How Much Do Pregnancy and Period Tracking Apps Share With Employers and Insurance Companies?
Some of the most downloaded medical apps in both the App Store and Google Play are mobile applications designed to help women better understand their bodies.
These apps provide users with information and guidance during arguably one of the most uncertain and uncontrollable parts of life. Very often, women use such tools to look for ways to better deal with feelings such as anxiety and anticipation before, during and after pregnancy.
The Growth of the FemTech Market
While tech companies develop this type of software and products to serve women, sometimes the main drive is to get the most out of the lucrative, newly born FemTech market.
According to Frost & Sullivan, a business consulting firm involved in market research, the FemTech market will reach nearly $50 billion by 2025. In the next five years, we will see more and more companies developing software, products and services meant to help women.
Some apps claim that their algorithms can have a positive impact on reducing premature births and can improve the chances of natural conception. Such apps sometimes also claim that they can identify signs of postpartum depression.
What Personal Data Do Pregnancy and Period Tracking Apps Collect?
While there is no harm in tracking menstruation cycles, improving nutrition and wellness using a smartphone app, most of the time users do not spend the time needed to go through the thousands of words in the terms and conditions section of those applications.
Consumers are sharing very intimate details with app developers without being fully aware that, in some cases, the very same data gathered ends up sold to third parties such as employers and insurance companies.
How FemTech Apps Make Money
Most of the time, FemTech apps are meant to make money out of targeted in-app advertising, often funded by fertility-support supplements, life insurance companies, cord-blood banking service providers and companies offering cleaning products.
However, one of the main streams of revenue comes from brokering the billions of data points gathered from women to third parties, including insurance companies and corporations with thousands of employees.
Why Would Insurance Companies or Employers Be Interested in This Data?
While app developers such as Ovia claim that they would never share full details with employers or insurance companies, very often technology-savvy companies can cross-reference such information with other data, making it possible to re-identify people.
Even though Ovia says that its contract forbids employers from attempting to re-identify any of the employees, if a company only has a few pregnant women on staff, bad actors might be able to connect the dots and make those women vulnerable to abuse.
How This Data Could Be Used Against Users
This may come in different forms. Insurance companies may decide to bump up costs, and employers might choose to limit the coverage of health-care benefits.
The Privacy Risks of Sharing Intimate Health Data
Another privacy concern that should be kept in mind is the fact that app developers may not be able to secure the intimate details users have shared with them.
Outdated cybersecurity practices may make millions of women using such apps more vulnerable. The data could be exposed to leaks or cybersecurity incidents.
With so many data breaches, hackers may not find it difficult to fill in the missing puzzle and identify people’s real identity, even if data is encrypted or real names are not stored.
How Users Can Protect Their Privacy
There is no harm in taking advantage of modern technology. Some app users concerned about privacy have found their way around the issue by not sharing real names or personal information, and by using throwaway emails to register for the apps.
Are Pregnancy and Period Tracking Apps Worth the Risk?
It is a fact that such applications can help women pick the right time to conceive and guide them through their pregnancies and postpartum journey of recovery.
Again, consumers must be aware that whatever they share on the app might end up in the hands of their employer, insurance companies or hackers.
While antivirus software cannot guarantee that an employer will not find a way to take advantage of the information purchased from app developers, having all smart mobile devices protected by quality software is undoubtedly an excellent way to make sure hackers will not be able to take advantage of users while they are most vulnerable.
