Lawmakers want Apple to halt menstruation apps which share user data

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Some tracking apps may share user data without users' knowledge.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

Democrat lawmakers want Apple and other tech giants to rethink their stance on menstruation-tracking apps.

In a letter sent Tuesday to Apple, Google, and Samsung, New Jersey senator Bob Menendez and representatives Bonnie Coleman and Mikie Sherrill voiced their concern about menstruation- and fertility-tracking apps which share user health data without permission.

“Your company is well aware of the gaps in data security and instances where a user’s personal information and data was sold without the user’s explicit consent and knowledge,” the politicians write in their letter. “The continued failure of your industry to be out front on these issues and consider the best interests of your users, especially on reproductive health data, shows either a glaring disregard for privacy concerns or gross incompetence.”

Privacy issues with menstruation apps?

A study by Consumer Reports has found that some of the most popular period tracker apps share users’ health data with marketers for targeted ad purposes and health researchers. They do this without gaining the express consent of users. Consumer Reports‘ report, published January, notes that:

“As period tracker apps grow in popularity and utility, so does concern about what happens with the personal information users input. Unlike medical records held by doctors and hospitals, the information collected by health-focused apps isn’t covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), a 1996 federal law that limits where healthcare providers can share your health information.”

UK-registered charity, Privacy International, says that 61% of the menstruation apps it tested automatically transferred data to Facebook once they were opened.

“It is critical that women are able to make informed choices about their reproductive health and data; and that includes how reproductive health data is shared,” the lawmakers write in their letter.

Apple has placed a big focus on user privacy. Apple has booted many apps from the App Store, or simply failed to approve them, when they share data unlawfully.

Source: USA Today

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