LONDON, England — A recent study has highlighted significant privacy and safety concerns associated with female health monitoring apps, potentially putting millions of women at risk of data mishandling and exploitation.
Conducted by researchers from King’s College London and University College London, the study examined the privacy policies and data safety labels of 20 popular apps commonly used for fertility tracking.
The findings revealed troubling data management practices, including the absence of delete functions for highly sensitive information like menstrual cycles and miscarriages.
Dr. Ruba Abu-Salma, the lead author of the study, emphasized the critical role these apps play in managing women’s health globally.
However, she expressed concern over the undermining of their benefits due to privacy and safety issues.
“While female health apps are vital to the management of women’s health worldwide, their benefits are currently being undermined by privacy and safety issues,” she said
Dr. Abu-Salma warned that mishandling or leaking reproductive health data could have severe consequences, including blackmail, discrimination, and violence.
The research, which focused on apps in the US and UK downloaded from Google Play stores, highlighted the sensitive nature of reproductive health data, especially in light of legal developments such as the Supreme Court’s decision on abortion rights.
Privacy experts fear that data from menstrual tracking apps could potentially be used against individuals seeking abortion.
Key findings from the study include discrepancies in data-sharing claims, ambiguity regarding sharing with advertisers, and refutation of responsibility for third-party practices in privacy policies.
Furthermore, the research noted that a significant portion of apps lacked explicit provisions for safeguarding user data from law enforcement or security authorities.
The booming female-focused technology market, expected to surpass $75 billion by 2025, underscores the urgency for app developers to prioritize user privacy and safety.
Lisa Malki, another author of the study, emphasized the need for developers to recognize the unique sensitivity of menstrual and fertility data and adopt practices that prioritize user safety and privacy.
“There is a tendency by app developers to treat period and fertility data as ‘another piece of data’ as opposed to uniquely sensitive data which has the potential to stigmatize or criminalize users,” she said.
The study’s authors call for greater accountability and transparency within the industry to ensure that female health monitoring apps uphold the privacy and safety of their users.
