs will be destroyed. In addition, in-app messages will be scrubbed to remove any identifiable data (e.g., name, email address, phone number, address) prior to being used for data analysis or shared with collaborators.
8.1.1 Special Protections
This research holds a Certificate of Confidentiality from the National Institutes of Health.
This means that we cannot release or use information, documents, or samples that may identify you in any action or suit except as described below. This protection includes federal, state, or local civil, criminal, administrative, legislative, or other legal proceedings. An example of a situation in which the Certificate would apply would be a court subpoena for research records.
There are some important things that you need to know:
- The Certificate does not stop reporting or information-sharing that you agree to in this consent document. For example, we may share information with appropriate authorities if we think you may harm yourself or others. We may also share your information with other researchers. However, we will not be monitoring the dating app data in real time.
- We may also release information about you to others when you say it is okay. For example, you may give us permission to release information to insurers, medical providers, or anyone else.
- The Certificate of Confidentiality does not stop you from personally releasing information about your involvement in this research if you wish.
More information about Certificates of Confidentiality and the protections they provide is available at https://grants.nih.gov/policy/humansubjects/coc/what-is.htm
8.2 Who will have access to my research records?
There are reasons why information about you may be used or seen by the researchers or others during or after this study. Examples include:
- University, government officials, study sponsors or funders, auditors, and/or the Institutional Review Board (IRB) may need the information to make sure that the study is done in a safe and proper manner. Researchers involved in the study will access your information for research purposes.
8.3 What will happen to the information collected in this study?
We will keep the information we collect about you during the research for study recordkeeping and for future research projects.
All data will be retained indefinitely for future research, with the exception of uniqnames, which will be destroyed when the study is completed, along with the key linking uniqnames to the unique IDs used to code the data.
Most of the information that may be used or shared will be coded, meaning that it may not be used to directly identify you. However, some information will be collected and retained indefinitely that may be tied to your identity:
- Information from your profile and in-app messages may be associated with your identity if you provide us with identifying information (e.g., profile picture of your face, an email address or phone number provided through in-app messaging). This data will be stored in separate data tables from other types of data and identifiable information in the in-app messages (names, email addresses, phone numbers, addresses) will be scrubbed from the data used in data analysis.
8.4 Will my information be used for future research or shared with others?
With the exception of your uniqname, which will not be shared, all information collected about you may be used for future research. We will scrub the in-app messages of any identifying information before sharing that data. It may be shared with individuals who collaborate with the research team and will be used solely for research purposes. We will not ask for you to provide additional consent to use your data for future research.
The researchers may contact you through the app to invite you to participate in additional research studies.
Your data will not be shared or used for non-research purposes.
The results of this study could be published in research articles or presentations, including information from your profile or in-app messages, but will not include any information that would let others know who you are.
8.4.1 Special Requirements
Although there are no current plans to do so, we may choose to put the information we collect from you into a publicly-accessible data repository. The repository contains information about many people. Only coded information will be included in the repository. Identifying information from your profile or in-app messages will not be posted publicly.
Updates to this Privacy Policy
This privacy policy may be updated at any time based on updates to the research study IRB.