Privacy Policy
CuriVerse
CuriVerse is an app about curiosity and dialogue. It is also used to collect data for academic research. This policy explains what is collected in each case.
Effective 08/19/2026 Last updated 08/19/2026
At a glance
Who runs the app
Madeleine Gross, University of California, Santa Barbara
Everyone who uses it
The app records how its features are used — challenges completed, audio played, and similar activity.
If you sign in
We also hold your email address, and your activity is associated with your account.
Research participants
If you enter a research ID, your activity forms part of an approved academic study. See section 4.
Ads and tracking
None. No advertising, no ad identifiers, no tracking across other apps or websites.
Do we sell it
No. We do not sell or rent personal data.
Deleting your data
Delete your account in the app, or email curiosity.habits@gmail.com. See section 8.
1. Who we are
CuriVerse ("the app") is operated by Madeleine Gross, Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara ("we", "us"). We are the data controller for the personal data described in this policy.
Contact us about anything here at curiosity.habits@gmail.com.
The research described in section 4 is conducted under a protocol reviewed by the UCSB Human Subjects Committee protocol 264-26-0499, in collaboration with the Positive Connections Initiative.
2. Two ways to use CuriVerse
Anyone can download and use CuriVerse. Separately, the app is used in academic research run through workshops. Which applies to you depends on one thing:
General use. You downloaded the app and are using it on your own. Your activity is not part of any study and is not analysed as research data.
Research participation. You attended a workshop, gave informed consent, and entered a research ID and password in the app. Only activity carrying a valid research ID is used in the research.
Sections 3 and 5 to 11 apply to everyone. Section 4 applies only to research participants.
3. What we collect
Usage data — all users
The app records how its features are used: which challenges you complete, how many audio items you play, which screens you open, and when. This is recorded for everyone who uses the app, and it is not affected by any in-app preference you may be shown. It is used to operate and improve the app, and — for research participants only — as study data.
Alongside this we receive basic technical information from your device, such as app version, operating system version, and general device type.
Account data — if you sign in
Signing in is optional. If you create an account we store your email address and display name / password hash, so that your progress can be saved and synced. While your account exists, your usage data is associated with it and is therefore identifiable.
Research ID — participants only
If you take part in the study, you enter a research ID and password issued at your workshop. This links your app activity to your other study responses.
What we do not collect
CuriVerse contains no advertising and does not collect your device’s advertising identifier. We do not collect precise location, contacts, photos, health data, or audio recordings, and we do not track you across other apps or websites.
If the app requests any Android permission — notifications, for example — list each one here with a plain reason. Delete this paragraph if it requests none.
4. Research participation
This section applies only if you entered a research ID.
What the research involves
The study examines how workshop activities affect curiosity and constructive dialogue. Your app usage is analysed alongside surveys you completed before and after the workshop. You consented to this separately, at the workshop, before any research data was collected. That consent form governs your participation; this policy describes the data handling behind it.
How your data is linked, and then unlinked
Your research ID acts as a code. The list connecting research IDs to individual students is held by the Positive Connections Initiative, not by us, and is used once to join your app data to your survey responses. That key is then destroyed.
Before the key is destroyed, your research data is coded — not anonymous — and you can ask for it to be removed. After the key is destroyed, the dataset can no longer be traced to you by anyone, including us. At that point your data cannot be located or withdrawn, because there is no longer any way to identify which records are yours.
Archiving and publication
De-identified research data may be retained indefinitely and may be deposited in a public research repository such as the Open Science Framework, in line with standard open-science practice. Published or deposited data contains no email addresses, names, or contact details.
Who holds what
Us (UCSB): app usage data, account data, and de-identified research datasets.
Positive Connections Initiative: survey responses, informed consent records, the research ID key until it is destroyed, and de-identified research data thereafter.
5. How we use your data
To provide the app’s features and, if you sign in, save your progress across devices.
To understand which features are used, and improve them.
To keep the service secure and prevent misuse.
To carry out the approved research described in section 4, where a research ID is present.
To reply when you contact us.
We do not use your data for advertising, marketing, or profiling, and no automated decisions are made about you.
For users in the EEA or UK, our legal bases are: performance of a contract (providing account features), legitimate interests (operating, securing, and improving the app), consent (for research participation), and, for research, the public interest in scientific research under Article 89 GDPR.
6. Who we share it with
We do not sell or rent personal data and we share nothing with advertisers or data brokers. Data reaches only:
Google (Firebase and Google APIs) — provides the app’s sign-in and backend storage, processing data on our behalf.
Positive Connections Initiative — receives de-identified research data only, as described in section 4.
We may also disclose data where legally required, or where necessary to protect our rights or the safety of others.
7. How long we keep it
Account data: until you delete your account.
Usage data of general users: retained indefinitely.
De-identified research data: retained indefinitely, and potentially archived publicly, as described in section 4.
Support emails: 12 months.
8. Your rights, and deleting your data
You can access, correct, export, or delete your personal data, object to or restrict processing, and withdraw consent where we rely on it.
Deleting your account: open the profile or settings page in the app and choose to delete your account. Deletion is permanent and immediate — accounts are erased rather than deactivated, and no backup copy is retained. Confirm whether account deletion also removes that user’s stored usage records, or only the account itself, and state it plainly here.
You can also email curiosity.habits@gmail.com from your account address and we will handle it for you. We respond within 30 days.
Research data: you may withdraw from the study at any time. Data already collected can be removed while the research ID key still exists; once it has been destroyed, records can no longer be identified as yours and cannot be withdrawn. This is explained in your consent form.
If you are in the EEA or UK you may complain to your data protection authority. If you are in California, you have rights under the CCPA/CPRA including the right to know and to delete; we do not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined there.
9. Security
App data is stored on Google’s Firebase platform and transmitted over encrypted connections. Confirm HTTPS/TLS and encryption at rest with the developer before publishing. Research data downloaded for analysis is kept in password-protected files, held separately from any information that could identify participants. Access to identifiable data is limited to the research team.
No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.
10. Age
CuriVerse is intended for users aged 18 and over, and the associated research enrolls adults only. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has provided us with personal data, contact us and we will delete it.
11. International transfers
Data is stored and processed in the United States. If you are outside the United States, using the app involves transferring your data there. Where data leaves the EEA or UK, we rely on appropriate safeguards including the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses.
12. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as the app and the research programme develop. The current version is always at this address, dated at the top. If a change is significant we will notify users in the app before it takes effect.
13. Contact
Madeleine Gross
Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences
University of California, Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA 93106
Questions about your rights as a research participant can be directed to the UCSB Human Subjects Committee at (805) 893-3807 or hsc@research.ucsb.edu. Or write to the University of California, Human Subjects Committee, Office of Research, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-2050