MindHive Terms & Conditions

We want to make sure you understand what it means if you agree to use our service. Please read the following summary and the agreement set out in the Terms and Conditions carefully before making your decision.

Summary

As detailed in our About page, MindHive is an online platform that hosts a collection of human brain and behavior citizen science projects. MindHive supports a network of (1) students & teachers who seek authentic STEM research experiences, (2) scientists (in neuroscience, cognitive science and/or psychology) who seek to address their research questions outside of the lab, (3) community-based organizations who seek to carry out grassroots research for policy change, and (4) members of the community who wish to contribute data by participating in our studies and learn about human brain and behavior research.

We value you and the time you invest and want to make sure you understand that we will not abuse your contributions. In the text below, including the legal details, and in our Privacy Policy, you can read in detail how you can use our platform, what kind of data we collect, how we handle and protect your data, and how we expect you, the user, to handle and protect data stored on our platform.

By agreeing to use the MindHive platform, you allow us and our collaborators to use your data responsibly and within the terms outlined in this agreement.

How we handle and protect your data on MindHive

1) Your participation is voluntary

Your participation on Mindive is completely voluntary, and you may discontinue your participation at any time, for any reason. You may end your participation in any study by closing your browser window. If you have an account on MindHive, you are free to delete your account at any time by navigating to Account Settings. You can also request that your data be removed from the platform at any time by contacting info@mindhive.science. Note that we only have control over data that is stored with us at the moment of request. Some data may be beyond our control (e.g., data that has already been shared with researchers or included in publications, or data that cannot be retrieved because you forgot your username).

2) We will never sell your data

3) We take great care to protect your identity

Only anonymized or de-identified data will be visible to researchers and educators. That means that by default, your data will exclude any identifying information like your name, email address, etc., unless you give explicit consent to researchers or educators to access your data.

4) Your de-identified data can be used for research and educational purposes

When you contribute data to MindHive, your (fully anonymized) data may be used to (a) address any research questions, (b) illustrate brain and behavior concepts in classes and lessons, and (c) help improve user engagement in the platform. You will be able to customize these default settings on your Account page. We do not allow commercial use of your data.

General Data Protection Regulation

For all data stored on our platform, we adhere to the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) where possible. This is one of the strictest data protection laws out there, put into place in 2018, and we are committed to applying it to all users, across the globe. Therefore, even if you are using MindHive in the United States or another country where data protection laws may be less strict, these terms apply to you.

By registering as a User which allows you to have access to data stored on the platform, you commit to these Code of Conduct guidelines. There are several ways in which you may be considered a User of the platform. Please read below to learn about the different types of users.

How you can use our platform

You can engage in MindHive in a number of ways. Users fall into four categories, outlined below.

Researcher and Educator accounts will be vetted by the MindHive team before being activated and will only be granted to individuals affiliated with an academic institution or registered educational or not-for-profit organization. Students accounts can only be created under the supervision of Educators.

a) Participants contribute data by participating in MindHive studies and tasks. Participants are encouraged but not required to register an account with MindHive. Having an account provides additional benefits to both participants and researchers. For example, you won’t have to fill out the same questions each time you go to MindHive, you can review results and updates about the studies and tasks you have previously taken part, and you can receive updates when new or follow-up studies are available.

b) Researchers can (a) host studies, tasks, and resources on MindHive, (b) collect data on MindHive, and (c) access de-identified data collected on the platform. For access to identifiable data, researchers are expected to abide by regulations put in place by their host institution (e.g. obtain IRB approval for data collection).

c) Educators can (a) host studies, tasks, and resources on MindHive, (b) collect data on MindHive, (c) access de-identified data collected on the platform, and (d) add students to the platform. Educators can grant access to de-identified data collected on the platform to students for educational purposes at their own discretion.

d) Students can explore and participate (see Participant) in MindHive hosted studies and tasks, and develop their own studies and tasks (see Researcher). Students will only have access to data collected from studies for which they are co-owners. Student accounts can only be created as part of a class, using a class code provided by an Educator.

Changes to the Terms and Conditions

The legal environment and the legal details by which we operate and make your data available can change. When this happens, we need to obtain your permission to move forward. However, if you give us the broad permissions that are outlined in this agreement, we can quickly adapt to these circumstances and make the necessary legal changes without obtaining permission from every single user.

