Data flow
How data travels from Apple Health or Health Connect through the EnaResearch app to the server, when it is sent, how it is checked and how to see it arrive.
- Admin panel
- Participant area
- Participant app
Data reaches EnaResearch from the participant's phone. The EnaResearch app reads the study's measurement types from Apple Health (iPhone) or Health Connect (Android), queues them on the phone and sends them to your organization's EnaResearch server. The server checks each record, stores it and makes it available to the study team.
Required role
- Reading the data signals needs a member of the study team.
When the app sends data
- In the background, about every hour.
- When the participant opens the app, and when they tap Send now.
The app reads only the measurement types its participant's studies ask for. On first sync it also reads back to the start of the participation window (including baseline days, if any). Steps and active energy are sent as 5-minute totals, so the same steps from a phone and a watch are not counted twice.
Nothing is lost in transit
The app keeps every record in a queue on the phone and deletes it only after the server confirms it is stored. If the phone is offline or the server is busy, the app tries again later ("Transfer will be retried automatically."). The queue is not included in the phone's backups.
What the server does
- Checks each record: within the study's scope, value within the accepted range, required fields present, not in the future. Records that fail are rejected.
- Keeps the raw package unchanged for 90 days.
- Writes standard data: a common unit, UTC time with the local time offset, the source and device.
- Keeps corrections as versions: if a platform later corrects or deletes a sample, a new version is stored and earlier exports can still be reproduced from their cutoff.
How to see that data arrives
| Where | What you see |
|---|---|
| Overview and study Dashboard | Records received, Participants not sending data (no data for 48 hours) |
| Participants list | Not connected or No data signals |
| Participant panel → Data coverage | Days with data per measurement type |
| Participant panel → Data transfer | Connected sources, Last sync, Last transfer error |
| Data quality page | Completeness and quality flags |
The participant sees the same connection in the app and the participant web area, with a daily summary of the last 7 days. These summaries only show that the transfer is working; they are not the research data itself.
Related articles
Can't find what you need?
Our support team can help, from setting up a study to exporting a dataset. Please include your organization code.
Data scope
How an EnaResearch study's measurement types, sources, baseline days, late data window and participation dates decide which data is accepted.
Data quality
The EnaResearch Data quality page - completeness per measurement type and participant, and the implausible, sudden jump, source conflict and low wear flags.