Connect Privacy Notice

Weill Cornell Medicine, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (NYP), and Columbia University participate in an Organized Health Care Arrangement (OHCA). This allows us to share health information to carry out treatment, payment and joint health care operations relating to the OHCA, including integrated information system management, health information exchange, financial and billing services, insurance, quality improvement, and risk management activities. Organizations that will follow this notice include Weill Cornell Medicine, all NYP sites, Columbia University, and their related entities.

This Notice describes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information. Please review it carefully.

Your Personal Information

These are the limited ways in which the Connect application interacts with your information, depending on the features we may enable for your use:

When you add a profile photo to Connect, you may select an existing photo on your device or take a new photo using the camera app on your device. If you select an existing photo on your device or use a camera app on your device to take a new photo, a temporary copy of your chosen photo is stored in our mobile app via app-private storage on your device. Certain camera apps may save a copy of your new photo in locations outside of our mobile app's app-private storage. You should review the privacy policy for the camera app you use to understand how that app interacts with your photos. Temporary files stored in Connects private storage on your device are regularly deleted and are also deleted if you uninstall Connect. If you already have a profile photo stored in your profile through the OHCA,–Connect does not interact with that photo in any way.
When you connect the Connect app to Google Fit, Health Connect (by Google), or Apple Health, your health and fitness data is securely transmitted by Connect and saved in your medical record. We do not store any health and fitness data within the Connect. Any information required for you to select recipients of your data is encrypted and stored in app-private storage. If you stop sharing your health and fitness data or uninstall Connect, the encrypted information is deleted from app-private storage.
When you view documents from your provider (such as letters or images) using Connect, temporary copies are stored on your device in app-private storage. The temporary copies are deleted when you close your session on Connect.
When you include a photo or video in a message you send using Connect, you may select an existing photo or video from your device or take a new photo or video using the camera app on your device. If you use the camera app on your device to take new photos or videos, temporary copies are stored on your device in app-private storage. These temporary files are regularly deleted and are also deleted if you uninstall Connect.
If we offer telehealth appointments using Connect, when you join a telehealth appointment with your provider, Connect will ask for permission to access your device's video and audio functionality to make the appointment possible. Connect does not record or store video or audio data from these visits.
If the organization offers automatic appointment arrival and you choose to enable it, Connect temporarily stores identifiers and times for your upcoming appointments in app-private storage to detect your arrival at an appointment. If you stop using Connect or disable automatic appointment arrival, the identifiers are deleted.
If we offer location-based check-in for in-person appointments, or allows you to find healthcare providers near you, you may choose to allow Connect to temporarily interact with your device’s location data for those purposes. Connect does not store or use your location data in any other way.
If we allow you to notify front desk staff electronically when you arrive for an appointment, you may choose to allow Connect to interact with your Bluetooth data for this purpose. Connect does not store your Bluetooth data.
While you use Connect, if you choose to call a phone number displayed within the app, we will ask for permission to access your device’s phone to place a call to the phone number. Connect does not store your call history or data about your calls.
Any temporary files created during the interactions described above are regularly deleted and immediately deleted if you uninstall Connect.
If you have a Connect account, we store limited personal information on servers in the United States. This information includes your name, date of birth, and the contact information you used to create your account and link it with your Connect accounts at the healthcare organizations that care for you. This information is used to provide services or functionality for Connect, including but not limited to helping you log into your Connect accounts at NYP, Columbia University and/or Weill Cornell Medicine, Connect password recovery, and Connect user support. You can edit and share Connect account information with the healthcare organizations you have linked to your Connect account. If you need to delete the information used to create your Connect account, you can do so via the “Account Deactivation” page within Connect. Once you submit an account deactivation request, your account information will be deleted via an automatic deletion process that runs periodically (typically once per day).

Location Services Privacy Policy

The Connect Location Services feature employs the use of Global Position System (GPS) and Bluetooth technology to approximate your location. Location Services and Bluetooth must be enabled on your device in order for this technology to be employed by Connect. You can enable or disable these services on your device at any time.

Connect utilizes Location Services in order to provide the following experiences while at any of our facilities that support the technology:

eGreeting service which informs our greeting staff that you are approaching our facilities.
When facilities are reached, notify you of our Wayfinding where available.
Inter campus, intra campus/building Wayfinding to help you navigate our facilities and locate public points of interest (i.e. food, restrooms, lobbies, etc.).

Your Location Services information is anonymous to us, which means it is not stored, used to track movement within our facilities, shared with, or sold to others. It is only utilized with your permission and while at our facilities to render the listed services. Location Services are only utilized whenever you reach the perimeter of our facilities, are within our facilities and not at any time outside of the perimeter of our facilities.

For additional information about the organization’s HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices see: HIPAA Privacy Notice.

Effective Date: July 28, 2026