Hamilton, New Zealand, Jun 19 (The Conversation) Period-tracking apps have become popular digital tools to aid in menstrual, reproductive, and general health management. However, how these apps collect and use users’ data presents potential risks.
Many of these apps encourage users to log not just their menstrual cycle details but also information related to sexual activity, medications, sleep quality, exercise, social interactions, and menopause symptoms. Beyond this, they often gather location data and other personally identifiable information.
The risks associated with period-tracking apps are heightened in regions where abortion is illegal since law enforcement might access user data upon request. Our recent research delves into how aware users in Aotearoa New Zealand are about these risks. We found a spectrum of understanding and perceptions, ranging from indifferent to deeply apprehensive about digital tracking's implications for reproductive rights.
Privacy, Data, and Risk The first period-tracking app launched in 2013, and since then hundreds have been developed, amassing hundreds of millions of downloads globally. According to a recent analysis, app downloads are especially high in North America, Europe, Australia, and Aotearoa, with Flo, Clue, and Period Tracker dominating the market.
Some apps can link with and import data from other apps and devices such as the Oura smart ring and Apple Health, both collecting personal health metrics. Similarly, Flo integrates data from various health apps.
A recent review of period app privacy policies revealed they commonly collect a range of personally identifiable data.
Personal Health Data and Third Parties Some research participants reported using these apps for over a decade. Consequently, these apps hold extensive databases of their users' intimate health data and other personal information, some of which the users may not have intended to share.
This data is often utilized by third parties for commercial, research, or other purposes, sometimes without the users’ explicit consent or knowledge. One study discovered that many period apps shared more data with third parties than publicly stated in privacy policies.
Another study indicated that apps change their privacy policies without acquiring user consent, and they may infer sensitive information not explicitly provided by users by combining data. In 2021, Flo settled with the US Federal Trade Commission over allegations of sharing user data with marketing and analytics firms without user consent.
Privacy policies often state that user data can be accessed by law enforcement upon request, which causes significant concern in areas where abortion is illegal. While users may log pregnancy data explicitly, pregnancies can also be inferred or predicted from other data, potentially exposing a user's miscarriage or abortion information.
Understanding the Risk in New Zealand The investigation of user attitudes towards period-tracking app risks revealed that around half of the participants weren't concerned about their data. Some envisaged positive applications for their data, such as improving apps or contributing to reproductive healthcare research, often marketed as potential benefits by these apps.
However, some participants expressed concerns about their data, adopting strategies to minimize risks by limiting the information they logged. Many concerned users appeared resigned to the uncontrolled use of their data, with statements like "there's no such thing as private data these days." Others noted that "everyone using the internet acknowledges that data might be accessed and used by third parties." Following the overturn of Roe v. Wade in the US in 2022, about a third contextualized their worries around reproductive rights and abortion access.
Some questioned whether similar circumstances could arise in New Zealand. One participant drew upon concepts like rangatiratanga and mana motuhake (self-determination) when reflecting on data from period apps. She expressed concerns about international political shifts potentially affecting Aotearoa: "knowing that I don’t have full control or rangatiratanga over the data I provide. I worry for all users about what this information can be used for in future, as much as we like to say ‘this is New Zealand, that would never happen here’, we have no idea."
With gender and reproductive rights increasingly at risk worldwide, these concerns are justified and reasonable.
Study participants reported diverse reasons for using period-tracking apps, such as planning for periods, monitoring pain levels and communicating them to doctors, aiding conception efforts, and learning more about their bodies.
Some users found period-tracking apps empowering, despite others perceiving them as risky and feeling limited in mitigating these risks. Menstruators should not have to compromise data privacy and security to benefit from period-tracking apps. It is imperative for legislators and policymakers to comprehend both the advantages and risks and ensure robust data protection measures are implemented.
(Only the headline of this report may have been reworked by Editorji; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)