Last Updated: August 13, 2026
The MSK BEACON Application (the “App”) is operated by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (“MSK,” “we”, “our” or “us”). MSK is committed to the individual privacy of every user of the App.
By providing your Personal Data to MSK or otherwise using the App, you understand that we may collect, use, and disclose your information as described in this MSK BEACON Application Privacy Notice (this “Privacy Notice”). This Privacy Notice is not a contract and does not create any contractual rights or obligations.
Information collected from Patients (defined below) through the App is Protected Health Information (defined below) that may be used and disclosed as further described in our Notice of Privacy Practices (HIPAA). If there is a conflict or inconsistency about our use or disclosure of Protected Health Information between this Privacy Notice and the Notice of Privacy Practices (HIPAA), we will follow the Notice of Privacy Practices (HIPAA).
Please use these links to jump to any portion of this Privacy Notice that interests you or scroll down to read along.
What this Policy Covers
This Privacy Notice describes how we collect, use, and disclose the Personal Data (defined below) that we collect or receive through the App.
The App is made available to individuals who participate in the research study named “Remote Digital Physiological Data Collection in Cancer: An MSK Registry Protocol” (the “Research Study”). Any information collected through the App will be used and disclosed in accordance with this Privacy Notice. All users of the App are collectively referred to in this Privacy Notice as “users”.
The Information We Collect and Use
Patient medical records include patient health information known as Protected Health Information (“PHI”), which is regulated under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). PHI includes certain information that is (a) created or received by a health care provider and relates to an individual’s past, present, or future physical or mental health or condition, health care provided to an individual, or the past, present, or future payment for health care provided to an individual; and (b) that identifies the individual or with respect to which there is a reasonable basis to believe the information can be used to identify the individual. Please review our Notice of Privacy Practices (HIPAA) for information on how we may use and disclose your PHI.
When we use the term “Personal Data” we mean information that we directly associate with a specific person, or that we can reasonably use to identify a specific person such as a name or email address. Any Personal Data we collect through the App that is also PHI will be handled as further described in our Notice of Privacy Practices (HIPAA). We collect and use Personal Data and PHI through your use of the App in the following ways:
1. Personal Data You Provide to Us
We collect Personal Data when you choose to share that information with us, including in the following ways:
- We collect Personal Data when you register for an account. Specifically, when you register for an account on the App, you will need to enter your Apple ID, your name and email address. This information will be used to create a Session ID and verify that the request is coming from an actual Apple device. MSK will store the Sessions ID. MSK will not store your Apple ID once the Session ID has been created. You will then need to enter your date of birth and the token ID that the Research Study team provided to you. This is to confirm that you are a participant in the Research Study. MSK will retain this Personal Data.
- When you connect mobile health applications selected by the Research Study team, such as Apple HealthKit, (“Mobile App Integrations”) we will collect data from these Mobile App Integrations which will be used to give us more information about your health.
2. Information We Collect Automatically
We use certain technologies in the App to automatically collect information during your use of the App (“Other Information”). If we associate Other Information with Personal Data, we will treat the combined information as Personal Data in accordance with this Privacy Notice.
The technologies we use to collect Personal Data and other information include the following:
- Usage Information. We collect information about your usage of, and interaction with the App. For example, we may collect and analyze how often you use the App and other performance data relating to your use of the App.
- Mobile Device Information. We collect information about the mobile device you use to access or use the App, including the hardware model, operating system and version, mobile network information and information about your use of our mobile applications.
- Web Log File Data. Like most other mobile applications, we collect some basic information automatically about you and store it in log files. This information may include information such as your IP address, internet service provider, links clicked, and date and time stamp data. We use this information for the management and administration of the App, to improve the content, overall performance and user experience on the App, for fraud protection and for protecting our rights.
- Information for Analytics. We use analytics providers to help us track certain information about your activity in the App, and to evaluate and measure the use and performance of the App. We may combine this information with other information we have about you to help us improve the App and our service to you.
Please see more information on analytics and data collection technologies and the choices you can make in the “Your Online Choices” section of this Privacy Notice.
