Fuel the next generation of diabetes innovation.
Through the Big Data Donation Project, Tidepool users can help propel diabetes research to new heights. By opting-in to donate your data, you enable Tidepool to anonymize and pool it with other contributions, giving device makers, industry innovators, and academic researchers the critical data they need to innovate faster and push the boundaries of what we know about diabetes.
With billions of donated data points, we’re building a powerful resource that’s greater than the sum of its parts – one that benefits people living with diabetes, their care teams, and the entire research community.
Unveiling our 2025 Impact Report
Dive into our 2025 Big Data Donation Project Impact Report to discover how our data partners leverage your contributions to advance diabetes research. We’re thrilled to showcase the groundbreaking insights gained through their work, all thanks to the data generously donated by Tidepool users.
At Tidepool, transparency is at our core. We’re committed to keeping the diabetes community informed about how your anonymized data is being used, the goals of our data partners, and the impactful results they achieve.
Explore the Big Data Donation Project 2025 Impact Report to see how your data donations fuel cutting-edge research, drive innovation, and empower researchers worldwide to make strides in diabetes care. Together, we’re pushing the limits of diabetes innovation.
Your data drives change.
Great research starts with great data; your anonymized diabetes data could be the key to unlocking the next big breakthrough. By choosing to donate your data, you’re not just contributing – you’re powering the future of diabetes research and innovation. And the best part? It’s effortless. Once you opt-in, we take care of the rest – anonymizing your data and sharing it with academics, researchers, and industry partners eager to make a difference.
Your real-life diabetes data has the potential to accelerate research, fuel innovation, and even strengthen grant applications, attracting funding for critical diabetes research.
Since the launch of the Big Data Donation Project, our incredible community has contributed over 12,404,094,579 data points. Check out our BDDP Impact Report to see how your data is shaping the future of diabetes care.
Ready to make an impact? Here’s how to donate your data.
Donating your data is a breeze whether you’re new to Tidepool or a long-time user. Just follow these step-by-step instructions to start contributing to the future of diabetes research.
Sign into Tidepool
Opt in to donate data in profile settings
Select nonprofit diabetes organizations to support with 10% of proceeds
Save your preferences
Upload your data
Have more questions? We’ve got answers.
Curious about the Tidepool Big Data Donation Project? Here are some things people frequently ask about the Tidepool Big Data Donation Project. If you don't see your question here, please get in touch.
How does Tidepool anonymize my data?
We remove identifiers and anonymize data in these ways:
- For each user:
- Included: The month and year of birth and diagnosis
- Not included: Name, address, email address, exact birthday, exact diagnosis day, notes, photos, customized basal profile names, or other personally identifiable information
- For all diabetes devices:
- Included: Device event and data timestamps
- May be included: Brand and model of the device (some device makers preclude this)
- Not included: Device serial number
- For blood glucose monitors:
- Included: Blood glucose (BG) readings
- For continuous glucose meters (CGM):
- Included: Estimated glucose values, events tracked by the CGM, including meals, insulin, calibration, exercise
- For insulin pumps:
- Included: All pump settings, including bolus calculator parameters, basal rates, insulin-to-carb ratios, and insulin sensitivity factors, as well as all events tracked by the pump, including meals, insulin dosed, temp basals and suspends events, primes, and BG inputs
Note: Some of the terms above may have slightly varying language on your device.
We will not include in the anonymized datasets (1) freeform text and notes entered by you or your Care Team Members, or (2) any other data that could identify a specific individual.
See our Privacy Policy for more information.
What does my donated data look like?
After anonymizing and removing all identifying information, the data we provide researchers is in either .csv, .json, or .xlsx format that looks like this.
We store data in Tidepool’s secure, HIPAA-compliant servers that are hosted by Amazon Web Services (AWS). Within AWS, we use MongoDB, a popular, modern database.
Here is an example data file (6MB compressed) for our demo user, “Jill Jellyfish" before anonymization and removing identifiers. It follows the Tidepool data model (how we internally represent data) here.
How does Tidepool protect my data?
Tidepool uses industry best practices, including end-to-end encryption, to secure your data. You can read detailed information all about our security infrastructure in this document.
Tidepool strips all identifying information from anonymized data sets for the Tidepool Big Data Donation Project. In addition, Tidepool replaces your Tidepool user identifier (that looks something like 0a1b2c3d) with a “hash” value that is generated using a cryptographically secure one-way hash function. These identifiers cannot be decrypted into their original form, even by Tidepool, but they allow researchers to correlate anonymized datasets over time from the same user.
We take great safeguards to prevent hacks and data breaches, and it has never occurred. If a data breach were to occur, we would follow HIPAA guidelines for notifying our user base about the details of the breach.
How do I opt out of the Tidepool Big Data Donation Project?
At any time after you have opted in, you can choose to opt out. After you’ve logged into your account, click on the account name at the top of the page to navigate to your profile settings. Remove any nonprofit diabetes organizations you’ve selected to receive 10% of proceeds generated by your data donation.
Uncheck “Donate my anonymized data” and click “Save.” If you opt in, and then later change your preference to opt out, you will not be able to remove or delete data that had been previously donated.
Why did Tidepool change how I consent to donating my data?
We recently upgraded our consent process to provide even more information before you decide to donate your anonymized data. At Tidepool, we are committed to ensure our communication with users about information sharing is both effective and transparent. Don’t worry, donating your data will still be just as easy as it was. If you’re creating a new account, you will be asked to consent during sign-up. If you already have an existing account, you can opt in or out of the project in your account profile page. You can follow these step-by-step instructions to get set up.
Unlock the power of data!
Tidepool puts high-quality, real-world diabetes device data at your fingertips. Whether you’re an academic, researcher, or industry innovator, our team is here to help figure out how our datasets can fit into your research goals.
Our datasets are designed to save you time and money, whether you’re testing a hypothesis or validating the need for further studies.
Are you curious about what our datasets offer? Explore our data dictionary to get a closer look at our standard dataset.
How do I get access to a dataset?
You’re just a few simple steps away from tapping into a wealth of donated data. Start by filling out our interest form.
Once you’ve signed a licensing agreement, Tidepool will grant you access to a dataset. We will then follow up with a survey because our commitment to transparency with the diabetes community runs deep. We’re eager to share how our data partners use anonymized data and the new insights they uncover. We owe it to our community to let them know how their data is being leveraged.
Fill out an interest form
Check in with Tidepool on next steps and applicable agreements
Share how the data will be used
Sign licensing agreement
Tidepool shares dataset(s)
Fill out a follow-up survey
Interested in a custom dataset. Is that possible?
We’d love to connect and hear more about your research goals and learn how Tidepool can best support you.
Have more questions? We’ve got answers.
Here are some things people frequently ask about the Tidepool Big Data Donation Project. If you don't see your question here, please get in touch.
I'm a small, independent researcher. Can I get access to the data you've collected?
We do provide data at no cost on a case-by-case basis. Fill out this form, and we’ll be in touch!
We also recommend you look at the OpenAPS and Nightscout Data Commons project.
Our data licensing partners
Over the years, we have supported a number of great institutions and companies with high-quality diabetes data.
Interested in a dataset? Fill out this form to get more information about licensing donated datasets for your research.
Our nonprofit diabetes partners
Tidepool licenses datasets from the Big Data Donation Project to interested parties. The fees charged to access donated and anonymized datasets help keep our software available for people with diabetes, caretakers, and clinicians.
Ready to make a big impact on diabetes?
If you’d like to donate your data, first you’ll need your Tidepool account. Contact Tidepool support if you have any questions.