My question:The study examined the privacy policies and data safety labels of 20 of the most popular of these kind of apps, which are commonly used to help women conceive.
It found a host of poor data-management practices, including some apps not having a delete function, even for highly personal information such as menstrual cycles and miscarriages.
"Mismanaging or leaking reproductive health data can lead to dire consequences, with blackmail, discrimination, and violence being among the worst," she added.
The issue of reproductive health data is particularly sensitive in the US following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the constitutional right to an abortion.
Some privacy experts are concerned that data from menstrual tracking apps could be used to prosecute anyone seeking to terminate a pregnancy.
Other key findings from the study include:
35% of apps claimed not to share personal data with third parties but contradicted this in their privacy policies
50% assured users that health data would not be shared with advertisers, but were ambiguous about other data collected
45% of privacy policies denied responsibility for third-party practices, despite claiming to vet them.
What do you tell your daughters about this sort of thing?
