MyHeart Counts Privacy Policy

Stanford Medicine (“Stanford”) and the MyHeart Counts research team know you care about how your information is used and shared. We take protecting your privacy very seriously. Please read the following to learn more about how we use and protect information collected through the MyHeart Counts App (the “App”).

By using the App in any manner, you acknowledge that you accept the practices and policies outlined in the MyHeart Counts Privacy Policy (this “Privacy Policy”).

You consent that we will collect, use, and share your information as described in this Privacy Policy.

What does this Privacy Policy cover?

This Privacy Policy covers our treatment of personally identifiable information ("Personal Information") that we gather when you are accessing or using the App. This Privacy Policy does not apply to the practices of companies or institutions that we do not own or control, or to individuals that we do not employ or manage.

Your use of the App will allow you to provide us with Personal Information, including but not limited to information about your cardiovascular health, physical activity, and physical fitness.  The App collects your Personal Information for the purposes of a research study being conducted at Stanford called the “MyHeart Counts:  Stanford Mobile Cardiovascular Health Study” (the “Study”). If you choose to use the App to provide us with any Personal Information, you must first review and acknowledge the informed consent form for the Study, which will be presented to you within the App.

We do not knowingly collect or solicit Personal Information from anyone under the age of 18 or knowingly allow such persons to register for the MyHeart Counts App. If you are under 18, you must not attempt to register for the App and you must not send any information about yourself to us, including but not limited to your name, address, telephone number, or email address. In the event that we learn that we have collected Personal Information from a person under age 18, we will delete that information. If you believe that we might have any information from or about a person under the age of 18, please contact us at: myheartcounts@med.stanford.edu

What information does the MyHeart Counts App collect?

The App will obtain information form you in two ways.  The first is information that you manually enter into the App.  The second is information that the App collects automatically about you.

Information you manually enter into the App:

We receive and store any information you manually enter into the App. For example, we collect Personal Information that directly identifies you, including your name, email address, and birth date.  We collect this information to verify (i) your identity, (ii) that you reside within the United States, United Kingdom or Hong Kong and (iii) that you are over 18 years of age. In addition to these direct identifiers, we ask you to enter information including gender, weight, height, physical activity, sleep habits, and blood test data. In the future we may collect additional health-related information as the App is further developed. You can choose not to provide us with certain information, but then you will not be able to participate in the Study. 

Information collected automatically:

In addition to the Personal Information that you manually enter, the App also collects certain Personal Information about you automatically through your smartphone and/or any other wearable device which you use for the Study.  For example, the App will interface with your smartphone or wearable device’s sensors (accelerometers, gyroscope, barometer, etc.) to collect the following information:   your activity type and level, the amount of time you spend sleeping, and how far you can walk in a specific period of time, such as six minutes.  These data will be automatically uploaded to your account with us when you use the App.

The App may also collect information about your location, including real-time location, through your smartphone or wearable device’s applicable geolocation, GPS, wi-fi or similar capabilities (“Location Information”).  We will use the Location Information only while you are using the App and only for the purpose of calculating information related to the physical activities that you undertake as part of the Study, for example the distance you can walk in six minutes. The App will not store your Location Information.

This App may also automatically receive technical information relating to your usage of the App such as your operating system, device, features used, content viewed and downloaded, the dates and times of your interactions with the App and other information. We may use this information to understand, customize and improve user experience with the App and the Study. For example, we may engage analytics services to analyze this information in order to help us understand how visitors engage with and navigate the App, how and when features within the App are used and by how many users.  

Push Notifications

“Push notifications” are messages that are sent to your smartphone to remind you of what you need to do in the Study.  The App will send you push notifications throughout your participating in the Study, to make sure that you know to do certain things as part of the Study.

Is Personal Information about me secure?

All information that is collected through the App will be sent to a secure data server run by Sage BioNetworks (“Sage”), a non-profit research organization.  Sage will replace the direct identifiers listed above (your name, email address, and date of birth) with a code to help protect your identity—Sage will encrypt the direct identifiers and store them separately.  Because the data are coded, researchers using the data will not be able readily to identify which information pertains to you. Stanford researchers will, however, maintain your consent and personal information and retain the ability to re-identify the information if doing so is needed for research integrity purposes or legal purposes, and they may share re-identified information with others at Stanford who need to see such information to ensure that the research meets legal, regulatory or institutional requirements. In accordance with the United Kingdom’s Data Protection Act of 1998, Stanford has appointed Ropes & Gray LLP as Stanford’s representative in the United Kingdom for purposes of the App.

