Period tracking apps are a “privacy risk” to women, University of Cambridge researchers have warned in a new report.
The technology experts said private data from the apps, which track menstrual cycles and are often used by women who want to conceive, were being collected and “sold at scale”.
Menstrual data can provide insights into women’s health and their reproductive choices. The apps contain data on exercise, diet, medication, sexual preferences, hormone levels and contraception use.
This information was a “gold mine” for consumer profiling and was often being sold on to third-parties, the report said.
[I]n the wrong hands, the data collected by the apps regarding pregnancy status could result in health insurance “discrimination”, risks to job prospects or even domestic abuse.
Source: Women’s data from period tracking apps ‘being sold at scale’