Level Up Privacy Policy
Last updated: October 1, 2026
This page is hosted on this website solely to provide a publicly accessible location for the Level Up Privacy Policy. Questions about Level Up should be directed to the contact listed in Section 13.
Each section starts with a short plain-language summary. The summaries are there to help you understand the Policy; the full text below each summary is what governs.
This Privacy Policy explains how The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc. ("HJF"), "we," "us," or "our", collects, uses, shares, and protects information when you use the Level Up mobile application (the "App"). It should be read together with the Level Up Terms of Service.
1. Scope
This Policy covers the Level Up app, which is part of a research study. Your consent form also applies and takes priority.
1.1 What this Policy covers. This Policy applies to information collected through the App. It does not apply to websites or services we do not control, including app stores and any websites the App links to.
1.2 Research study. The App is used as part of a research study. The informed consent document for the study also describes how your information is collected, used, and shared. If the consent document and this Policy conflict, the consent document controls.
1.3 Who is responsible. HJF is responsible for the information collected through the App. Study data is stored by HJF on Microsoft Azure Government.
2. Information We Collect
We collect what you type or select in the App, a basic record of how you use it, and the technical details needed to make it work on your phone. We also use two outside services, Google Firebase and Sentry, to understand App usage and fix crashes.
2.1 Information you provide.
- Account information: the study ID and password assigned to you. The App does not ask for your name, email address, phone number, or mailing address.
- Activity responses: your answers to questionnaires, check-ins, and exercises in the App, including any text you choose to type in free-text fields. Your assigned study coach can read what you enter, so please do not include other people's names or personal information.
- Messages to the study team: information you include if you email the study team at life-skills-study-ggg@usuhs.edu. Email is not part of the App, and your email address and message will be handled by the study team as described in your consent document.
2.2 Information collected automatically.
- App usage information: which features and activities you open, the date and time, how long you spend, and whether activities are completed.
- Device and technical information: device type, operating system and version, App version, and basic error information needed to keep the App working.
- Analytics and crash information: the App uses Google Firebase Analytics and Sentry (and, on Android, Firebase Crashlytics). These services automatically collect information such as App screens viewed and events, session length, device model, operating system version, App version, a randomly generated identifier for your installation of the App, approximate location derived from your IP address (such as country or city), and technical details about crashes and errors. These services do not receive your responses to activities or questionnaires.
- Notification information: a push notification token, so the App can send you reminders and notifications if you allow them.
3. Information We Do Not Collect
The App does not track you in the background. No GPS or precise location, no health or fitness sensors, no contacts or photos, and no tracking for advertising.
The App does not collect:
- GPS or other precise location data;
- data from Apple HealthKit, Google Health Connect, or fitness and activity sensors (such as step counts or accelerometer data);
- your contacts, photos, camera, microphone, calendar, call logs, or text messages;
- your activity in other apps or on websites outside the App; or
- information used to track you across other companies' apps or websites for advertising.
4. How We Use Information
We use your information to run the App, keep it secure, and improve it. We don't use it for ads or marketing.
| Purpose | Information used |
|---|---|
| Creating and managing your account | Account information |
| Providing the App's activities and content, and saving your progress | Account information, activity responses, app usage information |
| Allowing your assigned study coach to review your progress and support you | Activity responses, app usage information |
| Sending reminders you have allowed | Notification information, app usage information |
| Troubleshooting, fixing errors, and keeping the App secure | Device and technical information, analytics and crash information, app usage information |
| Understanding how the App is used so we can improve it | Analytics and crash information, app usage information |
| Responding to your questions and requests | Messages to the study team, account information |
| Improving the App and its content, including through aggregated or de-identified statistics | App usage information, activity responses |
| Research, as described in your consent document | As described in your consent document |
| Complying with law and protecting the safety of any person | Any information, as necessary |
We do not use your information for marketing or advertising, and we do not use it to make automated decisions that have legal or similarly significant effects on you.
