privacy issues in women’s health apps
Apps in the “FemTech” space — especially those tracking periods, fertility, pregnancy, menstrual health, and related data — collect deeply personal, sensitive information: menstrual cycle history, sexual activity, pregnancy status, even miscarriages or abortions. Because of this, the stakes around privacy, consent, data sharing and security are significantly higher than for many other kinds of apps.
Recent studies show many such apps do not handle this data in ways aligned with best practices for privacy and safety. For example:
- A scoping review found among 23 popular women’s health (mHealth) apps: all collected personal health-related data; only 70% displayed a privacy policy; about half requested user consent; 87% shared user data with third parties.
- A 2024 study by University College London (UCL) and King’s College London found that 35% of analysed female health apps claimed not to share data but contradicted that in their privacy policies, and many lacked safe data-deletion functions or transparent consent flows.
Why It Matters
Because of the nature of the data collected, poor practices can lead to real harms:
- Stigmatization or criminalisation: In jurisdictions where abortion or certain reproductive choices are restricted, fertility/menstrual data could expose users to legal risk.
- Discrimination: Data leaks or third-party sharing might lead to insurance, employment or social discrimination.
- Loss of user control: If apps collect data before consent or make deletion difficult, users lack meaningful control over their own info.
- De-anonymization risks: Linking of reproductive/menstrual data with browsing behaviour, device identifiers, third-party trackers can compromise anonymity.
- Trust and transparency gap: Users may assume health data is treated with utmost care, but the findings suggest otherwise.
Findings from Research
Here are some of the concrete patterns emerging:
- Among 23 popular women’s health apps: 100% collected personal/health data; 48% began collecting data without registration; 39% required no consent before use.
- In the UCL/King’s study of 20 apps: 35% claimed no third-party sharing but contradicted that in policy; 50% said they would not share health data with advertisers yet were ambiguous about what “health data” included; 45% stated they were not responsible for their third-party partners’ practices despite claiming vetting.
- Some apps require users to disclose past miscarriages or abortions as a condition for using features like data deletion. This is a poor privacy practice especially for women in risky legal contexts.
- The broader FemTech space has been flagged for “extensive collection of sensitive personal and medical data, heavy third-party tracking libraries, and deviations from foundational data-privacy principles.”
Look Out For — Tips for Users
If you use (or plan to use) a women’s health or period/fertility tracking app, consider the following safety checks:
- Check privacy policy: See what data it collects (menstrual cycle, sexual activity, pregnancy history, etc.), who it shares with, how it deletes data. If the policy is missing, vague or hard to understand → caution.
- Consent and opt-out: Does the app ask for consent before collecting sensitive data? Are there clear ways to opt out of non-essential tracking or sharing?
- Ability to delete data / anonymous mode: Can you delete your data easily? Can you use the app without providing identifiable info?
- Third-party sharing / ad SDKs: Does the app link with advertisers, analytics, third-party trackers? The more it does, the more data might leak or be repurposed.
- Region & regulation: Apps developed under strong privacy jurisdictions (e.g., EU with GDPR) may offer better protections. Apps under weaker regulations may carry higher risk.
- Minimise sensitive entries: Consider if you actually need to track highly sensitive details (e.g., sexual activity or abortion history) inside the app. If yes, weigh the privacy implications.
- Use device-only tracking if possible: Some apps allow tracking locally on the phone without cloud syncing or data sharing — safer option.
- Regularly review permissions: Check permissions (location, analytics, microphones, etc.) and disable anything unnecessary.
- Keep backups and off-apps alternative: If you’re concerned, you might track cycles via a paper calendar or offline app that doesn’t share data.