Should You Delete Your Period-Tracking App to Protect Your Privacy?
- The Personal Data on Your Phone Has Little to No Protection ...
- Internet Search History and Text Messages Can Put You at Risk, Too ...
- More Legislation Is Needed to Protect Digital Privacy ...
- Safer Period-Tracking Options ...
The privacy problem with menstrual cycle tracker apps
From the beginning, all of my Hormonology apps have been 100% private. There has never been any way for my app team or I to see any information that a user puts in. I can’t access your cycle length, your diary or notes or even the types of emoticons you use in your Cycle Calendar. All information is stored on your own device.
So why are app developers giving my data to researchers?
You may have read or heard that app developers aren’t making any money off of sharing your data with researchers. They’re doing it out of the goodness of their heart to advance science. Well, that’s not exactly the entire reason.
But, does privacy really matter anyway?
When an app tracks your emotional states, physical changes and health issues, and you can type personal notes into it, it’s more than just an app. This is your diary. This is your healthcare record. This is a record of your life.
Get it in writing–but still be cautious
I’m saddened and disappointed to see that many of my peers in the menstrual cycle research community are vigorously encouraging women to share personal data that includes your emotional states, day-to-day behaviors and health.
Switch to a paper menstrual cycle tracker journal
I was at the forefront of menstrual cycle tracker apps. Now I’m encouraging you to go old-school: Keep a paper menstrual cycle journal. Use a plain notebook. Use a Bullet Journal. Or use my Hormonology Menstrual Cycle Tracker Journal, which includes more than 70 categories to track and can be customized to include even more.
The Inherent Risks of Reproductive Surveillance
- Back in 2014, researcher Deborah Lupton laid bare the ethos behind these apps — of which there are now hundreds, if not thousands — telling The Atlantic, "When you look at these types of apps, they're completely about the surveillance of pregnant women," she said, "making them ever more responsible and vigilant about their bodies for the sake of th...
The Problem with Privacy Laws
- What's more, any data voluntarily inputted by a user to these apps isn't necessarily covered by HIPAA, the federal health privacy law that protects your personal health information from being disclosed without your knowledge or consent. According to The Washington Post, even though there are HIPAA-based rules about data security, plenty of health-based apps — including those t…
A Judgment Call
- At this point, it's too early to tell exactly how restrictive individual states' abortion laws would be should Roe be overturned. Still, given that at least 22 states already have laws that could ban abortion to varying degrees, it's understandable if you are concerned about your privacy and safety going forward. In a worst-case scenario, "even a search for information about a clinic coul…
The Personal Data on Your Phone Has Little to No Protection
- Our phones are reservoirs for our most intimate data, according to Danielle Citron, JD, an expert in privacy law at University of Virginia and author of the forthcoming bookThe Fight for Privacy: Protecting Dignity, Identity, and Love in the Digital Age. When we use apps, such as period-tracking apps, we are freely handing over personal and private information about ourselves—an…
Internet Search History and Text Messages Can Put You at Risk, Too
- The same risks that come with period-tracking apps can also apply to your internet search history. This information can be easily accessed if you're not using a privacy browser. Again, there are no protections from HIPAA regarding the health information you browse online. "Our searches are information owned by search companies and subject to sale,"...
More Legislation Is Needed to Protect Digital Privacy
- There's an urgent need for lawmakers to act and pass legislation protecting our digital privacy. There's also a need for companies to step up and commit to protecting (and not selling) our health data. According to Hong, there's a lot private companies can do to protect sensitive health data, but the challenge is that those techniques don't always align with their business models. F…
Safer Period-Tracking Options
- Period-tracking apps are useful tools for many people, and there are some period apps that are safer than others. The experts in this piece recommend using Drip, Euki, or Periodical asthese appsstore the data locally on your phone rather than uploading your data to the cloud (in which case the app owns, controls and stores your data). If law enforcement, data brokers, or a private …