Apple study collected too much user data by mistake

Apple proposed a health study related to hearing, in collaboration with the University of Michigan. But not everything went as planned in terms of data collection. Study participants have been warned today by e-mail.

Here is the full email

Thank you for participating in the Apple Hearing Study. When you signed up for the study, you gave your consent for the collection of certain types of data on earphone noise level, environmental noise level, heart rate and physical activity. This data is being collected to help researchers, listed in the consent form, understand the link between long-term sound exposure and its impact on hearing health. We recently learned that due to a bug, after enrolling in the study, Apple’s hearing study unintentionally collected up to 30 days of historical data for these allowed data types. The study only collected data after obtaining your consent. However, the study consent form does not specify that historical data will be collected.

The bug has now been fixed with an update to the study app and historical data received so far has been removed. We are committed to your privacy and will continue to monitor and delete any additional historical data if received until you update your Apple Research app. Please update your Apple Research app to the latest version to receive the fix.

At no time has Apple had access to any information collected from the Apple Research app that could directly identify you. Please refer to the study consent form for additional details on the data collected, how your data is stored and with whom your data may be shared for the purposes of the study.

Apple offers some studies related to health in the United States. There is nothing in France or in the other countries for the moment. But who knows, maybe it will come in time.