In sum, by engaging with MindHive, you agree that your de-identified data may be shared with authorized Users (Researchers and Educators) and be used for research and educational purposes. Only non-commercial use of your data will be allowed: we will never ever sell your data to anyone. Finally, you can request that your data be removed from the platform at any time by contacting info@mindhive.science.

Please read the following text for legal details.

Legal Details

1. Introduction

MindHive is an online platform forthat hosts a collection of human brain and behavior citizen science projects maintained by research groups at several institutions. This platform was developed by a team of science and education researchers, and developers and is hosted on https://mindhive.science (the "Site"), which provides services for hosting research studies and resources, and for collecting and storing data (collectively, the "Service"). Your use of the Service and our provision of the Service to you constitutes an agreement between you and MindHive to be bound by these Terms and Conditions.

By registering for or otherwise using the Service, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms & Conditions, including our Privacy Policy (together, these "Terms"). If you do not agree with anything we suggest in these Terms, please do not use any part of the Service.

2. Eligibility

General terms. The Service is intended for use by persons who are at least 13 years old. If you are under 13 years of age, you may not use the Service. If you are 13 years of age or older, please ensure that you have never been suspended from the Service and that your use of the Service does not violate any laws or regulations. If you are using the Service on behalf of a company, organization, or other type of entity, you acknowledge to us that you have the authority to bind the entity to these Terms on their behalf.

3. Accounts and Registration

If you use the service, you have the option of participating as a guest or to registerregistering for an account. We recommend that you register an account, as creating an account on the Service will give you access to special features related to using the platform based on your User privileges. You can register an account directly on the MindHive platform or you can use a third-party platform to register. If you do decide to register directly on the platform, we will ask you to provide some personal information as part of the registration process, some of which is required to register for an account and provide a password to protect the security of your account. By providing this information, you assure that it is correct and that you will keep it accurate and up-to-date in the future. You are responsible for keeping your password secure and confidential. Any activity that occurs under your account is your responsibility. If you ever think that your account may no longer be secure, you must notify us immediately here. You can also reset your password at https://mindhive.science/requestreset.

4. License to Use the Service

Provided that you continue to comply with these terms, we grant you permission to access the Service for your personal use only. The Service allows you to search, view, participate in and adapt researchers’ studies uploaded by MindHive users ("Studies").

Please note that this license does not include the right to use:

Trademarks, logos or marks that appear in Studies
Images of people, if they are identifiable in Studies
Works of art or authorship appearing in Studies

If you download a study with one of these artworks, you may need permission from the trademark owner or an author, depending on the use of the study. Please contact the creator of the study or task for more information, and if you are still unsure, you should probably speak to a lawyer who is familiar with these matters.

5. Users

You can engage in MindHive in a number of ways. Users fall into four categories with different access privileges, as detailed below.

Participants can (a) contribute data by participating in MindHive studies and tasks, (b) log in and review the results of the studies and tasks they have previously taken part in (if they have registered an account) and (c) receive updates when new or follow-up studies are available (if they have registered an account). Participants are not required to register an account with MindHive Participant accounts do not have to be vetted by MindHive, meaning anyone eligible (“Eligibility”) can register an account without awaiting approval from the MindHive team.
Researchers can (a) host studies, tasks, and resources on MindHive, (b) collect data on MindHive, and (c) access de-identified data collected on the platform. For access to identifiable data, Researchers are expected to abide by regulations at their host institution (e.g.., obtain IRB approval for data collection). Researcher accounts will be vetted by the MindHive team before being activated. Eligibility criteria for a Researcher account includes affiliation with a not-for-profit organization (e.g. academic institution, community-based organizations).
Educators can (a) host studies, tasks, and resources on MindHive, (b) collect data on MindHive, (c) access de-identified data collected on the platform, and (d) add students to the platform. Educators (teachers) will have access to all data collected on the platform and can grant access to students for educational purposes at their discretion. Educator accounts will be vetted by the MindHive team before being activated. Eligibility criteria for an Educator account include affiliation with an educational organization.
Students can explore and participate (see Participant) in MindHive hosted studies and tasks, and develop their own studies and tasks (see Researcher). Students will only have access to data collected from studies for which they are co-owners. Student accounts can only be created as part of a class, using a class code provided by an Educator.

