sensorkit

SensorKit lets approved research apps record and fetch research-grade sensor data from iPhone and Apple Watch, covering signals such as ambient light, recorded motion, device and app usage, keyboard metrics, visits, speech metrics, face metrics, wrist temperature, heart rate, ECG, and PPG. Access is tightly restricted: an app must submit a research proposal to Apple, receive the com.apple.developer.sensorkit.reader.allow entitlement listing only approved sensors, use manual provisioning with an explicit App ID, and obtain per-sensor user consent through the system's Research Sensor & Usage Data sheet. This is deliberately not a general-purpose sensor API; the skill directs ordinary accelerometer, gyroscope, pedometer, and activity-recognition needs to CoreMotion, and health records and workouts to HealthKit. Two privacy safeguards shape the workflow: newly recorded data is held inaccessible for 24 hours so users can delete anything they do not want shared, and an app can reach at most 7 days of prior recorded data for an active sensor. Required Info.plist keys are NSSensorKitUsageDescription, NSSensorKitPrivacyPolicyURL, and a per-sensor NSSensorKitUsageDetail dictionary, where marking a sensor Required prompts the system to warn users who decline. The skill shows authorization through SRSensorReader, including requestAuthorization(sensors:) for batching multiple sensors, checking authorizationStatus before recording, and monitoring changes via the reader delegate's didChange callback. It provides a full catalog of available sensors grouped as device, app activity, user activity, and environment, mapping each SRSensor case to its sample type, for example .ambientLightSensor to SRAmbientLightSample, .electrocardiogram to SRElectrocardiogramSample, and .sleepSessions to SRSleepSession. Guidance on manual code-signing settings, recording and fetching data, SRDevice, common mistakes, and a review checklist rounds it out. It targets Swift 6.3 and iOS 26+, with reminders to verify newer sensors against their individual entitlement and usage-detail pages.