The U.S. Supreme Court docket overturning Roe v. Wade final week has reignited the dialog about privateness inside period-tracking apps.
With abortion now outlawed or restricted in lots of states, privateness consultants are cautioning that knowledge entered into period-tracking apps may very well be used towards a consumer who had or thought of having an abortion.
That knowledge may very well be susceptible to a subpoena in a prison case and even bought to a 3rd celebration — like an activist group on both aspect — that’s excited by that sort of data. Any info saved digitally is also uncovered in a knowledge breach.
There are methods to higher shield your knowledge in a well being app — like utilizing a paid app that solely shops info in your system — however there isn’t a 100% risk-free choice to trace durations in an app.
You’ll need to weigh the potential safety dangers towards comfort for your self.
Ought to You Give up Utilizing a Interval-Monitoring App?
So what must you do proper now? Listed below are some choices to guard your information:
- Swap to paper and pen. Till there’s extra info and precedent, the most secure choice is to not use a period-tracking app and return to a pen-and-calendar technique of monitoring. Sure, an app is handy however there’s no assure that your knowledge is 100% protected.
- Delete your account. If you happen to give up utilizing an app, deactivate or delete your account if attainable earlier than deleting the app.
- Change your privateness and permission settings. If you happen to do use a period-tracking app, choose the very best privateness setting accessible and use a paid app as your knowledge is much less more likely to be tracked or monetized. Verify your permissions, too, to see what the app has entry to in your cellphone and prohibit these as wanted.
- Transfer your knowledge out of the cloud and onto your system. Make it possible for any knowledge you set into an app is just saved in your system and the app has strict privateness requirements and takes extra safety measures, comparable to anonymizing info.
Your Knowledge Has Already Been Shared
There have already been examples of period-tracking apps selecting to share private well being knowledge with third events.
Flo — a girls’s well being app with greater than 100 million customers — shared delicate info with Fb, Google and different platforms till the follow was outed in 2019. Flo reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission final yr over deceptive customers that knowledge can be saved non-public.
Flo not shares your private knowledge and has introduced plans to launch an “anonymous mode” for elevated id safety.
There’s a historical past of information sharing in much less particular well being apps, too. A 2019 study revealed in The BMJ medical journal discovered that 79% of well being apps shared knowledge from their customers outdoors of the app.
“Sharing of consumer knowledge is routine, but removed from clear,” researchers concluded.
Many well being and health apps — from Apple Well being to Fitbit to Garmin Join — supply the flexibility to trace durations, so hold these apps in thoughts when evaluating your safety.
HIPAA Gained’t Shield You
In contrast to what you share with a medical supplier, period-tracking apps aren’t certain by HIPAA (Well being Insurance coverage Portability and Accountability Act), which protects your well being info.
Well being care suppliers and your medical health insurance firm do need to hold your medical information and something you inform them non-public.
All which means that any info in a well being or period-tracking app isn’t protected below HIPAA and may very well be disclosed with out your consent or data, relying on privateness insurance policies.
Past apps sharing your info for their very own use, the most important concern is that your knowledge may very well be subpoenaed in an investigation or court docket case or bought by a 3rd celebration.
The place Your Knowledge Is Saved Issues
How your knowledge is saved in a well being or period-tracking app and the app’s privateness coverage are necessary.
You don’t personal well being knowledge saved within the cloud by a period-tracking app. The corporate owns that info and will be subpoenaed to launch it to a court docket. The bar is decrease for a subpoena than a warrant, which implies your knowledge is much less safe. Your info is also in danger if the corporate has a knowledge breach.
Nonetheless, you do personal knowledge that’s solely saved domestically in your system. A search warrant can be required to acquire that info, providing extra safety on your period-tracking knowledge.
Make sure you learn by way of the app’s disclosures about knowledge and privateness earlier than simply clicking that you just agree and evaluate any insurance policies that you just’ve already consented to. What you discover might affect your determination to make use of or give up the app.
Michael Archambault is a senior author with The PNW specializing in know-how. Johna Strickland is a senior editor with The PNW.