Your menstruation tracker may be sharing more than you think: Hidden privacy risks

In today’s tech-driven world, privacy has emerged as a key issue. While period-tracking apps provide convenient insights into reproductive health, they often operate in a regulatory gray area that exposes users to significant privacy risks.

In a recent study, the Mozilla Foundation, the creator of the Firefox web browser, investigated the period tracking practices of famous tracker apps including Flo, Clue, Stardust, Spot On, Period Calendar and Euki.

There are growing concerns that such menstruation-tracking apps might share information with big tech companies including Meta, TikTok and Google.

At the heart of privacy concerns lies the overturning of federal abortion practices in the US in 2022. As per experts, the data such as menstrual cycles, pregnancy status, birth control use, moods, and specific physical symptoms, gathered by period trackers could be used in criminal cases or surveillance.

Types of privacy issues identified

In the study, Mozilla found that some apps share particular health information with third parties. Among all aforementioned apps, Stardust was found for sharing detailed reproductive health data to data management company, Rudderstack. The company was not explicitly mentioned in its privacy policy.

Many apps including Period Calendar and Stardust sent device ID numbers and usage data to third-party advertising and analytics platforms like Google, Meta, Microsoft, TikTok, and InMobi. This allows these companies to track users across the internet.

"Data collected from a period tracking app can be part of a whole tapestry woven from many different threads of surveillance. That can be very revealing,” said Sara Geoghegan, director of the Consumer Privacy Program at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, an advocacy group.

As per Mozilla’s report, the more worrisome part is that there is no way to prevent this sharing.

Some apps promote insecure web integration, For instance, the Spot On app by Planned Parenthood directs users to websites primarily for healthcare related searchers. Later, the user's browsing data was shared with analytical companies.

Most apps store user data on their own servers, creating a potential risk for data breaches or legal subpoenas.

Which app is suitable for period tracking?

According to Mozilla, Euki is the top recommendation because of its robust privacy policies. The app stores all data locally on the user’s device while excluding the need for an account. It also offers decoy mode to protect privacy.

Others apps such as Clue and Flo showed relative improvement due to past regulatory pressure. They give users the option of opting out of data sharing for advertising. Here is the downside, the app stores health data on their own servers.

The report found the privacy issues in Stardust, Period Calendar, and the website associated with Spot On due to their data-sharing practices and lack of user control over that data.

How do you protect your privacy?

Before choosing the app, you must assess the selection on these four questions:

• Who sees your health data: Does the app share data with third parties.
• Who sees that you have used the app?
• Where does the app store your data, like on servers or your device?
• What is the app’s track record like information related to previous scandals?