Permissions & Sharing

HyperStudy provides a unified permission system for controlling access to experiments, media, deployments, and data. This guide explains how permissions work and how to share resources with collaborators.

Overview

The permission system allows you to:

• Control who can view, edit, and duplicate your resources
• Share with individual users or entire groups
• Set organization-wide defaults
• Make resources publicly accessible
• Manage granular permissions for different actions

Permission Types

Different resource types support different permissions:

Experiments, Images & Videos

Permission	Description
View	Can see the resource and its contents
Edit	Can modify the resource (design, settings, etc.)
Duplicate	Can create a copy of the resource
Manage Access	Can change permission settings for others

Deployments

Permission	Description
View	Can see the deployment, its sessions, and tracking data
Edit	Can modify deployment settings (name, target count, scheduling)
Manage Access	Can change who has access to the deployment's data
Export	Can download data collected through this deployment

Deployment Data Ownership

The person who creates a deployment owns all data collected through it, regardless of who designed the experiment. This allows lab members to deploy shared experiments while maintaining clear data ownership.

Data

Permission	Description
View	Can see data in the Data Management interface
Export	Can download data as files (CSV, JSON, etc.)

note

Data permissions are separate from experiment permissions. Someone with experiment edit access doesn't automatically get data access.

Access Hierarchy

HyperStudy checks permissions in the following order:

1. Owner - Full access to all actions
2. Organization Admins - Full access to all organization resources
3. Platform Admins - Global access for support and debugging (all access is logged)
4. Explicitly Shared - Users, groups, or external organizations with explicit permissions
5. Organization Members - Default permissions set for the organization group
6. Public Access - Permissions granted to all authenticated users (if enabled)

Owner
  ↓
Organization Admin (same org)
  ↓
Platform Admin (global, logged)
  ↓
Explicitly Shared (user/group/external org)
  ↓
Organization Default (org members)
  ↓
Public (if enabled)

Using the Permission Manager

The Permission Manager provides a unified interface for managing access to any resource.

Opening the Permission Manager

For Experiments:

1. Open the experiment in the Experiment Designer
2. Click the Permissions tab

For Media (Images/Videos):

1. Go to the Media Library
2. Select an image or video
3. Click Permissions in the info panel or context menu

For Deployments:

1. Go to the Deployments page
2. Find the deployment in the table
3. Click the settings gear icon on the deployment row

For Data:

1. Go to Data Management
2. Select an experiment
3. Click the Permissions tab

Understanding the Interface

The Permission Manager shows:

• Owner - The resource owner (you, if you created it)
• Who Has Access - List of all users, groups, and public access
• Grant Access - Options to add new users or groups

Permission Icons

Each row shows toggleable permission icons:

Icon	Permission
Eye	View
Pencil	Edit
Copy	Duplicate
Gear	Manage Access
Download	Export (data only)

• Colored = Permission enabled
• Gray = Permission disabled

Click any icon to toggle that permission.

Managing Access

Organization Default

When you create a resource, it automatically includes your Organization group with default permissions. This ensures all organization members have baseline access.

• The organization group shows a "Default" badge
• You can modify organization permissions but cannot remove the group
• All current and future organization members inherit these permissions

Adding Users

To share with a specific user:

1. Click Add User in the Grant Access section
2. Search for the user by name or email
3. Select the user from the dropdown
4. The user is added with default View permission
5. Toggle additional permissions as needed

Adding Groups

To share with an experimenter group:

1. Click Add Group in the Grant Access section
2. Select from your available groups
3. The group is added with default View permission
4. Toggle additional permissions as needed

Removing Access

To remove a user or group:

1. Find them in the "Who Has Access" list
2. Click the X button on their row
3. Access is revoked immediately

caution

You cannot remove the organization default group. You can only modify its permissions.

Public Access

For experiments, images, and videos, you can enable public access:

1. Find the Public row in the "Who Has Access" section
2. Toggle the View permission to enable public access
3. Optionally enable additional public permissions

When public access is enabled:

• Any authenticated HyperStudy user can access the resource
• They receive only the permissions you've enabled
• This is useful for shared templates or published experiments

warning

Data resources cannot be made public. Data access must always be explicitly granted.

Permission Scenarios

Lab Team Collaboration

For a research lab working on shared experiments:

1. Create an experimenter group for your lab
2. When creating experiments, the organization group provides default access
3. Optionally share with specific lab group for tighter control
4. Grant Edit permission to collaborators who help design experiments
5. Keep Manage Access limited to project leads

External Collaboration

For collaborating with researchers outside your organization:

1. Add the external collaborator as a user (they need a HyperStudy account)
2. Grant them specific permissions:
   • View only for review purposes
   • View + Duplicate to let them create their own version
   • View + Edit for active collaboration

Data Sharing

For sharing experiment data with analysts:

1. Go to Data Management > Permissions
2. Add users who need data access
3. Grant View for dashboard-only access
4. Grant Export to allow data downloads

Deployment Data Sharing

For sharing deployment data with a data analyst:

1. Create a deployment and collect data
2. Open the deployment's permissions via the settings gear icon
3. Add the data analyst as a user
4. Grant View for dashboard access
5. Grant Export to allow data downloads
6. The analyst can access data from this deployment without needing access to the experiment design

Published Templates

To share an experiment template publicly:

1. Open experiment Permissions
2. Enable View for Public access
3. Enable Duplicate so others can copy it
4. Keep Edit and Manage Access disabled

Cross-Organization Sharing

HyperStudy supports sharing resources with users and organizations outside your own organization.

