Assessing metadata privacy in neuroimaging

Abstract: The ethical and legal imperative to share research data without causing harm requires careful attention to privacy risks. While mounting evidence demonstrates that data sharing benefits science, legitimate concerns persist regarding the potential leakage of personal information that could lead to reidentification and subsequent harm. We reviewed metadata accompanying neuroimaging datasets from six heterogeneous studies openly available on OpenNeuro, involving participants across the lifespan, from children to older adults, with and without clinical diagnoses, and including associated clinical score data. Using metaprivBIDS (https://github.com/CPernet/metaprivBIDS), a novel tool for the systematic assessment of privacy in tabular data, we found that privacy is generally well maintained, with serious vulnerabilities being rare. Nonetheless, minor issues were identified in nearly all datasets and warrant mitigation. Notably, clinical score data (e.g., neuropsychological results) posed minimal reidentification risk, whereas demographic variables (age, sex, race, income, and geolocation) represented the principal privacy vulnerabilities. We outline practical measures to address these risks, enabling safer data sharing practices.