Data shared in Synapse may have Conditions for Use that define restrictions on how it may be disclosed or what the data set may contain based on privacy laws or regulation.
You must be a Certified User to contribute data to Synapse. You are responsible for determining if the data you would like to contribute is Controlled Use and therefore requires Conditions for Use. Carefully consider the specific risks and appropriate protections required before sharing your data.
If there are no ethical, legal or regulatory reasons to impose Conditions for Use, the data can be used for any lawful research purpose. All human data shared in Synapse, with or without Conditions for Use, must be de-identified according to HIPAA standards and comply with all applicable privacy laws and regulations. Guidance on de-identification according to HIPAA rules can be found here.
Conditions for Use can be set at the Project, Folder, File and Table level. We recommend grouping Files that require the same Conditions for Use in a dedicated Folder within your Project. For more information about setting Conditions for Use please see Access Controls and Data GovernanceAs a data contributor, you decide how your data is shared and accessed. Generally, data contributors have 4 options for sharing:
Private data: only available to project owners.
Controlled access data: available to registered users that fulfill specific requirements for data access, such as submitting an Intended Data Use statement, obtaining IRB approval, or other prerequisites.
Open access data: available for all registered Synapse users.
Anonymous data: available for anyone on the web.