Final Research Report

To: User
From: Research Report Synthesizer
Date: 2025-08-07
Subject: Analysis of Data Transfer in GitLab's Experimental Mode and Related Development Items

This report addresses your query regarding the data transferred to GitLab upon enabling "experimental mode," based on the GitLab Testing Agreement v3, and your request for all associated issues and epics.

Executive Summary

Following an extensive investigation, we were unable to identify the specific data transferred to GitLab when experimental mode is enabled. The provided GitLab Testing Agreement v3 is a legal framework that establishes the terms of use for experimental features but does not contain technical specifications about data collection.

Furthermore, a comprehensive search for related GitLab issues, epics, and merge requests yielded no results. The database search across multiple projects and using various relevant keywords did not uncover any development items linked to "experimental mode data transfer" or the "testing agreement v3."

Therefore, we cannot provide a list of what data is transferred or a list of related issues and epics, as no such information was found in the available resources.

Detailed Findings

1. Analysis of the GitLab Testing Agreement v3

The GitLab Testing Agreement v3 governs the use of pre-release and experimental features. Our analysis of this document reveals the following key points regarding data:

• Focus on Legal Terms, Not Technical Details: The agreement outlines the legal relationship, confidentiality, and feedback policies. It is not a technical document and does not list specific data points that are collected.
• Feedback Ownership: Section 2, "Feedback," states that any feedback, suggestions, or ideas you provide to GitLab become the "sole and exclusive property of GitLab." This refers to user-submitted feedback, not automated data telemetry.
• Data Protection Clause: Section 4, "Data Protection," is the most relevant clause. It states:

  "You acknowledge that GitLab may process personal data in connection with your use of the Experimental Features. To the extent that GitLab processes personal data on your behalf that is subject to certain data protection laws, the GitLab Data Processing Agreement... is incorporated by reference..."

This clause confirms that personal data may be processed, but it directs to the standard GitLab Data Processing Agreement (DPA) for the terms of that processing. The DPA itself is a general agreement and would not specify data collected by a particular experimental feature. The nature of data collection would likely vary depending on the specific feature being tested.

2. Investigation for Related GitLab Issues and Epics

An exhaustive search was conducted to locate any GitLab development items (epics, issues, merge requests) that could provide technical details on data collection for experimental features.

Search Scope: The search was performed across a wide range of GitLab projects and groups, including but not limited to:

• gitlab-org
• gitlab-org/gitlab
• gitlab-org/legal
• gitlab-org/handbook
• gitlab-org/product
• gitlab-org/compliance
• gitlab-org/security
• gitlab-org/growth

Search Topics: The search utilized numerous keywords and phrases related to your query, such as:

• experimental mode data transfer
• testing agreement v3
• GitLab data collection experimental features
• experimental mode privacy
• GitLab telemetry experimental mode
• data transfer experimental features

Search Outcome: No results were returned from any search. The investigation failed to uncover a single issue, epic, or merge request related to the specified topics. This indicates one of the following possibilities:

• The information exists under different terminology not covered by the extensive search queries.
• The documentation for this data transfer is located in a system or format not accessible during this research.
• The searched database did not contain the relevant items.

Conclusion

While the GitLab Testing Agreement v3 provides the legal consent for GitLab to process data during the use of experimental features, it does not specify what data is collected. The specifics would likely be feature-dependent and governed by GitLab's standard Data Processing Agreement.

Due to the lack of discoverable issues, epics, or other development items in the available data, we cannot provide a definitive list of the data transferred or the internal items tracking this work.