Discover the booming women’s health app market, set to exceed $18 billion by 2031 with a global user base. Despite their popularity, these apps face trust issues due to privacy concerns. They gather intimate data like menstrual cycles, sexual activity, and pregnancy status, along with personal information like phone numbers and email addresses. Recent scrutiny has revealed privacy breaches in some of these apps.
The team scrutinized the privacy policies and data handling practices of 20 top female health apps on the U.S. and U.K. Google Play Store. They uncovered instances of covert data collection, inconsistencies in privacy policies, flawed data deletion processes, and more. Shockingly, user data was sometimes linked to web searches, jeopardizing anonymity. Certain apps even required users to disclose sensitive information like miscarriages or abortions to access data deletion features, a practice known as dark patterns.
Lead researcher Lisa Mekioussa Malki from University College London discussed the privacy implications of these findings with Science News. The interview sheds light on the risks associated with using these apps.
2024-05-29 08:15:00
Source: www.sciencenews.org