3. Additional Uses of Personal Data
In addition to the uses described above, we may, consistent with our other legal obligations, use your Personal Data for the following purposes:
- Maintaining, delivering and improving the App and our services;
- Contacting you to respond to your requests or inquiries and provide support;
- Send you technical notices, updates, security alerts and support and administrative messages;
- Developing new resources and services;
- Conducting, managing and growing our business operations;
- Analyzing Patient experience as well as provider and hospital performance;
- Preventing, investigating and providing notice of fraud, unlawful or criminal activity or unauthorized access to or use of Personal Data, the App or our data systems, or to meet legal obligations;
- Investigating and resolving disputes and security issues and enforcing our App Terms and Conditions; and
- Carry out any other purpose for which the information was collected.
We also may use aggregated or de-identified information, which cannot reasonably be used to identify you. Once de-identified and aggregated so that data does not personally identify you (for example, we may aggregate data to improve our automation and improve care), it is no longer Personal Data. Such de-identified or aggregated information which does not identify individuals is not subject to this Privacy Notice.
How We Disclose Personal Data
We may disclose Personal Data collected through the App as described in the sections above, for the reason(s) provided to you at the time we collect it, with your authorization or consent, and in the following ways:
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Third-Party Service Providers. We may disclose Personal Data with vendors who perform services on our behalf, including, but not limited to helping us manage the App, the Research Study, your medical records, and your health care, facilitate sign-on into the App, manage our communication channels and conduct analytics, and providers involved in hosting and monitoring the App.
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Affiliates. We may disclose Personal Data between and among MSK and our current and future parents, affiliates, subsidiaries and other companies under common control and ownership.
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Legal Process, Safety and Terms Enforcement. We may disclose your Personal Data to legal or government regulatory authorities in response to a search warrant, subpoena, court order or other request for such information or to assist in investigations. We may also disclose your Personal Data to third parties in connection with claims, disputes or litigation, when otherwise required by law, if we determine such disclosure is necessary to protect the health and safety of us or our users or to enforce our legal rights or contractual commitments that users have made.
- Business Transfers. We may disclose Personal Data as a part of a corporate business transaction, such as a merger, acquisition, reorganization, divestiture, dissolution, joint venture or financing, bankruptcy or sale of all or a portion of our assets.
Security
We seek to use reasonable physical, technical, and administrative measures designed to protect Personal Data within our organization. Unfortunately, no data transmission or storage system can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. If you have reason to believe that your interaction with us is no longer secure (for example, if you feel that the security of your account has been compromised), please immediately notify us as described in the “Contact Us” section below.
Links to Other Websites or Mobile Applications
The App may contain links to websites or mobile applications owned and operated by third parties. Other websites may also reference or link to our App. These other web sites are not controlled by MSK. A link to a third party’s website or mobile application does not imply an endorsement of that website’s or mobile application’s content or services. This Privacy Notice does not apply to, and we are not responsible for, the privacy practices of third-party websites or mobile applications that are not owned by us. We encourage you to read privacy statements of any third-party websites or mobile applications to learn about their information practices. Visiting these other websites and mobile applications is at your own risk.
Changes to this Privacy Notice
We reserve the right to amend this Privacy Notice at any time. If we make changes, we will notify you by revising the “Last Updated” date at the top of this Privacy Notice and, in some cases, we may provide you with additional notice (such as by sending you a notification). Therefore, please check this Privacy Notice periodically for updates and to stay informed about our information practices.
Your Choices
Account Information
You may request that we update, correct or delete information about you in the App, or close your account at any time by contacting us as described in the “Contact Us” section below. Please note that even if you close your account, we may retain certain information as required by law or for legitimate business purposes. We may also retain cached or archived copies of information about you for a certain period of time.
Requests to update, correct or delete information about you in the App will only apply to your App account, and will not result in changes to your health information in your medical record. If you would like to ask us to correct or amend health information about you in your medical record, please contact our Health Information Management department at 646-227-2089. Please review our Notice of Privacy Practices (HIPAA) for information related to your health information.
Contact Us
If you need technical assistance with the App or have any other questions about using the App, please contact the Research Study team at [email protected].
To ask questions about this Privacy Notice or other privacy-related matters, you may contact our Privacy Office in the following ways:
MAILING ADDRESS:
Privacy Office
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
633 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10017
TELEPHONE:
646-227-2056
EMAIL:
[email protected]