6. User Content

You are the owner of all your User Content, including any data and/or studies you upload to the Site as per your User access privileges.

General terms. For Researchers, Teachers, and Students: The Service allows you to upload and publish your studies, as well as written text, images, web links, location information and other content ("User Content"). All User Content that you provide on the Service is owned by you or your licensors. We do not claim ownership of your User Content - it is fully owned by you.
Limited License. For Researchers, Teachers, and Students: If you publish your Study, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license (with the right to sublicense) to host, store, transmit, display and distribute (in whole or in part) your User Content on the Site. You acknowledge that we will not pay you for the use of your studies and that your studies will be made available to the public for use without attribution or compensation. If you do not wish to make your studies available to the public, you may still use all the features of the Service without restriction.
Representations and guarantees. You are solely responsible for your User Content and all consequences of your uploading or posting User Content on the Service. Each time you upload or post User Content, you represent and warrant to us that: you have done so:

You are the creator and owner of the User Content or have all necessary rights from other persons or entities to use your User Content on the Service as provided in this Section and to permit other users to use it; and
Your User Content (including that used by you, us or other users of the Service) does not and will not infringe or misappropriate any third party rights, including copyrights and other intellectual property rights, privacy rights, rights of publicity or moral rights, or defame, libel or slander anyone. That is, your User Content must be your original work, and you must have the permission of third parties who have rights in the User Content before you upload or publish the User Content on the Service.
You can remove your User Content from the platform at any time. User Participants, you can request that your data be removed from the platform at any time by contacting info@mindhive.science.

Disclaimer. There is no reasonable way for us to monitor all User Content that is uploaded to or published on the Service, and we have no obligation to you or any other user to monitor, edit or control the User Content that you and other users upload to or publish on the Service. This means that we are not responsible for User Content on the Service and you agree not to make any claims against us based on User Content. Nevertheless, we may remove, edit, search or block User Content from the Service at any time if the User Content violates these Terms or is found to be otherwise offensive. If you use the Service, you will be exposed to User Content from other users, some of which may be insulting, inaccurate or offensive. We may investigate allegations that User Content violates these Terms and in such cases we will determine what action (if any) we take with respect to the User Content in question.

7. Prohibited Conduct

By using the Service, you agree not to do so:

a) Use the Service for illegal purposes or in violation of any law or regulation;

b) Violate or encourage others to violate the rights of others, including the infringement or misappropriation of intellectual property rights;

c) Upload, post or publish User Content that is unlawful, libelous, abusive, indecent, profane, indecent, pornographic, harassing, threatening, hateful or otherwise inappropriate;

d) Tampering with the security features of the Service (e.g., disabling or circumventing features to access private studies or User Content or reverse engineering the Service to obtain the source code of the Service);

e) Interfere with our operation of the Service or another user's use of the Service (i.e., not to upload or distribute viruses, adware or spyware, to make unsolicited offers or promotions, to collect personal information about others, or to interfere with the networks or devices we use to provide the Service);

f) Engage in fraudulent activities, such as impersonating another person;

g) Access the Service through bots, spiders, scripts, crawlers, scrapers or other automated tools or applications (other than your web browser or other mobile application that we may publish);

h) Copy the look and feel of the Site or access, download, copy, modify, distribute, perform or use studies to create a similar or competing service or to contribute the studies to an existing similar or competing service;

i) Transfer your rights to use the Service or to view, access or use any Materials; or

j) Try to do one of these things or help someone else do it.

8. Other Companies' Services and Linked Websites

You may find tools on the Service that allow you to send information, including User Content, to other companies' services, such as features that allow you to link your account on the Service to an account on another service (such as Google or Facebook). If you use these tools, you allow us to send this information to the other companies' services, and you acknowledge that we are not responsible for the other companies' use of this information because we do not control them at all. You may also find links on the Service to other websites that are not operated by us. These websites are also not under our control, so please decide when to leave the Service at your own discretion.

