Your use of Textal generates data which we gather and analyse as part of an academic research project which examines Textal usage in order to learn more about opportunities for digital tools in the mobile space. We will use the data we gather solely for our academic research, and we will protect your privacy throughout our work.
The data we collect includes your approximate geographical location (subject to your permission). In addition, all data you input will be kept in our secure data store, and we will keep a copy of all text analyses that you create.
We’ll apply statistical methods to the aggregate data flowing through the app. We’ll use the location data to estimate if there are any geographical links to the type of texts people wish to analyze, and we’ll be looking at the type of analysis performed around specific events and at specific places, over a period of time. We won’t know who you are. We don’t ask for your name or for any other identifying information, and we don’t need your phone number to send notifications to your iPhone. If you sign in with Twitter – which is how you will be associated with the text clouds you create – your Twitter name will appear on the text clouds you create.
In no case will we ever report any individual’s use of Textal. Our research will only identify users at the group level. We won’t disclose your data to any third party unless (1) we’re required by law to do so, or (2) we make them available to other academic researchers at a recognised institution, under a strict contractual agreement and exclusively for the purpose of academic research. Textal is freely available and using it entails no obligations towards us. You can stop using it at any time and without giving a reason: just delete the app from your iOS device. You can also ask us to delete all your data from our data store. If you’re curious to see what we find, please check our blog from time to time: we’ll be posting results here, and you can view the realtime use of Textal too. We also hope to present our findings in academic journals and at conferences, and to make sure other scholars and policy-makers are aware of anything important that we find.