Menstrual tracking app data in the wrong hands ‘could result in risks to job prospects, workplace monitoring'
Experts say companies could sell the data of those who use menstrual cycle tracking apps. (Pexels)
Menstrual cycle tracking apps could jeopardize the safety and privacy of users, a new report warns, with personal data commonly sold to companies.
The stakes are high since period tracking apps have soared in popularity and become ubiquitous amid limited access to information, a lack of research and stigma about menstruation health.
A 2024 study estimates that global downloads for the three most popular menstruation cycle tracking apps surpassed 250 million.
Those who use apps that track periods often don't consider the data 'intimate' or commercially valuable, and need more protections from potential abuse of their personal information, according to the report released Tuesday, by The Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy (MCTD), an independent team of academic researchers at the University of Cambridge in the U.K. would split up this long list of proper names
'Menstrual tracking applications turn personal health information into data points to be collected, analyzed, and sold,' according to the report.
Data sold to companies, advertisers
The study noted the apps pose 'significant risks' for users as femtech has become a 'lucrative trend' and the user data is 'extremely valuable' for a wide range of companies, from those that developed the app to big tech firms and advertising industries.
Femtech refers to digital products, services or technologies promoting women's health and wellbeing, with period-tracking apps making up 50 per cent of the US$22 billion market in 2020.
'People vastly underestimate the commercial value of menstrual data and the extent to which it can provide insights into their political preferences, health issues, or reproductive choices,' researchers wrote.
The apps offer a way for users to track daily information on anything related to their menstrual health, such as menstrual cycles, predictions on periods, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), ovulation and fertility.
Security and privacy risks
To add to the concerns, researchers say the apps also pose risks to data security and privacy, noting it's widely used in the online advertising industry.
'Self-tracking data has been used to police people's reproductive choices, to undermine a user's testimony in court, and it can lead to increased vulnerability in intimate relationships, partner violence, risks to job prospects via employer access to CTA (cycle tracking application) data, workplace monitoring, or possible health insurance discrimination,' according to the report.
Meanwhile, the report also referred to 'severe security risks,' noting an example in the U.K. where period tracker data was used to charge women for illegally accessing abortion services.
Are period apps accurate?
The study notes many medical studies showed that the apps 'fail to accurately calculate cycle length or ovulation windows' and additional data from people is often not used to improve predictions. Rather, researchers say the information is 'predominantly a source of value' for the companies.
'With most apps providing no or very little information on how predictions are made, a 2023 study found that some users were encouraged to track more data to fine-tune their predictions and train an imagined algorithm,' it wrote.
While users commonly turn to the apps for help them conceive or prevent getting pregnant, people with irregular cycles or conditions such as poly-cystic ovary syndrome, endometriosis, or premenstrual dysphoric disorder may also use the apps to try to understand their medical issues. Many people use the apps to track their emotions and bodily functions as well.
Recommendations
The report recommends improving health care for and incentivising research on menstrual and reproductive health, such as through cycle tracking companies and research institutes working together. It encourages schools and organizations to help raise awareness about menstrual tracking for all ages.
Additionally, it recommends alternatives, such as public bodies developing apps that are 'trustworthy' and collect data in a 'responsible way.'
The report also calls for stricter regulation of menstrual tracking data as 'sensitive health information' in the United States and tighter enforcement of existing regulations in the U.K. and European Union. It suggests improving security through 'consent options,' clear and accessible privacy policies, and prioritizing data privacy and security in the app design. Apps could be more 'transparent' by providing clear information on how tracking data is used to make predictions, with interface options for those who cannot or do not want to become pregnant.
The report notes that not all women menstruate and not everyone with menstrual cycles is a woman. For instance, it wrote that children and teenagers have periods, trans men can menstruate and trans women can experience symptoms similar to premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Most apps are designed for straight cis women who want to get pregnant, it added.
David Young, a privacy and regulatory law expert in Toronto, told CTVNews.ca in a video interview Monday that Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act already follows the report's recommendations, though the law is 'not always enforced.'
According to Canada's federal privacy law, an organization must not require individuals to consent to the collection, use or disclosure of their information beyond 'explicitly specified, and legitimate purposes.'
'Assuming those specific and legitimate purposes are the tracking that the individual is seeking by use of the app, then they shouldn't be allowed to also require, as a condition of using the app, that they're going to sell that information to somebody else,' Young said. He noted Canada also faces a problem with companies selling consumers' medical data, including electronic health records.
Young said menstrual-related cycle data is considered 'sensitive personal health information.'
