Biosignals in Sanctuary: Consent, Limits, and the Bluetooth Beta
In a browser with Web Bluetooth, Sanctuary can connect to a standard Bluetooth Heart Rate Service after explicit consent. Every signal stays off until the user opts in, account sync is separate, and slower-cadence adaptation remains dismissible and non-diagnostic.
What to remember.
One standard Bluetooth heart-rate/HRV path is available in compatible browsers.
Heart rate and HRV are context signals, not diagnoses or wellness scores.
Consent is per signal, device-first, easy to clear, and separate from account sync.
The useful detail.
What Sanctuary supports today
Routine triggering remains time-based. After consent, the active Sanctuary room can connect to a watch or chest strap that exposes the standard Bluetooth Heart Rate Service. Camera, EEG, SpO2, emotion inference, and proprietary wearable APIs are not supported.
Why heart rate and HRV require restraint
Heart rate and heart-rate variability change with movement, breathing, sleep, illness, medication, device fit, and many other factors. A consumer reading can be useful context without identifying why it changed. Sanctuary will not translate a value into a diagnosis, stress grade, or claim about a person's health.
How the signal may shape the room
The current use is intentionally small: when recent heart rate is elevated from an on-device baseline, Sanctuary can use a slower 5-1-8-2 breath cadence. The user can dismiss the adaptation in one tap. A reading does not start focus automatically, punish a value, or replace professional care.
The data boundary
Processing starts on the device. Each signal requires explicit consent, and account sync is a second opt-in. Settings provides one place to turn permissions off and clear local biosignal data. Stored consent metadata appears in the user's JSON export.
Direct answers.
Does Sanctuary measure heart rate today?
Only after explicit consent and an explicit Connect action, using a device and browser that support the standard Bluetooth Heart Rate Service. It is optional wellness context, not medical monitoring.
Can HRV diagnose stress or anxiety?
No. HRV is influenced by many factors and a consumer reading does not diagnose stress, anxiety, or another condition.
Will Sanctuary upload biosignals automatically?
No. Raw readings stay in memory on the device. Derived session summaries sync only if the user separately enables account sync.
Read the evidence.
Frontiers in Public Health: Heart rate variability biofeedback
Peer-reviewed context on resonance-frequency breathing and HRV biofeedback; it does not establish a diagnosis from a consumer reading.
Related guides
A calmer cue, built in.
Use Sanctuary for the 20-20-60 rhythm: focus, eye rest, guided breathing, and optional sound without treating a wellness tool as medical care.