The billion-dollar sector has come under fire for its careless handling of personal data.
The market for women’s health apps is expected to reach over $18 billion by 2031, with millions of users worldwide. However, they are some of the least reliable apps. Along with personal data like phone numbers and email addresses, they also gather information about users’ menstrual cycles, sexual life, and pregnancy status. Some of these apps have drawn criticism in recent years for allegedly violating users’ privacy.
Researchers presented their findings in May at the Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems in Honolulu, highlighting a number of ongoing problematic practices.
The group examined the data management and privacy policies of 20 of the most well-liked health applications for women available on the Google Play Stores in the United States and the United Kingdom. They discovered cases of secretly collecting private user information, discrepancies in privacy policies and privacy-related app features, faulty data deletion procedures, and more.
Additionally, the researchers discovered that several apps compromised users’ anonymity by connecting user data to their web searches or browsing. To use a data-deletion option, several apps required the user to specify if they had an abortion or miscarriage. The study’s authors note that this is an illustration of dark patterns or coercing a user into disclosing personal information.