SensorKit data collection requires an entitlement granted by Apple for each individual study. Apple reviews every request and grants the entitlement for a single study and a single app.
This post describes the entitlement types, required documents, agreements that must be signed, and the sequence in which they are submitted. For information about available sensors and data fields, see the SensorKit reference post.
Process Summary
| Step | Stage | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prepare the study protocol, ethics documents, and entities list | Researcher |
| 2 | Build the study app and assign the Bundle ID | Avicenna |
| 3 | Submit the proposal for the Development entitlement | Researcher |
| 4 | Sign the SensorKit Addendum | Avicenna Account Holder |
| 5 | Configure the app with the Development entitlement and test data collection | Avicenna |
| 6 | Obtain final ethics approval and signed Collaborator Agreements | Researcher and each entity |
| 7 | Submit the request for the Distribution entitlement | Researcher |
| 8 | Apple approval committee review | Apple |
| 9 | Integrate the Distribution entitlement and verify the consent flow | Avicenna |
| 10 | Submit the app to the App Store or TestFlight and launch the study | Avicenna, then Researcher |
Entitlement Types
Apple provides two types of SensorKit entitlements.
| Entitlement | Permits | Requires |
|---|---|---|
| Development | Data collection on registered test devices | Research proposal and signed SensorKit Addendum |
| Distribution | Data collection from study participants and distribution through TestFlight or the App Store | Research proposal, signed SensorKit Addendum, ethics approval letter, Informed Consent Form, signed Collaborator Agreement from every entity with data access, and review by Apple’s approval committee |
The Development entitlement does not permit data collection from study participants. To collect data from real participants, you must obtain the Distribution entitlement.
Ethics approval is not required for the Development entitlement. Many studies request a Development entitlement first so app integration and testing can begin while ethics approval is still in progress. Once ethics approval has been obtained, the study can apply for the Distribution entitlement.
Requirements
Apple Developer Account
Each organization that signs a SensorKit agreement must have its own Apple Developer Program Organization account.
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| Account type | Organization. Individual accounts are not accepted. |
| D-U-N-S Number | Required to register an Organization account. Available free from Apple. |
| Signatory | The Account Holder. Other roles cannot sign either agreement. |
The Account Holder is a specific role in the Apple Developer Program. This role is different from general developer access or App Store Connect permissions, and only the Account Holder can sign the required SensorKit agreements.
Identifying the Account Holder
Institutions often do not know who their Apple Developer Program Account Holder is, as this role is different from general developer or App Store Connect access.
To identify the Account Holder:
- Ask your IT department for the Apple Developer Program Account Holder, rather than requesting developer account access.
- If your institution already publishes apps on the App Store, identify the account used to publish those apps.
Begin identifying the Account Holder as early as possible, ideally in parallel with preparing the SensorKit application, as this step can take time.
Ethics Approval
The ethics approval letter must explicitly state that the study includes SensorKit data collection and must be issued by the lead institution. Approval from a collaborating site alone is not sufficient.
| Region | Accepted body |
|---|---|
| United States | An IRB meeting the Common Rule (45 CFR part 46) |
| EU and other regions | A formal ethics committee established by law. Denmark, for example, requires approval from one of its five regional committees. |
| Any region | Commercial IRBs, where they meet applicable regulations |
Informed Consent Form
The Informed Consent Form must:
- Describe each requested SensorKit data type using Apple’s official descriptions.
- Clearly identify which data types are collected from Apple devices and which are collected from other sources, such as Android devices.
Apple provides the required descriptions for each SensorKit data type in the Pre-Application Checklist. These descriptions should be reproduced exactly in the Informed Consent Form.
