The data we collect will only be used for academic research with a view to developing improved ways of helping people to drink less.
The Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group at the University of Bristol is collecting the data and processes users’ data for the following purposes:
The data collected includes that which the user voluntarily enters or provides when using the Drink Less app (e.g. gender, age, country, alcohol consumption) and app usage; user reviews left on the Drink Less page on the Apple App store, and user emails sent to support@drinklessalcohol.com.
Processing of users’ data is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest. Health data on alcohol consumption is necessary for scientific research purposes and is in accordance with safeguards.
Research governance within the University of Bristol ensures that data is:
This app does not collect any identifiable information and therefore all your data from the app is anonymous. Any identifiable information from user reviews or user emails will be removed and anonymised. Therefore, it will not be possible to identify you by name from any aspect of documentation or reporting for this research. When conducting research, relevant anonymous data will be made “open data” at the end of the study. This means that it will be stored in an online database so that it is publicly available, free of charge, to anyone interested in the research, or who wishes to conduct their own analysis of the data. We will therefore have no control over how these data are used. However, all data is anonymous and therefore there will be no way to identify you from the research data.
We want to make the data we use for research “open” as this is considered best research practice and is a requirement of many funding bodies and journals. As a large proportion of research is publicly funded, the outcomes of the research should be made publicly available. Sharing data helps to maximise the impact of investment through wider use, and encourages new avenues of research.
You can see the research findings using the Drink Less app via its website: https://drinklessalcohol.com
You can contact the Research Governance Team if you wish to make a complaint or raise any concerns with this research.
All data will be stored securely, and in line with our privacy notice. You are not obliged to have your data used for academic research and you should not feel coerced. If you choose to withdraw you may do so without disadvantage to yourself and without any obligation to give a reason. To withdraw your app data please go to the Help tab of the app and choose “Opt out of the study”. To withdraw your data from the user emails, please email support@drinklessalcohol.com with the subject “Withdrawing data” within one week of sending the original email. Any information you publish publicly on the Apple app store, we can use for research purposes.
If you have any questions about this privacy notice, please contact us on support@drinklessalcohol.com