'And that has a very high standard of compliance under any privacy law, meaning that there must be clear ... consent to for whatever uses are going to be made of that information. So it's not something you can just use by way of implied consent.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Globe and Mail
7 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Yili Secures Four World Dairy Innovation Awards at the 18th Global Dairy Congress
AMSTERDAM , /CNW/ -- On June 18–19, the Global Dairy Congress 2025 was held in Amsterdam . At the forum, Dr. Ignatius Szeto, Assistant President of Yili Group, delivered a keynote speech titled " Innovating for a sustainable future " and shared Yili's latest innovative practices. On the opening day, the organizers unveiled the winners of the 2025 World Dairy Innovation Awards. Yili secured four World Dairy Innovation Awards and six commended Awards. Notably, Yili has claimed the World Dairy Innovation Awards for six consecutive years. Dr. Carolien van Loo , Head of Yili Innovation Center Europe, attended a roundtable forum on maternal and infant nutrition and breast milk research. Multiple star products from Yili's top infant formula brand, Pro-Kido, were featured as the Congress's officially designated products. At the Industry Leadership Forum, Dr. Ignatius Szeto systematically introduced Yili's global innovation practices across product innovation, maternal and infant nutrition, advanced dairy processing, and sustainable development. He emphasized: "Innovation is the driving force behind the sustainable prosperity of the dairy industry. Remaining consumer-centric, Yili dedicates itself to nutrition and health research across the full life cycle, keeps making core technological breakthroughs, and accelerates the commercialization of fundamental research outcomes—all of which contribute to the advancement of the global dairy sector." During the roundtable forum themed "Innovation in Pioneering a New Future for Global Maternal and Infant Health", Dr. Ignatius Szeto and Dr. Carolien van Loo engaged in in-depth discussions with experts including Jean-Christophe Kremer , Secretary-General of the International Special Dietary Foods Industries, and Richard Hall , Chair of FoodBev Media. The discussions focused on research about breast milk and maternal and infant nutrition. Dr. Carolien van Loo highlighted that Yili Innovation Center Europe, in collaboration with institutions such as Wageningen University and Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, has conducted pioneering research on HMOs. Their breakthrough findings demonstrated HMOs' health benefits in enhancing immunity, protecting gut barrier function, preventing pathogen adhesion, and promoting cognitive development. The annual World Dairy Innovation Awards were announced at the event. This year, Yili Group secured four awards for its high-quality products and outstanding performance in innovation. Zhenlao Light Cream from Yijiahao Cheese won the Best Artisan Product, Joyday Crunchy Choco Lava was awarded Best Ice Cream, Yili's patented multi-enzymatic lactose-to-GOS technology: Boosting Gut Health in Qinghuo Adult Milk Powder claimed the Best Intolerance-Friendly Innovation, and Satine Carbon-Reduced Organic Milk won the Best CSR/Sustainability Initiative. Staying true to its philosophy of "No Innovation, No Future," Yili consistently increases its R&D investment to provide comprehensive nutrition solutions for consumers across the full life cycle. To date, Yili has established 15 innovation centers across Asia , Europe , and Oceania. Moving forward, Yili will continue to align its strategy with consumer needs, drive growth through technological innovation, and foster global partnerships to deliver enhanced health value for consumers worldwide, aiming to enable the sustainable prosperity of the dairy industry.
