Research Data Policy

Last updated: March 2026

Overview

At Psyche, we believe in the power of collective data to advance psychological science. This policy explains how your data may be used for research purposes if you choose to opt in.

What is Research Contribution?

When you opt in to research contribution, you're allowing your de-identified data to be used alongside data from other users to:

  • Build normative datasets
  • Improve assessment accuracy
  • Advance scientific understanding of cognition and mental health

How We Protect Your Data

We use two levels of protection depending on how your data is being used:

Pseudonymization (Internal Research)

For internal research — such as improving assessments, building norms, and training models — your data is pseudonymized. This means direct identifiers (name, email, IP address) are removed and replaced with a research identifier. Pseudonymized data allows us to conduct longitudinal research and improve our platform over time, while keeping your identity separated from your responses.

Pseudonymized research data retains:

  • Assessment responses and scores
  • Coarsened demographic information (e.g., age range, not exact date of birth)
  • Performance patterns and metrics

The research identifier is stored separately from your account information and is accessible only to authorized researchers.

Full Anonymization (External Sharing & Account Deletion)

Before any data is shared externally — with academic institutions, in publications, or in licensed datasets — it is fully anonymized. This means the link between the research identifier and your account is permanently severed. Fully anonymized data cannot be traced back to any individual, even by us.

If you delete your account and have opted in to research, your contributed data is fully anonymized at that point: your research identifier is destroyed and replaced with a one-way hash, and quasi-identifiers (exact birth date, country, IP) are removed.

How Research Data Is Used

Building Normative Benchmarks

Your data helps us understand what "typical" looks like across different populations. This makes your own results more meaningful by providing context.

Improving Assessments

Aggregate patterns help us:

  • Validate that our assessments measure what they claim to measure
  • Identify questions that may be confusing or biased
  • Refine scoring algorithms for better accuracy

Scientific Research

Pseudonymized data may be used for internal research reports and to improve our platform. When results are published or presented externally (academic publications, conferences), only fully anonymized, aggregate findings are shared — never individual-level data.

Licensed to Researchers

Fully anonymized, aggregate data may be licensed to:

  • Academic institutions conducting psychological research
  • Research organizations studying cognition and mental health
  • Educational institutions developing assessment tools
  • Commercial entities such as pharmaceutical or healthcare companies

Licensed datasets contain only population-level patterns and cannot be linked back to any individual. We never license data to advertisers or for advertising purposes. This supports the broader scientific community while generating revenue to sustain and improve Psyche.

AI and Model Training

Pseudonymized response patterns may be used internally to:

  • Train machine learning models for improved assessment accuracy
  • Develop AI-powered insights and recommendations
  • Advance research in computational psychology

Models are trained on patterns, not memorized responses. Any models or datasets shared externally use only fully anonymized data.

Important: Your specific answers to any single question are never isolated or shared. Only aggregate trends (e.g., "users aged 25-34 tend to score higher on X") are ever published or licensed.

Our Licensing Principle

We only license anonymized data for uses that are intended to improve outcomes for the general population — such as advancing scientific understanding, improving healthcare, or developing better assessment tools. We will not license data for purposes designed to coerce, manipulate, or exploit individuals, including advertising, behavioral targeting, or surveillance. This principle guides every licensing decision we make.

What We Never Do

  • Share individual-level data with third parties (only fully anonymized, aggregate population patterns)
  • Sell your personal data or identifying information
  • Use your data for advertising or marketing
  • Attempt to re-identify anonymized data or allow others to do so
  • Share your individual assessment responses with anyone
  • Provide pseudonymized data to external parties — only fully anonymized data leaves Psyche

Your Control

Opting In or Out

  • Research contribution is completely optional
  • You can change your preference anytime in your profile settings
  • Opting out does not affect your access to Psyche or your personal results

What Happens When You Opt Out

  • Your future data will not be included in research
  • Previously pseudonymized data will be fully anonymized (the research identifier linking it to your account is destroyed)
  • Your personal results and history remain unaffected

Data Security

Research data is:

  • Encrypted at rest and in transit
  • Stored separately from identifying account information
  • Accessible only to authorized researchers
  • Subject to the same security standards as all Psyche data

Questions?

If you have questions about how your data is used for research, please contact us.

This policy may be updated periodically. Significant changes will be communicated via email or platform notification.

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