Access the Data That Changes Everything
Over 100 digital devices from individuals who died by suicide — and a growing federated network connecting clinical, service, and mortality data. Outcome-validated. Zero observer effect.
The Ground Truth Problem
Suicide research has a ground truth problem. We study people who report ideation, who attempt and survive, or who screen positive. We build models on populations where the vast majority will never die by suicide.
The Black Box Project dataset is different. These are the digital lives of people who actually died — text messages, search histories, app usage, communication patterns — captured with no awareness of observation. No social desirability bias. No clinical framing. Just unfiltered reality.
What Black Box Project Means for Your Research
Data That Exists Nowhere Else
Outcome-validated digital footprints from individuals who died by suicide. Your research starts from ground truth, not proxy measures.
First-of-Its-Kind Findings
Novel data produces novel publications. Researchers in the network are publishing insights on digital phenotyping, risk lexicons, and behavioral markers never observable before.
Bring Expertise, Not Just Code
Domain knowledge in clinical psychology, NLP, epidemiology, or any adjacent field is as valuable as analytical capability. Black Box Project provides the infrastructure. You bring the questions.
Contribute Data. Get Cited.
Every dataset contributed to the platform is tracked through an immutable audit log. Researchers who use your data are contractually required to cite you. Your data builds your citation record passively.
Open Door. Your Pace.
No gatekeeping. Browse first, propose when you're ready.
Browse the Catalog
Create an account and explore the full data catalog. See what's available and start forming your research questions. No proposal required.
Design Your Research Plan
When you're ready, submit your plan through the platform. Describe what you want to study and which data sources you need.
Data Steward Approval
Access to specific datasets is approved by the organizations that own the data, not by Black Box Project. Every contributor maintains full control.
Run Your Analysis
Get compute access and start your work. Data never moves. Our federated architecture brings your analysis to the data.
Privacy-Preserving by Design
All research runs through our federated platform. Data never leaves its source environment. Advanced de-identification, encrypted computation, and full audit trails at every layer.
Already in the Hands of Leading Institutions
Researchers from USC's Center for AI in Society and UW-Madison's Center for Healthy Minds are actively using the platform. Published findings already reshaping how the field understands suicide risk. First-place winner of the VA's $3M Mission Daybreak challenge from 1,300+ submissions.
See What's Available
Tell us about yourself and your research interests. We'll get you set up with platform access.
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