| SensorKit Datatype | Description |
|---|---|
deviceUsage |
Device usage, such as frequency and duration of device and app usage, notification data, and charging data. Excludes specific names of websites and apps, and content of notifications. |
keyboardMetrics |
Keyboard usage, such as number of words typed, typing speed and accuracy, and number of emojis used. Excludes typed content, such as specific words. |
onWrist |
Describes the watch’s position on the wrist and times that the watch is worn. |
messagesUsage |
Use of the Messages app, such as number of messages and number of individuals messaged. Excludes any message content and information about people messaged. |
phoneUsage |
The amount of time on phone calls per day, number of calls, and number of individuals called. Excludes any audio content and information about people you have talked to. |
accelerometer |
Acceleration motion data. |
faceMetrics |
Facial expression data such as brow raise and gaze direction. Excludes images or video. |
heartRate |
Heart rate data. |
mediaEvents |
Timestamp of videos or images displayed during the use of messaging apps. Excludes the content of images or videos. |
odometer |
Odometer data for workouts such as speed and slope. |
pedometerData |
Step count and pace. |
rotationRate |
Rotation motion data. |
siriSpeechMetrics |
Measurements of speech to Siri such as speaking rate, pitch, tenor, and volume. Excludes raw audio data or conversation content. |
telephonySpeechMetrics |
Measurements of speech during phone calls and VOIP, such as speaking rate, pitch, tenor, and volume. Excludes raw audio data or conversation content. |
visits |
Frequently visited locations that have been assigned an anonymized identifier, distance from home, approximate arrival and departure times, and location type. Excludes GPS data and specific location information. |
wristTemperature |
Wrist temperature during sleep. |
photoplethysmogram |
High-fidelity optical sensor data that can be used to measure metrics such as heart rate. |
electrocardiogram |
ECG sensor data that describes the timing and rhythm of heartbeats. |
ambientLight |
Ambient light information. |
ambientPressure |
Barometric pressure and elevation change. |
sleepSessions |
Time and duration of detected sleep sessions. |
acousticSettings |
Audio preferences saved on the device, such as accessibility and music settings, including background sounds, environmental sound measurement, headphone safety, and audio levels. |
Apple also provides standard introductory language identifying data collected from Apple devices:
With your consent, specific data that is collected by iPhone and Apple Watch and/or data stored in the Apple Health app, will be shared with the study. You will have the ability to review and authorize each data type request in the study app on your iPhone before data is shared. Such data is not collected from devices until you authorize sharing the data with the study. Data types from Apple devices include the following:
If Apple requires changes to an Informed Consent Form that has already received ethics approval, you may be able to submit a separate SensorKit Data Supplement instead of amending the approved consent form. Before doing so, confirm with Apple’s review team that a supplement will be accepted for your study.
Building the Study App
The research proposal requires the study app’s App ID (Bundle ID), so the app must be registered before the proposal can be submitted.
Avicenna builds the iOS study app, with an optional Android version where required by the study design. The Bundle ID is assigned when the app is registered under Avicenna’s Apple Developer account and is provided by the Avicenna support team.
SensorKit data collection is available only on iOS. Any Android version of the app collects equivalent data through other sources, and the Informed Consent Form must distinguish between Apple-sourced data and data collected from other sources.
Agreements
Two agreements are required, each signed by a different party.
| Agreement | Signatory | Form |
|---|---|---|
| SensorKit Addendum | Account Holder at Avicenna Research | https://developer.apple.com/contact/request/sensorkit |
| SensorKit Collaborator Agreement | Account Holder at each institution listed as a collaborating entity | https://developer.apple.com/contact/request/sensorkit-collaborator/ |
Avicenna signs the SensorKit Addendum. This agreement validates the study app’s Bundle ID against the submitting Apple Developer account. Because study app Bundle IDs are registered under Avicenna’s Apple Developer account, only Avicenna can submit the Addendum.
If another institution attempts to submit the Addendum, Apple returns the following error:
The provided bundle id is not valid or associated with your account
In this case, the institution should submit a SensorKit Collaborator Agreement instead.
The SensorKit Collaborator Agreement form requires a Request ID. Enter the Case ID assigned by Apple for the entitlement request.
A separate Collaborator Agreement is required for every organization that will have access to SensorKit data, including organizations that receive only de-identified data under a data-sharing agreement.
The SensorKit Addendum can be viewed only by signing in to the Apple Developer account as the Account Holder. Apple does not normally provide a PDF copy for legal review before signing. If institutional legal review is required, request access as early as possible.
App ownership is not transferred as part of the SensorKit entitlement process. Study apps remain registered under Avicenna’s Apple Developer account because the automated build and update pipeline depends on this configuration.
The Research Proposal
The SensorKit research proposal consists of six sections. Download the blank form from Apple: SensorKit research proposal form.
| Section | Contents |
|---|---|
| 1. Investigator/Institution | Project title; Principal Investigator (PI) name; institution and department; co-investigators and their institutions; prior work and relevant qualifications. |
| 2. Proposed Study | Project summary and study design; hypotheses involving SensorKit data; specific aims; inclusion and exclusion criteria; other data sources and devices used; current project status; intent to publish; ClinicalTrials.gov registration and NCT number (if applicable). |
| 3. SensorKit Data | Requested SensorKit data types and a justification for each. Includes an optional declaration for Background Processing. |
| 4. App/Platform | App name; App Store availability; App ID (Bundle ID); and app developer. |
| 5. Data and Privacy | Data storage location; who has access to the data; analysis plan; security and access controls; data retention period; participant withdrawal procedures; and disclosure of any research misconduct. |
| 6. Confirmations | Five declarations that must be acknowledged before submission. |
Section 3 requires each SensorKit data stream to be requested individually. Entitlements are granted for specific data streams, not for the SensorKit framework as a whole. Proposals that request only “SensorKit” without identifying the required data streams will be returned for clarification.
