This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) pertains to the CSMaP MASA app (“Masa app”) provided by New York University’s Center for Social Media and Politics (“CSMaP”, “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). We are committed to protecting your personal information and research participants (“you,”your”) right to privacy.
What the MASA App collects
The following data is securely collected and transmitted to the postgres storage server in Amazon Web Services(AWS) from the participant mobile device using Passive Data Kit. The data collected include:
App usage information
The application collects information from registered, consenting research participants regarding the time they spend on specific apps they have granted access to. Only apps that the participant has explicitly allowed access to are identifiable. For instance, if a participant has granted access to the Facebook app and uses both Facebook and Chrome on the same day, only the daily usage of the Facebook app will be identifiable, while the usage of Chrome will remain hidden from both the participant and researchers. The time spent on apps that the participant has granted access to for the study is displayed in the USAGE tab of the MASA app.
Device information
The MASA app also gathers and transmits the participant mobile device information including battery level, internet connectivity, device screen and data transmission status. This information is gathered to allow the app to send data to the databases when the participant battery connectivity is at their best and also to resume data transmission when the battery or connectivity are restored to a better level.
Data storage and access
Data collected through the MASA app will be held on an encrypted postgres database in Amazon Web Services(AWS). Only approved researchers and app engineers will have access to the data. CSMaP will not share or sell your data to commercial third-parties. All data collected will be anonymized and used for research purposes only.
Child Safety policy
The MASA app is designed solely to monitor app usage on participant’s device. The app has no capability to access, modify, or interact with other apps’ content or functions, nor can it be used to exploit or manipulate device features in any way. All functionality is strictly limited to non-intrusive monitoring, ensuring it cannot be repurposed for any form of child exploitation or abuse.
Contact
Please Email our research team if you wish
- To revoke your consent of any portion of a study.
- To know more about the study or your participation that is unclear or that you do not understand.
- To report a technical or research-related problem.
For questions about your rights as a research participant, you may contact the University Committee on Activities Involving Human Subjects (UCAIHS), New York University, 665 Broadway, Suite 804, New York, New York, 10012, through Email or by calling (212) 998-4808.