Research Result Sync

A single-user tool that backs up the output of scientific computations to the developer's own Google Drive.

What this application is

Research Result Sync is a private automation tool built and operated by one person for their own academic research. It is not a product, not a service, and not available to anyone else. There is no sign-up page, no login, and no way for a second person to use it.

What it does, step by step

The developer runs numerical optimization experiments on a cloud computing platform. Each run produces two kinds of files: JSON logs containing measured numbers (iteration counts, running times, error values) and PNG figures plotting those numbers.

  1. When an experiment finishes, the result files are uploaded over HTTPS to a small storage service running on a virtual private server rented and administered by the developer.
  2. On a fixed schedule, that server runs rclone, an open-source file transfer tool, to copy the accumulated files into a folder in the developer's own Google Drive.
  3. The developer later reads those files back from Google Drive, or from the server, when writing up the results.

Google Drive serves as the durable backup copy. Nothing else happens: the application has no user interface, sends no email, shows no advertising, and communicates with no service other than Google Drive and the developer's own server.

Why it requests access to Google Drive

Requested scope: https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive

Used for: creating and updating result files in one folder of the developer's Drive, reading those files back, and listing that folder's contents to decide which files still need to be copied.

Why this scope and not a narrower one: the destination folder already exists in the developer's Drive and was created by hand, not by this application. The narrower drive.file scope grants access only to files the application itself created, which would make that existing folder unreachable.

The application reads no files outside that folder, accesses no other Google service, and never acts on behalf of anyone but its own developer.

Who uses it

One person: the developer, using their own Google account. The application handles no data belonging to any other individual, and therefore has no other users' data to collect, store, share, or sell.

Privacy and terms

The full Privacy Policy explains what data is accessed, how it is stored, and how authorization can be revoked. The Terms of Service set out the conditions of use.

Contact

This application is not offered to the public. Questions may be directed to the developer at the support email registered for this application in the Google Cloud Console.

Trademarks

This application is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Google LLC or by the rclone project. Google Drive and Google are trademarks of Google LLC; rclone is a trademark of its respective owner. Those names appear here only to describe, factually, which software this application uses and which service it stores files in.