Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy


The Contextual Dynamics Laboratory at Dartmouth College is conducting a study of how fitness tracker data may be used to evaluate, predict, and assess various aspects of cognitive performance.  The study has been reviewed and approved by the Dartmouth Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects.  The terms “we” and “our” as used in this document refer to the Contextual Dynamics Laboratory team at Dartmouth College.  This document describes what fitness and health-related information we will collect from you, and how we will protect that information.  Prior to participating in the main experiment, you will also read a description of the experimental data we will collect as part of this study and how we will protect it.  Please also read the Terms of Service Agreement for a description of the rights and responsibilities regarding how the data we collect may be used.

We are requesting access to the following information collected about you and your activity history by Fitbit over (up to) the past year, until and including today:

  1.  Heart Rate.  If available, we will access and store all heart rate data collected by your Fitbit device(s) and associated with your profile.  Depending on your specific device model(s) and settings, this may include second-by-second, minute-by-minute, daily summary, weekly summary, and/or monthly summary heart rate information.  These summaries include information about your average heart rate, and the amount of time you are estimated to have spent in different “heart rate zones” (rest, out-of-range, fat burn, cardio, peak), as well as an estimate of the number of estimated calories burned while in each heart rate zone.
     
  2.  Sleep.  If available, we will access and store the past year of sleep data collected by your Fitbit device(s).  Depending on your specific device model(s) and settings, this may include nightly estimates of the duration and quality of sleep, as well as the amount of time spent in each sleep stage (awake, REM, light, or deep).
     
  3.  Weight.  If available, we will access and store the past year of weight data.  Depending on your specific device model(s) and settings, this may include your weight, body mass index, and body fat percentage.
     
  4.  Nutrition.  If available, we will access and store the past year of nutrition data. Depending on your specific settings, this may include a log of the specific foods you have eaten (and logged) over the past year and the amount of water consumed each day.
     
  5.  Settings.  We will access and store your settings to determine (a) which device(s) and model(s) are associated with your Fitbit account, (b) time(s) when your device(s) were last synced, (c) battery level(s), and (d) device-specific identifiers such as MAC address and/or device serial number(s).
     
  6.  Activity.  If available, we will access and store the past year of activity data.  Depending on your specific device model(s) and settings, this may include: daily step count, daily amount of time spent in each activity level (sedentary, lightly active, fairly active, very active), daily number of floors climbed, daily elevation change, and daily total distance traveled.

If you choose to grant us access to your Fitbit data, your authorization will persist for 24 hours from the initial access time.  You may revoke our access to your data sooner than 24 hours by accessing your account settings on Fitbit.com.  All data that may be used to personally identify you will not be stored on our systems.  Your other data will be stored along with an anonymized identifier that will allow us to link your Fitbit data to the data we collect from you in the experiment(s) you will participate in during the remainder of this Human Intelligence Task (HIT).  Data gathered as part of this study will be maintained by the Contextual Dynamics Laboratory for at least three years or as required by journal, federal, or state regulation.

Security Measures

We will protect your identity in the following ways.  First, we will not store any personally identifiable information on our servers.  Second, any anonymized information you provide will be kept confidential, except as governed by law.  Third, your identity will not be revealed in any publications that result from this study.  Fourth, we will employ randomly assigned identification numbers to further ensure that no personally identifying information is associated with your data.  All data we collect will be encrypted and stored on a password- and firewall-protected server.

Contact Information

If you have questions, comments, or concerns about this policy, how we will use your data, or about any research-related issue, please contact us at contextualdynamics@gmail.com or via this web form.  You may also speak to us by phone during normal business hours (9 – 5 PM, Monday – Friday, Eastern Daylight Time) at 1-603-646-0070.  For more information about our research please visit our website.