5. How We Share Information
We don't sell your information. Only your assigned study coach can see reports about you, and the study team uses data as your consent form describes. Your command, unit, and employer never see your individual information.
5.1 No sale. We do not sell, rent, or trade your information, and we do not share it with advertisers or data brokers.
5.2 Service providers. We use service providers to host, operate, and support the App, including Microsoft, which provides the Azure Government cloud environment where study data is stored, Dogtown, which develops and maintains the App; Google, which provides Firebase Analytics and Firebase Crashlytics; and Functional Software, Inc. (Sentry), which provides crash and error reporting. They may access information only as needed to perform services for us and are required to protect it. Google's and Sentry's handling of the information they collect is also described in their own privacy policies.
5.3 Your study coach. Reports about your individual activity in the App are available only to your assigned study coach, who uses them to support you as part of the study.
5.4 Your command, unit, or employer. We do not share information that identifies you, or your individual responses, with your command, unit, supervisor, or employer. Any information shared outside the study team is aggregated or de-identified.
5.5 Research team. Information is used by the study team for research as described in your consent document.
5.6 Legal requirements and safety. We may disclose information if we believe in good faith that disclosure is required by law, regulation, subpoena, court order, or other legal process, or is necessary to prevent death or serious bodily harm. Where legally permitted, we will try to notify you of a legal demand for your information.
5.7 Change in program responsibility. If responsibility for the App is transferred to another organization, information may be transferred as part of that change, and it will remain subject to this Policy or a policy that is at least as protective.
6. De-identified and Aggregated Information
We may use statistics that can't identify you, and we won't try to re-identify them.
We may create information that has been de-identified or aggregated so that it can no longer reasonably identify you, and we may use or share it to evaluate and improve the App and for research. We will not attempt to re-identify de-identified information.
7. How We Protect Information
Your information is encrypted and only people who need it can access it.
We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect information from loss and from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. Study data is stored on Microsoft Azure Government. Safeguards include encryption of data in transit and at rest, access limited to authorized study personnel, and logging of access to data. No system is perfectly secure, and we cannot guarantee the security of information.
8. How Long We Keep Information
We keep your information only as long as it's needed, then delete it.
We keep information only as long as needed for the purposes described in this Policy, including operating the App, meeting research and record-keeping requirements, and complying with law. Research data is kept as described in your consent document. When you delete your account, your App account is closed and information is deleted except where it must be kept for research record-keeping or legal requirements.
9. Your Choices and Rights
You can ask to see, fix, or delete your information, turn off notifications, or stop using the App at any time.
9.1 Access, correction, and deletion. You may ask us to provide a copy of, correct, or delete your information by contacting us at life-skills-study-ggg@usuhs.edu. We may need to verify your identity before completing your request. Depending on where you live, you may have additional privacy rights under applicable law, and we will honor them as required.
9.2 Deleting your account. You can stop using the App at any time. To delete your account, email life-skills-study-ggg@usuhs.edu. Information already collected may be kept as described in Section 8.
9.3 Notifications. You can turn App notifications on or off at any time in your device settings.
9.4 No penalty. We will not treat you differently for exercising your privacy rights.
10. Children
The App is not intended for anyone under 18, and we do not knowingly collect information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with information, contact us at life-skills-study-ggg@usuhs.edu and we will delete it.
11. Where Information Is Stored
Study data collected through the App is stored and processed in the United States on Microsoft Azure Government. Crash and error information collected by Sentry is stored and processed in the United States. Analytics and crash information collected by Google Firebase is stored and processed by Google on its own systems, which may be located in the United States or other countries.
12. Changes to This Policy
If we change this Policy, we'll post the new version here and let you know in the App if the change is significant.
We may update this Policy from time to time. The current version will always be posted at this page with the "Last updated" date. If we make a material change, we will provide notice through the App or by other reasonable means before the change takes effect, and we will seek your consent where required by law.
13. Contact Us
Questions or requests about this Policy or your information can be sent to:
Level Up study team — life-skills-study-ggg@usuhs.edu