You've been invited to participate in a brief research study on digital literacy and technology perception. It only takes 3–4 minutes.
Please read carefully before proceeding
This research study ("the Study") is conducted by students and faculty of the University of Technology Sydney (hereinafter "UTS", "we", "our", or "the University") under the auspices of the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology. The Study constitutes an exercise in applied digital literacy assessment and behavioural analytics, conducted in accordance with the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research (2018) and the UTS Human Research Ethics Committee guidelines.
By participating in this Study, you acknowledge and consent to the collection of information including but not limited to: (a) technical device characteristics including hardware architecture identifiers, central processing unit core count and logical processor availability, installed system memory capacity and available allocation, graphics processing unit model designation, renderer string, and vendor identification; (b) display and interface parameters including screen resolution (physical and logical), device pixel ratio, colour depth, viewport dimensions, touch capability indicators, and pointer precision class; (c) browser environment metadata including user-agent string, browser name, version, engine, and installed plugin enumeration; (d) operating system identification including name, version, and platform architecture; (e) network information including connection type classification, estimated downlink bandwidth, round-trip latency estimation, and data-saver preference; (f) temporal and geographic identifiers including system timezone, IANA timezone designation, locale preference string, language priority list, and geographic region inferred from the foregoing; (g) cryptographic device fingerprints derived from HTML5 Canvas API pixel-rendering characteristics, WebGL rendering pipeline outputs, AudioContext signal processing parameters, and system font enumeration via timing side-channels; (h) browser configuration state including cookie acceptance, storage API availability, referral origin, online/offline status, and platform capability flags; (i) sensor and peripheral data including battery charge level and charging state (where permitted by the browser), media device enumeration including camera and microphone count, device orientation and motion sensor availability, and vibration API support; and (j) behavioural interaction data including time-spent on each page, scroll depth, click events, and form input sequences.
⚠️ Research & Experimentation Clause: Your data, including all technical, behavioural, and interaction data described herein, may be used in academic research, studies, and experiments conducted by or in partnership with the University. By accepting, you consent to your data being used in ways that may not be individually disclosed to you at the time of collection. This may include behavioural analysis, comparative studies, and the development of models or systems that affect how information is presented to you or other participants. The University reserves the right to use collected data to shape the nature of your experience during and after this Study.
Data collected pursuant to this Study may be used for the following purposes without further notice to you: (a) academic analysis and publication in peer-reviewed journals, conference proceedings, or educational materials; (b) development and refinement of data analytics methodologies; (c) demonstration of data collection capabilities for educational purposes; (d) aggregated statistical reporting; (e) longitudinal studies relating to device and browser ecosystem evolution; and (f) such other lawful research purposes as the University may determine from time to time, in its sole discretion.
Collected data may be retained indefinitely in anonymised or pseudonymised form. The University may share processed or aggregated data with third-party academic institutions, research consortia, and industry partners for legitimate research purposes. Individual identification will not be sought; however, the University cannot guarantee that device fingerprint data will not, in combination with other datasets, be used to re-identify individuals. You accept this residual risk by participating.
You have the right to withdraw from the Study at any time prior to submission of the final survey response. Data already collected at the point of withdrawal may be retained in accordance with Section 4. To exercise your right of withdrawal, close this browser tab. You may request access to your collected data or seek correction of errors by contacting the UTS Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology. Response times are not guaranteed.
This consent agreement is governed by the laws of New South Wales, Australia. Any disputes arising in connection with this Study shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of NSW. By proceeding, you acknowledge that you have had adequate opportunity to review this document and seek independent advice if desired.
Answer honestly — there are no right or wrong answers.
data points — without you typing a single character
You spent just ? reading the privacy policy — yet you consented to have your data used in "experiments conducted in ways not individually disclosed to you at the time of collection."
This is the informed consent problem at the heart of modern data ethics.