Mozilla says most period tracker apps share sensitive health data

In short: A Mozilla Foundation review found that most popular period tracker apps do a poor job protecting users’ sensitive reproductive health data.

What happened

Mozilla, working with Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center, reviewed the privacy practices of six period tracker apps. The group graded each app on how well it protected user data.

According to the review, the app Stardust scored 2 out of 10, the lowest in the group. Mozilla researcher Shoshana Wodinsky said the app sent details such as birth control type, pregnancy status, moods, and specific symptoms to an analytics company called RudderStack. Analytics firms are like mail sorting centers for data, because they can route information to other places.

Wodinsky also said Stardust contacted third-party trackers as soon as the app opened, even before a user entered anything. The review said the app shared a persistent user ID and provided no in-app way to turn the sharing off. It also shared an advertising identifier with Facebook, which can help tie activity in the app to a person’s existing profile.

Mozilla’s top score went to Euki, a nonprofit-run app that earned 10 out of 10. Mozilla said Euki does not require an account and keeps health data on the phone. It also offers features like a PIN, automatic deletion, and a decoy screen.

Why it matters

Period tracker data can be among the most personal information on a phone. If an app shares that data widely, users may not know who can see it now or later, and they may have limited ways to stop it.

Source: Wired