Sharing with External Users

To share with a researcher at another institution:

1. Click Add User in the Permission Manager
2. Enter their email address
3. Select them from the search results
4. Configure their permissions
5. They'll see the resource in their "Shared With Me" panel

tip

External users are displayed with their organization name, making cross-org shares easy to identify.

Sharing with External Organizations

For ongoing collaborations, you can share with an entire organization:

1. Click Add Organization in the Permission Manager
2. Search for the organization by name
3. Select the organization
4. Configure organization-wide permissions

All current (and future) members of that organization inherit the permissions.

What External Collaborators Can Access

When you share a resource externally:

Can Access	Cannot Access
The specific shared resource	Your organization's media library
Media used within that resource	Other experiments in your organization
Design/settings (based on permissions)	Data (unless separately shared)

For comprehensive guidance, see Cross-Organization Collaboration.

Time-Limited Access

All permissions support optional expiration dates for enhanced security.

Setting Expiration Dates

1. After adding a user, group, or organization to permissions
2. Click the calendar icon next to their entry
3. Select an expiration date
4. Access automatically revokes at midnight (UTC) on that date

Expiration Recommendations

Use Case	Suggested Expiration
One-time review	1-2 weeks
Active collaboration	3-6 months
Grant-aligned work	Match grant end date
Course collaboration	End of semester
Permanent team member	Leave blank

Expiration Notifications

• Users receive notification 7 days before expiration
• Resource owners receive weekly summaries of expiring access
• All expirations are logged in the audit trail

Audit Trail

HyperStudy maintains comprehensive audit logs for compliance with research regulations (HIPAA, FERPA, GDPR).

What Gets Logged

All permission-related activities are recorded:

• When access was granted or revoked
• Who made the change
• What permissions were set
• Expiration dates configured
• When external users accessed resources
• Platform admin access events

Viewing Audit Logs

Organization administrators can access audit logs:

1. Go to Settings > Organization > Audit Log
2. Filter by resource type, action, time period, or user
3. Export logs for compliance documentation

Compliance Support

Regulation	Relevant Features
HIPAA	Access logging, role-based access, automatic revocation
FERPA	Data isolation, explicit permissions, audit trails
GDPR	Time-limited access, access logging, data separation

Read-Only Mode

When a user has View permission but not Edit permission on a resource, the interface displays in read-only mode:

• The Experiment Designer shows the full design but all editing controls are disabled
• The Data Manager allows viewing data but modification actions are hidden
• The Media Manager shows media files but upload/delete controls are disabled
• Deployments show status and session data but configuration controls are hidden

A read-only notice banner appears at the top of the page to clearly indicate the user cannot make changes. This ensures viewers can explore resources fully without risk of accidental modification.

Best Practices

Security

• Start with minimal permissions and add as needed
• Regularly audit who has access to sensitive resources
• Remove access promptly when collaboration ends
• Keep Manage Access permission restricted to owners and leads

Organization

• Use groups for team-based access rather than individual shares
• Document why specific users have elevated permissions
• Use consistent permission patterns across similar resources

Data Protection

• Keep data access separate from experiment access
• Only grant Export permission when data download is needed
• Use View permission for oversight without download capability

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I share with someone outside my organization?

Yes, as long as they have a HyperStudy account. Add them by their email address. They'll see shared resources in their dashboard.

What happens when someone leaves the organization?

When removed from your organization, they lose access to all organization-shared resources. Explicit individual shares remain until you remove them.

Can participants see experiment designs or data?

No. Participants only see the experiment interface during participation. They never have access to design, settings, or data.

How do I transfer ownership?

1. Open the Permission Manager
2. Click Transfer Owner in the Owner section
3. Select the new owner from your organization members
4. Confirm the transfer

caution

Transferring ownership gives the new owner full control, including the ability to revoke your access.

Do folder permissions apply to contents?

Yes, for media folders. When you set permissions on a folder:

• All items in the folder inherit those permissions
• New items added to the folder get the same permissions
• You can override individual item permissions if needed

Related Documentation

• Deployments - Managing deployments and deployment data permissions
• Cross-Organization Collaboration - Multi-site studies and external sharing
• Collaborating Through Groups - Managing experimenter groups
• Data Permissions - Detailed data access controls
• Media Management - Managing images and videos
• Organizations - Organization membership and roles