Raw Data Access Policy.
BAARK customers can request access to the underlying microbiome data generated from their pet's sample, in addition to the standard report. This page sets out what is available, what is not, and how to request it.
Who this is for.
Most customers find the BAARK Biome Health Engine report covers what they need: a readable summary of their pet's gut and oral microbiome, with organism-of-interest flags and dietary discussion points to bring to their vet. The raw data export is for customers who want more than that, typically clinicians, integrative-health practitioners, veterinary professionals, and researchers who are already fluent in microbiome data and want to look at the underlying numbers.
You do not need a research or clinical background to request a data export. It is available to any customer who orders a BAARK Complete Microbiome Profile.
What you can request.
Three tiers of data are available. Tiers 1 and 2 are issued together as the standard data export. Tier 3 is issued on specific request.
| Tier | What's included | Format | Turnaround |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Species abundance table | Full per-species relative abundance for all bacterial and fungal taxa detected in the sample, with read counts and taxonomic confidence calls. | CSV | 5 business days |
| 2. QC and methods package | Sample QC metrics (total reads, mean read length, classification rate), pipeline version, GTDB database version, fungal reference database version, and parasite qPCR Ct values for the seven targets. | PDF + CSV | 5 business days |
| 3. Raw sequencing reads | De-multiplexed FASTQ files for the customer's own sample(s), Oxford Nanopore basecalled with the production pipeline version current at the time of sequencing. | FASTQ (gzip) | 10 business days |
What is not included.
The BAARK reference cohort (other pets' data and the wellness ranges derived from it), the BAARK Biome Health Engine scoring functions and rule sets, the curated organism-of-interest panels, and any other customer's data are proprietary to Altered Carbon Synthetic Biology Pty Ltd and are not part of the export.
How to request a data export.
Email hello@baark.com.au
From the email address on the order, including:
- The order reference number
- The pet's name
- Which tiers you'd like (Tiers 1 and 2, or Tiers 1, 2 and 3)
You will receive a secure, time-limited download link valid for 30 days. One free export per sample is included with the BAARK Complete Microbiome Profile. Subsequent re-exports for the same sample are issued at cost.
A note on reanalysis.
If you intend to run the FASTQ data through your own bioinformatics pipeline, a few points worth knowing:
- BAARK classifies against GTDB r214. Different classifiers (Kraken2, MetaPhlAn, Centrifuge and others) and different database versions will produce different species-level calls from the same reads. This is expected behaviour for shotgun metagenomic data and does not indicate an error in either result.
- The methods note accompanying the export gives the exact pipeline and database versions used to generate your report, so any reanalysis can be benchmarked against the original.
- Where reanalysis produces materially different conclusions to the BAARK report, we are happy to discuss it. Email hello@baark.com.au with the details.
Data ownership and use.
You own the data generated from your pet's sample. Data is stored in Australia under the Australian Privacy Act 1988. De-identified taxonomic data may be used to improve the BAARK reference cohort and the BAARK Biome Health Engine; identifying customer or pet metadata is never shared without explicit consent. You can request full deletion of your data at any time by emailing hello@baark.com.au. See the Privacy Policy for full detail.
For researchers and clinicians.
If you are planning to use BAARK data at scale (multi-pet research projects, integration into a clinical practice, longitudinal cohort studies, or other applications beyond a single pet), contact us directly to discuss bulk access, custom export formats, and whether a research collaboration agreement would be appropriate.
Email hello@baark.com.au with a short description of what you have in mind.
Questions.
Email hello@baark.com.au.