9. Termination of Your Account

If you violate any of these terms, your permission to use the Service automatically terminates. You may cancel your account with the Service by going to https://mindhive.science/dashboard/settings.

10. Privacy Policy and Additional Requirements

We want you to know what information we collect from you and how we use it. Please read our privacy policy (the "Privacy Policy") carefully. The Privacy Policy is incorporated into these Terms as part of our Agreement. In addition, we may inform you of additional requirements that you must comply with when using the Service. These requirements may include such things as community guidelines. Any additional guidelines that we post on the Service or link to the Service will be incorporated into these Terms as part of our Agreement.

11. Modifying these Terms

We may change these terms and conditions with 1 month notice. If and when we do so, we will use reasonable efforts to notify you of the changes. We may make such notices available through a pop-up banner, by sending an email to an email address associated with your account on the Service, or otherwise, and we will notify you when the new version of these Terms takes effect. If you do not accept the new terms we propose, we may immediately terminate your account and terminate your access to the Service. If we have any disputes regarding the Service, they will be resolved in accordance with the version of these Terms in effect at the time the dispute arises.

12. Ownership of the Service

New York University is the owner and operator of the service. All software, visual interfaces, graphics, designs, information and all other elements of the Service (the "Materials") that we provide are protected by intellectual property and other laws. We or our licensors own all of the Materials contained in the Service, and you may not use the Materials except as expressly permitted by these Terms.

13. Disclaimer; No Warranties

We provide the Service and all content available through the Service on an "as is" and "as available" basis, without warranty of any kind, either express or implied. To the extent permitted by applicable law, we expressly disclaim all warranties of any kind, including the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement of third party rights, title and any warranties arising from course of dealing, usage or trade. We do not warrant or represent that the Service will be uninterrupted, secure or free from errors or harmful components, or that we will correct errors or harmful components.

Except as provided in Section 14 below, you use the Service at your own risk and assume all risk for damages resulting from your use of or access to the Service, your interactions with other users of the Service, and the Content available through the Service. Your use of the Service and your access to, use, access, download or otherwise obtain materials or Content through the Service and any related websites or services is at your own discretion and risk, and you will be solely responsible for any damage to your property (including your mobile device used in connection with the Service) or loss of data that results from your use of the Service or from downloading or using the Content.

The law prohibits disclaimers of warranties in some places, and you may have other rights, which may vary depending on where you live. We do not exclude or limit our liability to you in any way if this would be unlawful. In the United States, United Kingdom and the European Union this includes liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence or the negligence of our employees, agents or subcontractors; for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or for our obligation to provide the Service with reasonable care and skill or for our failure to provide the Service in accordance with the information provided about us or the Service.

14. General

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and other policies incorporated into these Terms, constitute the entire agreement between you and us with respect to your use of the Service. Except for our right to update these Terms in accordance with Section 13 above, these Terms may only be modified by a written agreement signed by both you and us. You may not assign or transfer these Terms to any other person or entity without our consent, or transfer your account on the Service, including any transfers you may wish to make in connection with a business acquisition. We may assign these Terms with or without notice to you. Any delay or failure by you to enforce any rights under these Terms of Use or to require compliance with these Terms of Use shall not affect our right to enforce such rights at a later time or to require compliance with them. If we waive any breach by you of these Terms of Use, we do not waive any subsequent breach or your obligation to comply with the terms you have breached. We have included paragraph and section headings for convenience, but these headings do not affect the interpretation of these Terms. In the event that any part of these Terms is found unenforceable by a judge or arbitrator, the unenforceable part will be enforced to the maximum extent possible and the remaining parts will remain in full force and effect.

You agree to receive electronic communications from us as described in our Privacy Policy. Please read our Privacy Policy to understand your choices regarding our electronic communications practices. We may send you notices, agreements, disclosures or other communications electronically.

16. Contact Information

The service is provided by researchers at New York University, at the Department of Psychology, at 6 Washington Place, New York, USA and at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at 82 Washington Square E, New York, NY 10003. You can reach us by sending letters to our address or by emailing us at info@mindhive.science. For questions about data management and protection at New York University, you can contact the GDPR Office at gdpr-info@nyu.edu.