Access to the App on your smartphone is protected by Touch ID or the passcode you selected after you downloaded the app.  One of these needs to be entered every time you access the App.  You should take steps to prevent unauthorized access to your account and personal information by selecting and protecting your Touch ID and passcode appropriately and limiting access to your smartphone.

We endeavor to protect the privacy of the Personal Information we hold in our records, but we cannot guarantee complete security. Unauthorized entry or use, hardware or software failure, and other factors, may compromise the security of your Personal Information at any time.

The App contains links to educational websites. We are not responsible for the privacy policies and/or practices on websites that may be accessed through these links. When following a link to another website, you should read that website’s privacy policy and make sure that you agree with it and can abide by it.

Please note that all information collected by the App will be processed in the United States, and this may be done by another entity under contract with Stanford.  During the study, only Stanford and contractors engaged by Stanford will be able to compile data you generate or provide through or with the App.  You should only transmit data for the Study if you are in the United States, the United Kingdom, or Hong Kong at the time you transmit such data.  You should be aware that the laws in the United States may not protect your privacy to the same extent as the laws in the country from which you have transmitted data to the App.

Will Stanford share any of the information it receives?

If you have granted us permission to do so in the informed consent form for the Study, we may share your coded study data (data without your name, date of birth, or email address) with researchers outside of Stanford under criteria established by Stanford.

The information collected by the App will not be shared with or sold for advertising purposes.

We reserve the right to disclose information collected through the App as required by law, when we believe disclosure is necessary to comply with a regulatory requirement, judicial proceeding, court order, or legal process served on us, or to protect the safety, rights, or property of Stanford or the public.

What Personal Information can I access?

Through the App, you may access, and in some cases, edit or delete the following information you’ve provided to us:

  • name and password
  • email address
  • user profile information, including your height and weight

When you update or delete information, however, we may maintain a copy of the unrevised information in our records to track the data entry into the Study and to assure the integrity of the Study. The information you can view and update may change as the App undergoes further development. Please note that any information that is automatically uploaded from the App (e.g., Location Information) cannot later be changed or updated. If you have any questions about viewing or updating information we have on file about you, please contact us at:  myheartcounts@med.stanford.edu.

What choices do I have?

You may choose not to install the App.  If you choose not to install the App, you will be unable to participate in the Study.

You may stop all collection of information by the App at any time by withdrawing from the study on the profile page within the App or uninstalling the App.  As explained further in the informed consent form, you will no longer be able to participate in the Study if you choose to uninstall the App.  If you uninstall the App, we will retain all of information about you that was collected prior to that point and continue to use such information as described in this Privacy Policy. If you have questions about withdrawing, please contact us at myheartcounts@med.stanford.edu.

You may be able to add, update, or delete certain information as explained above. When you update or delete information, we may maintain a copy of the unrevised information in our records.

Re-Contact

We may use your Personal Information to contact you to ask if you would be willing to participate in additional research opportunities, including linking your App data with other health data, with your permission.

What limitations are there on my use of the App?

When you download the App, you receive a non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-assignable license (without the right to sublicense) to install and use one copy of the App solely for your personal, non-commercial use in connection with the Study.  You must own or control the device on which you download the App.  By downloading and using the App, you agree that you will not do anything to interfere with or disrupt the operation of the App, will provide only accurate and current information through the App, and will not impersonate anyone else in your use of the App.  You further agree not to transmit content that you do not have the right to transmit or that infringes the rights of any party, and you agree to use the App in compliance with all applicable laws.  You understand that the App or portions of it may be subject to patent, copyright,trademark and other intellectual property protection and that the ownership of software and other intellectual property related to the App , as well the goodwill associated therewith, remains with Stanford or its licensors.  You agree that any improvements or other changes to the App or the Study itself are the sole property of Stanford.

Effective Date and Changes to this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy is effective as of March 1, 2015.  We may amend this Privacy Policy from time to time. New versions of this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted to our website at the following link:  http://myheartcounts.stanford.edu/privacy.html.  Use of information we collect now is subject to the version of the Privacy Policy in effect at the time such information is used.

How is my Health app data handled?

You have the option to share data from your mobile device’s iOS Health app with the App.  Unless you agree to share your data through and with the App, you will not be able to participate in the study.  Once you agree to share your data through and with the App, such data become covered by this Privacy Policy.

The App was developed using Apple’s HealthKit framework and thus complies with Apple’s development guidelines. To view these guidelines, go to https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#healthkit.

Questions or concerns?

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the topics addressed in this privacy policy, please send a message to: myheartcounts@med.stanford.edu.

Stanford and Stanford Medicine are trademarks of Stanford Medicine or its licensors.

This Privacy Policy forms part of our End User License Agreement and as such shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California as further provided in the End User License Agreement.