Extra Credits: RouterSense Study

To support our ongoing research in personal health analytics, you are invited to participate in the RouterSense project. The purpose of this study is to better understand how phone usage and network traffic relate to various sensor and multimodal sensing data, with the goal of advancing personal health analytics and privacy-preserving data collection.

By joining, you will install RouterSense on your primary phone and allow it to collect network traffic data. The RouterSense VPN transmits this data securely and anonymously, using a partition ID to protect your privacy. Your participation will help us develop new insights into the relationship between digital behavior and health.

Benefits and Risks of Using RouterSense VPN

Benefits:

• Enhanced privacy: Like a typical VPN, RouterSense provides private browsing, but unlike commercial VPNs, we do not sell your information or track your identity. You are completely anonymous in our dataset. Even if our data were compromised, no one could identify you—at most, someone could see that a user watched YouTube, but not who or which video.
• Automatic app blocking: When RouterSense VPN is enabled, app blocking is active, so you won't see ads in apps or on webpages.
• Contribution to research: Your data helps advance privacy-preserving analytics and health research. Learn more at routersense.ai.

Risks:

• Some websites or apps may not function properly, especially those that require ads. If you encounter issues, simply turn off RouterSense VPN temporarily. As long as your phone is active for at least one minute in an hour, that hour is counted toward your total.
• Possible reduction in internet speed or increased latency. Our lab tests show performance is generally fine, but if you have important activities (e.g., interviews, calls), feel free to turn off the VPN for a while. You will still receive credit for hours when your phone is active.

Data Collection Requirements

• RouterSense Data:

  • You must collect at least 40 days of RouterSense data to be eligible for extra credit. Less than 40 days = no extra credit.
  • For 40–60 days of data, extra credits will be prorated. Maximum credits are awarded for 60 days.
  • 40 days = 960 hours. 60 days = 1,440 hours. Each hour counts if your phone is active for at least one minute within that hour.
  • Data does not need to be continuous. If your phone is active for at least one minute within any hour, that hour counts toward your total days.
  • To maximize data collection, keep your phone on at night. Switch to Do Not Disturb mode to avoid disturbances. You may use Airplane mode with Wi-Fi enabled at night, but keep Do Not Disturb on.
  • It is OK to switch between Wi-Fi, cellular, and Airplane mode as needed, as long as the RouterSense AVPN app is online and connected to the Internet during the periods you want counted for data collection.

• Weekly Surveys:

  • You must complete all weekly surveys. Missing one or two is acceptable, but missing more will reduce your credits.

• Additional Data Sources:

  • For each external data source (e.g., App Privacy Report, Gaia GPS, sensor logger, sleep data, etc.), you must provide at least two weeks of data. Less than two weeks = no extra credit for that source.
  • Acceptable examples of additional data sources include:
    • iOS App Privacy Report
    • Gaia GPS data
    • Data from the sensor logger (e.g., your location data, accelerometer data, or sound data)
    • Detailed statistics about your health or exercise from your Apple Watch, Android Watch, Apple Health, or Google Health
  • Each qualifying source must be provided for at least two weeks to earn extra credit.
  • Each qualifying source earns extra credits. If you're unsure, check with Danny first. Ask on Slack.

Privacy & Participation

• All data is collected anonymously using a partition ID. A secure mechanism will be provided for you to prove your participation without revealing your identity.
• Your contributions help us understand how phone usage and network traffic relate to sensor and multimodal data.

Final Project

• You may use RouterSense or any extra data sources for your final project, but extra credits are only awarded if you meet the minimum data collection requirements above.

Extra Credit Table

Activity	Extra Credits	Notes
40–60 days of RouterSense data	6	40 days (960 hours) minimum; prorated for 40–60 days (960–1,440 hours)
Weekly surveys	2	Must complete all; missing 1–2 is acceptable
Each additional data source (min. 2 weeks each)	2	App Privacy Report, GPS, sensor, sleep data, etc.
Maximum possible extra credits	12

Get started

Look at this slide deck to get started.

If you have any questions, please ask on our class Slack.