Advertisers find great value in cycle apps data collection
Women's Health Apps: A Double-Edged Sword
These days, menstruation tracking apps are a common sight on women's smartphones. They're primarily used to monitor cycles, sometimes for family planning or even contraception. But according to a report from the prestigious University of Cambridge, these apps could be a veritable "goldmine" for advertisers — they collect vast amounts of data, ranging from exercise and diet to medication intake, sexual preferences, hormone levels, and contraceptive methods.
Are Cycle Apps Leading to Unintended Pregnancies?
The report claims the financial value of this data, freely given to profit-driven companies, is "significantly underestimated." It warns that data from cycle tracking apps could lead to issues like discrimination by insurance providers and restricted access to abortions.
The authors advocate for better regulation of the burgeoning "Femtech" industry — digital products focused on women's health and wellbeing — to protect users. Apps should offer clear consent options, while public health organizations should develop alternatives to commercial cycle tracking apps.
The Dark Side of the Femtech Boom
Sociologist Stefanie Felsberger, from the University of Cambridge, who specializes in gender and technology, shares her concerns in a statement. According to her, while menstruation apps are marketed as tools for empowering women, the businesses behind these services operate on a model of commercial exploitation — selling user data and insights to third parties for profit.
This commercialization poses "real and terrifying risks to the privacy and security of women," Felsberger claims. At the very least, she argues, apps should offer a "delete function" that deletes both app data and stored server data.
Public Health Apps as the Solution?
Felsberger suggests apps operated within public health systems, which are not primarily profit-driven, could "mitigate data breaches, provide urgently needed data on reproductive health, and give users more control over their menstrual data."
In 2024, the three most popular cycle apps were downloaded an estimated quarter of a billion times worldwide. However, the EU provides enhanced legal protection for menstruation data. The focus should be on enforcing existing regulations.
Enrichment Data:
- The Femtech industry, particularly menstruation and reproductive health apps, is under increased scrutiny due to concerns about data privacy and user protection.
- In response to privacy fears, regulators are taking action to restrict companies from collecting or sharing sensitive reproductive health data.
- Menstruation and reproductive health apps pose several critical privacy risks, including third-party data sharing, data commodification, and legal and safety risks.
- To address user concerns, Femtech developers and regulators are exploring ways to enhance privacy and build trust through data storage practices, anonymity options, transparency and consent, and personalization and respect for privacy.
- Challenges remain in the Femtech industry, including excessive permissions, regulatory gaps, and the need for closer scrutiny of third-party service integration to prevent unintended data sharing.
- The science of women's health, particularly within the Femtech industry, has faced criticism due to concerns over health-and-wellness data privacy.
- With the potential for discrimination by insurance providers and restricted access to health services, it is crucial for regulators to enact stricter policies in the health-and-wellness sector, focusing specifically on women's health apps.
