Data and Privacy

Capturing and using data for research purposes

In accordance with Lancaster University’s policies, any data recorded as part of this study will be stored in an anonymised format for 10 years. For more information, please visit Lancaster University’s Research Privacy Notice and Lancaster University's Rights of the Data Subject information page. As part of this research, we will record three types of data during the study:

App analytics data

Researchers from Lancaster University will record data automatically from your use of the If Then Give application. This includes a pseudo-anonymous User ID that we give you which is linked to your email address, your first and last name; demographic data you provided us with during the registration; the time difference to GMT configured in your phone (but not the region), information about the phones you used (device id, serial number, manufacturer, operating system version), the times and durations you used the app; the time you registered and the time you logged in to the app, and details about the contracts you set up (e.g. the duration, the amount you pledged).

To protect your account, we may also record your IP address, however, this data will never be shared with anyone else, except yourself, when we inform you about a new login (or password change) made on your account.

We only record data from your use of the If Then Give app and will not record any other data or information about how you use your phone or any other apps on it, such as your calls, contacts, location, internet use etc.

All records will be registered linked with your user ID and email address. We will make sure that we do not publish any data that discloses your personal identity.

We may share any data captured with our research partners,  Oxfam Australia and the University of Edinburgh, in an anonymised format who will process the data according to the data protection regulations stated above.

Questionnaires

Researchers from Lancaster University will record data from the questionnaires you fill during your participation in this research. Questionnaires will cover some demographic information, your experiences of using the app, your motivations of supporting particular If Then Give projects, your opinion about the app, your familiarity with technology and your charitable giving. Questionnaires will be linked to the user ID we give you; this enables us to match data about how you use the app with your opinions before and after the pilot. It also helps us to anonymise your answers after the trial finished.

Interviews

A small number of participants will be invited to remote interviews with researchers from Lancaster University via phone or conference software (such as Skype, MS Teams or Zoom). We will audio record phone interviews with some participants and type up the recording for our analyses. Interviews will focus on your familiarity with technology, your charitable behaviour and your experience of using the app. Please note that we may quote or use examples from these interviews, but you will not be personally identifiable.

Academic use and publications

We, the researchers at the participating universities, will use this data to understand people’s experiences of the If Then Give application. We expect to write-up the research for academic publications and reports, but no participant will be identifiable from these publications. Oxfam Australia will have no access to the raw data we collect as part of the research (including through the app analytics, questionnaires and interviews), but will receive reports on the insights from the research which will include anonymous data.

Once the pilot has finished, we will destroy the personal data (i.e. email address and names) that links your user ID to your contact details from the Lancaster University and University of Edinburgh systems. We will store recorder data from the app analytics, questionnaires and interview transcripts as raw data after the pilot in an anonymised format.

Collection and use of data by Oxfam Australia

Oxfam Australia will collect personal details, like name, contact details and donation information, in order to process donations made through the app and issue receipts. Oxfam Australia may use this information to keep you updated and provide further opportunities for you to engage with and support Oxfam Australia’s work, but you can opt out of receiving such notifications at any time by contacting Oxfam Australia at privacy@oxfam.org.au. For more information, please read Oxfam Australia’s privacy policy.

Third-party data processors

Firebase Cloud Messaging

To send push notifications to the end devices of the app users, we use the "Firebase Cloud Messaging" service of Google LLC (1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA; in short, "Google"). For iOS users, the "Firebase Cloud Messaging" service will transfer message content to servers of Apple Inc (1 Apple Park Way Cupertino, California, 95014-0642, USA; in short, "Apple"), which operates the service "Apple Push Notification Services". In order for the push notifications to be sent to the end devices of the respective app users, a unique so-called "registration token" is generated using the "Firebase Cloud Messaging" service. This is then stored on the If Then Give server and used for the delivery of push notifications. When a push notification is sent, the registration token is transferred to the Firebase Cloud Messaging service together with the notification content. Notifications contain general information about a pledge (e.g. the name of the pledge, the current balance, information about validations), invitations to surveys or general information about the product or service, but no personal information about yourself. You can disable the use of push notificationsin your app at any time. We are **not using Firebase Analytics, Firebase Diagnosis and/or Google Analytics** in this app.

Google's privacy policy can be found here. Data protection information on the "Firebase Cloud Messaging" service can be found here. More information on the "Apple Push Notification Services" can be found here.

Microsoft App Center

We are using Microsoft App Center, a service of Microsoft Corporation (1 MICROSOFT WAY, REDMOND, WA 98052-6399, USA; in short, "Microsoft") to manage and update some critical in-app resources. This is used to maintain a high quality and experience for you as an app user. In order for this to work, a so-called installation identifier (or install ID for short) is generated for each device. This install ID makes it possible for the Microsoft App Center services to understand if you have already retrieved the latest resources. Ressources will be downloaded as packages from the App Center servers and configured automatically in the background. We don't map your end-user identity to the install IDs and we don't share any information about your identity with Microsoft. We are **not using Analytics, or Diagnosis features** in this app. App Center doesn't directly collect personal information or user-generated content from end-users. ```

Withdrawing from the research

Participation in this research is voluntary and you can withdraw at any time as set out in the Participant Information Sheet.

If you decide to actively withdraw from the survey, a researcher will get in touch with you to verify some information and disable your account. After two weeks, the reserachers at the University of Lancaster will delete all data associated with that account.

Following any withdrawal from the research project, Oxfam Australia will continue to hold the limited personal information that it has collected about you (name, contact details and donation history) in order to process donations and issue receipts, satisfy regulatory obligations and update you on any future opportunities to engage with or support Oxfam Australia. Oxfam Australia will hold this information in accordance with its regulatory obligations and its policies. Should you wish to opt out of receiving any updates on Oxfam Australia’s work, please contact Oxfam Australia at privacy@oxfam.org.au.

Do you have any questions?

If you have any questions or any of the information about the study please email: hello@ifgive.app

Researcher Contact Information

Leading investigator

Ludwig Trotter
D23, Infolab21
Lancaster University
Lancaster, LA14WA
United Kingdom
Phone: +44 1524 510340

Principal investigator

Nigel Davies
Infolab21
Lancaster University
Lancaster, LA14WA
United Kingdom
Phone: +44 1524 510340

Independent Contact

Prof. Tracy Hall
Chair in Software Engineering
Infolab21
Lancaster University
Lancaster, LA14WA
United Kingdom
Phone: +44 (0)1524 595012

_{The content of this page was udated last on 8th November 2021}