National Post
2 days ago
- National Post
What we know about yawning, from why we do it to why it's contagious
Yawning is strange. Article content It's not obviously just mechanical, like a burp to release gas pressure, or just psychological, like a yelp to express fear or excitement. A yawn is more like a sneeze or a hiccup, an involuntary breath event that is sometimes more or less resistible. Article content Article content But what is really strange, almost unique among human behaviours, is that yawning is contagious. Article content New research on chimpanzees by a British team of cognitive scientists shows contagious yawning is not only common in other species, and can happen between species, but that it can also be induced in chimps by an obviously artificial humanoid robot, an android 'agent' that is just a creepy looking disembodied head and shoulders, and which doesn't even breathe, but which can still give a believable facsimile of a yawn. Article content Article content The paper, published this month in Nature Scientific Reports, details an experiment in which the chimps were shown three behaviours by the android: a full wide-mouth yawn, a more moderate gaping mouth, and a closed mouth. Article content 'The results showed that adult chimpanzees exhibited across-agent yawn contagion, with a graded response: the highest contagion occurred when the android displayed a fully wide-open mouth (Yawn condition), a reduced response when the mouth was partially opened (Gape condition), and no contagion when the android's mouth was closed,' the paper says. Article content Article content And the chimps did not only yawn in response to the yawning robot. They also 'engaged in behaviours associated with drowsiness,' basically by preparing a comfortable place to lie down. Article content Article content 'This suggests that yawning by an unfamiliar model may act as a contextual cue for rest, rather than merely triggering a motor resonance response,' the paper says. Article content Diverse species exhibit contagious yawning, certainly mammals like dogs and cats, but even fish, whose respiratory system shares evolutionary origins with our own. Article content Most vertebrates yawn, but those that are known to yawn contagiously are usually pack animals, somehow social. This suggests the evolutionary purpose of the yawn is at least partly at the level of the group, not just the individual. A sneeze just tries to blast stuff out of your nose, a burp just lets gas out of your belly, but a yawn means something to other people. Article content Not always, of course, Yawning might, for example, help cool the brain for optimal performance, as one theory holds. But yawning also involves empathy, as its contagious aspect shows. It is a social phenomenon, and catching, like laughter. Article content 'What I find strange is that if we see someone walking, we don't an feel urge to walk. But with yawning, we do,' said Ramiro Joly-Mascheroni, a research fellow in social and cognitive neuroscience at City St. George's University of London in the U.K., in an interview.
CTV News
2 days ago
- CTV News
U.K. warning reignites concerns over using weight-loss drugs while on birth control
A recent warning from the United Kingdom's drug regulator has renewed questions about whether popular weight-loss and diabetes medications could reduce the effectiveness of hormonal birth control. The U.K.'s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) issued an alert on June 5 about pregnancies among users of medications such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro, sometimes referred to as 'skinny jabs.' 'Women taking popular medicines for weight loss and diabetes… are being reminded to use effective contraception while taking these medicines,' the guidance said. Ozempic and Wegovy, which both contain semaglutide, and Mounjaro, which contains tirzepatide, are part of a class of medications known as GLP-1 receptor agonists. These drugs mimic gut hormones to increase insulin production, slow digestion and suppress appetite. 'These medications delay the absorption of food, so they may also delay or reduce the absorption of the birth control pill,' Dr. Togas Tulandi, chief of obstetrics and gynecology at McGill University Health Centre said in a video interview with CTV Tulandi noted that non-oral methods, such as intrauterine devices (IUDs) or implants, are not affected by weight-loss drugs and remain effective. The MHRA also advises people using the pill to use a barrier method, such as condoms- , reiterating that these medications should not be taken during pregnancy, while trying to conceive or while breastfeeding, due to limited safety data. 'Anyone who gets pregnant while using them should speak to their healthcare professional and stop the medicine as soon as possible,' the MHRA said. Although this is the first formal warning of its kind in the U.K., the issue has been circulating in online communities and medical circles. Some women shared surprise emergencies on platforms like TikTok and Reddit using the hashtag #OzempicBaby — with some saying it happened despite using the pill, and others linking increased fertility to weight loss or improved hormone regulation. While widely promoted online for weight loss, not all GLP-1 drugs are approved for that use. In Canada, Ozempic and Mounjaro are approved for Type 2 diabetes in adults with obesity or related conditions, and Wegovy for weight management. Health Canada told CTV in a statement that the U.K.'s alert is consistent with existing guidance in Canada. 'All Canadian product monographs for GLP-1 receptor agonists advise against using these drugs during pregnancy, and many include warnings about potential interactions with oral contraceptives,' it said. Health Canada says it continues to monitor the safety of health products and will take action if new issues arise. Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic and Wegovy, says no clinically relevant interactions have been found between semaglutide and oral contraceptives containing ethinylestradiol and levonorgestrel. However, the company still recommends patients discontinue use if they become pregnant or plan to conceive. 'Patient safety is a top priority for Novo Nordisk, and we work closely with authorities and regulatory bodies worldwide to continuously monitor the safety and efficacy of our products,' company spokesperson Marie-Pier Burelle said in a statement to Tulandi advises people hoping to conceive to ideally focus on weight loss first, then stop the medication and try to become pregnant. He also pointed to a lesser-known safety issue. 'If you're taking this type of medication and you're undergoing surgery, you should stop it at least two weeks before, because (while you take these medications) food absorption is delayed and when you undergo surgery, the food might still be in the stomach,' he said. Failing to pause the medication could increase the risk of aspiration, where food enters the lungs. He said some patients have had surgeries cancelled as a result.
