When you participate in the study, these activities on your mobile device are observed:
- Information about the app you used, web page you visited, and browser you used
- How you interacted with the app or web page, e.g. what you search and the results of the search
- Cookies to help determine if you’re signed in or out of your account when on the web
- Which device you used, and signals identifying you as a study participant
Important:
- Device Usage Study won’t use your data to serve you ads or affiliate marketing.
- To delete data that the study collects, go to "My Activity."
Review your data
- To review your data that the study collects, log in and go to "My Activity.”
- To request to have all data sent to you, contact the Device Usage Study support team.
Delete your data
You can delete data that’s collected in the Device Usage Study at any time. To select data that you want to remove from the study, log in and go to ”My Activity.” Once data is deleted, it’s no longer stored or available for use in the Device Usage Study.
Note that leaving the Device Usage Study will not result in automatic data deletion. You can follow the process below should you wish to delete your data.
Submit a data deletion request
- To request to remove all of your data from the study or have it sent to you contact the Device Usage Study support team.
- To end your participation in the study, complete the steps in the leave the study page.
Submit a deletion request for the data of a minor
An adult who has provided parental or guardian consent for a minor to participate in the Device Usage Study can submit a request to remove all of the minor’s data from the study. To request removal of a minor’s data from the study, contact the support team.
Learn more about access to your data
Cookies
The Device Usage Study will collect cookies to help determine if you’re signed in or out of your account when on the web. A cookie is a small piece of text sent between your phone and websites or online services that you access. To make the website more useful to you in the future, cookies help the website remember information about your visit. Learn more about how Google uses cookies.
Incognito data
The study lets Google understand:
- When you turn incognito mode on or off to browse the internet.
- What apps or websites you visit in the incognito mode.
Tips:
- The study can collect data about what you did on the sites while you browse in incognito mode.
- You’ll have control over this data, and can pause collection, like you can for any other browsing.
Access to your data by Marketing Systems Group
Marketing Systems Group (MSG) is a trusted market research company that helps Google to select households to participate in the Device Usage Study. Your participation data won’t be shared with MSG. MSG isn’t involved in the ongoing operation of the study itself.
Access to your data by RealityMine (United States)
To collect the data on your enrolled devices, Google uses RealityMine’s data collection app called ResearchMeter. On iOS devices, ResearchMeter operates as a Virtual Private Network (VPN). On Android devices, ResearchMeter uses both a VPN and an Accessibility Service to collect data. The use of VPNs and Accessibility Services for research purposes is standard practice in the industry and is used by many leading research organizations. It’s because these services can capture the level of data needed to generate key insights into a user's website and app preferences and behaviors.
The data collected through the ResearchMeter VPN and Accessibility Service is sent to RealityMine, and later delivered to Google for use in the Device Usage Study. The data isn’t used by RealityMine and it’s not involved in the operation of the study itself. To protect against data security incidents and mishandling, the data is subject to RealityMine’s data security.
You can view, pause, and delete or ask Google to delete collected data from your device any time.
Access to your data by RealityMine (India)
To collect the data on your enrolled iOS devices, Google uses RealityMine’s data collection app called ResearchMeter. ResearchMeter operates as a VPN to collect data. The use of VPNs for research purposes is standard practice in the industry and is used by many leading research organizations. It’s because these services can capture the level of data needed to generate key insights into a user's website and app preferences and behaviors.
The data collected through the ResearchMeter VPN is sent to RealityMine, and later delivered to Google for use in the Device Usage Study. The data isn’t used by RealityMine and it’s not involved in the operation of the study itself. To protect against data security incidents and mishandling, the data is subject to RealityMine’s data security.
You can view, pause, and delete or ask Google to delete collected data from your device any time.
To collect data from the mobile device you enrolled in the Device Usage Study, ResearchMeter uses VPN technology and a Certificate Authority (CA):
- VPN: A technology that creates a secure connection between devices, like a mobile device and a remote server.
- CA: A digital certificate that establishes secure communications between your mobile device and websites, applications, or other devices on the internet. To access data such as internet addresses and cookies, ResearchMeter uses its own CA.
Learn more about how the VPN works
To collect data from the mobile device you enrolled in the Device Usage Study, ResearchMeter uses VPN technology and a Certificate Authority (CA):
- VPN: A technology that creates a secure connection between devices, like a mobile device and a remote server.
- CA: A digital certificate that establishes secure communications between your mobile device and websites, applications, or other devices on the internet. To access data such as internet addresses and cookies, ResearchMeter uses its own CA.
Learn more about how the Accessibility Service works
The Accessibility Service monitors your app usage and interactions on your enrolled device.
- Android Researchmeter (United States):
In addition to a VPN, ResearchMeter observes your interactions on your device’s screen with an Accessibility Service to collect data on your enrolled Android device. The Accessibility Service observes which apps you use on your enrolled device and how you interact with them.
- Android Device Usage Study app (India): The Device Usage Study app observes your interactions on your device’s screen with an Accessibility Service to collect data on your enrolled Android device. The Accessibility Service observes which apps you use on your enrolled device and how you interact with them.