Section 5 requires a data retention period. Apple expects SensorKit data to be retained only for the minimum period necessary, typically ten years or less. The retention period should be consistent with the study’s data retention policy and applicable data licence or regulatory requirements.
[!warning]
Do not include confidential, proprietary, or intellectual property (IP)-sensitive information in the research proposal.
Section 6 contains five confirmations that must be acknowledged before the proposal can be submitted:
- You have provided a one- to two-sentence justification for each requested SensorKit data type.
- You will not publicly share or publish raw or de-identified SensorKit data.
- Each SensorKit entitlement will be used for only one study and one study app.
- The SensorKit data collected in the study will not be used for commercial purposes or to develop a commercial product.
- If you plan to distribute the study app through the App Store or TestFlight, you will provide Apple’s review team with your ethics approval and ensure that the Informed Consent Form includes accurate descriptions of the requested SensorKit data types.
Data Types Available Without SensorKit
Some data types that appear in Apple’s SensorKit documentation are available through standard iOS permissions and do not require a SensorKit entitlement.
Location, raw accelerometer data, and step count are collected using standard iOS permissions. Requesting these data types through SensorKit will result in a clarification request from Apple.
Apple has also required GPS references to be removed from Informed Consent Forms when GPS was incorrectly listed under a SensorKit heading.
Although accelerometer and pedometerData appear in Apple’s SensorKit data type list, Avicenna collects equivalent data through standard iOS permissions. These data types should not be included in the SensorKit entitlement request.
Apple also consolidates related metrics into their parent data streams. For example, screen wakes and website categories are included in deviceUsage and should not be requested separately.
Submitting the Application
SensorKit entitlement requests are submitted by email. Apple does not provide a web submission portal.
Send the request to:
To: sensorkitrequest@apple.com
Cc: product@avicennaresearch.com
Attach the following documents to the initial submission:
| Document | Notes |
|---|---|
| Completed research proposal form | One study and one app |
| Ethics approval letter | Must name SensorKit and be issued by the lead institution |
| Informed Consent Form | Draft is acceptable for a Development entitlement request |
| Entities list | Every organization that will access SensorKit data |
Include the following statements in the body of every SensorKit submission:
-
Data ownership. Only the study researchers have access to the collected data. Participants may request deletion of their data at any time.
-
Regulatory compliance. Avicenna Research maintains compliance with GDPR, PIPEDA, HIPAA, FDA 21 CFR Part 11, and ISO 27001.
[!note]
Always CCproduct@avicennaresearch.comon correspondence with Apple.
After submission, Apple’s SensorKit Review Team replies with a Case ID. Include this Case ID at the top of every subsequent email in the thread. Replies sent without the Case ID may be treated as a new request and assigned a separate case.
Timeline
The following timelines are based on observed durations across supported SensorKit studies. Actual review times may vary.
| Stage | Typical Duration |
|---|---|
| Submission to Apple’s first substantive response | 5–7 days |
| Each subsequent round of correspondence | 1–5 days |
| Identifying institutional Account Holders | 2–6 weeks |
| Institutional legal review of agreements | 1–4 weeks |
| Approval committee review to entitlement grant | 1–2 weeks |
| Initial submission to entitlement grant | 8–14 weeks |
| Entitlement grant to App Store submission | Approximately 5 days |
Apple’s approval committee meets on a recurring schedule, with a submission cutoff before each meeting. Contact the SensorKit Review Team for the current meeting schedule.
Requests to add additional SensorKit data types to an existing entitlement follow the same review process as an initial application and are not expedited.
After Approval
Apple sends the entitlement approval to the applicant, not to the app developer. Forward the approval email to product@avicennaresearch.com as soon as it is received.
Development Entitlement
After a Development entitlement is granted, Avicenna:
- Signs in to
developer.apple.com/account/resourcesand enables SensorKit Reader Access under Identifiers → the study App ID → Additional Capabilities → SensorKit. - Adds the SensorKit entitlement key to the app’s
entitlements.plist. - Regenerates the provisioning profile.
- Verifies data collection on registered test devices using a development or ad-hoc profile.
Devices must be registered in the Apple Developer account before they can collect SensorKit data under a Development entitlement.
Distribution Entitlement
After a Distribution entitlement is granted, Avicenna:
- Integrates the Distribution entitlement into the app.
- Verifies that the in-app consent flow matches the approved Informed Consent Form.
- Confirms that the app requests and collects only the approved SensorKit data streams.
- Submits the app for distribution through the App Store or TestFlight, as applicable.
During the Study
Ethics approval must remain valid throughout the study.
If the study design, SensorKit data collection, or data handling procedures change, notify the Avicenna support team, as these changes may affect the SensorKit entitlement.
The entitlement is granted based on the study described in the approved research proposal. Significant changes may require Apple’s review or approval before implementation.