Menstrual tracking app data is a ‘gold mine’ for advertisers that risks women’s safety – report
www.cam.ac.uk
Cambridge researchers urge public health bodies like the NHS to provide trustworthy, research-driven alternatives to platforms driven by profit.

Cambridge researchers urge public health bodies like the NHS to provide trustworthy, research-driven alternatives to platforms driven by profit.

Women deserve better than to have their menstrual tracking data treated as consumer data - Prof Gina Neff

Smartphone apps that track menstrual cycles are a “gold mine” for consumer profiling, collecting information on everything from exercise, diet and medication to sexual preferences, hormone levels and contraception use.

This is according to a new report from the University of Cambridge’s Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy, which argues that the financial worth of this data is “vastly underestimated” by users who supply profit-driven companies with highly intimate details in a market lacking in regulation.

The report’s authors caution that cycle tracking app (CTA) data in the wrong hands could result in risks to job prospects, workplace monitoring, health insurance discrimination and cyberstalking – and limit access to abortion.

They call for better governance of the booming ‘femtech’ industry to protect users when their data is sold at scale, arguing that apps must provide clear consent options rather than all-or-nothing data collection, and urge public health bodies to launch alternatives to commercial CTAs.

  • Buffalox@lemmy.worldEnglish
    9410·
    6 days ago

    For christ sake, is there no open source option for such a simple task?

    Edit:
    2 people here could point to drip within 15 minutes of my post, and a third to the fact there are options on F-droid. So why the fuck don’t women just use that?
    Well i guess the ones with harmful advertising have better graphics or somemeting. Or the fact they allow advertising makes them more visible on google play. And you probably can’t even get drip on iPhones.

      • Wise@feddit.ukEnglish
        41·
        5 days ago

        Also trans inclusive which has the double benefit of not being the cliché pink. :)

    • Zak@lemmy.worldEnglish
      641·
      6 days ago

      So why the fuck don’t women just use that?

      They probably don’t know about it. If I search “period tracker” on Google Play, Drip is in about 40th place in the results. That’s several screens down, past a bunch of search suggestions, and the parts where it’s open source, on-device, and optionally encrypted aren’t clear until I tap on it and read the description.

      And you probably can’t even get drip on iPhones.

      There’s some irony in a comment dealing with people making decisions that are against their interests because they’re insufficiently informed speculating incorrectly about something like this when it’s easy to check. Drip is, in fact available for iPhone.

      • Blackmist@feddit.ukEnglish
        13·
        6 days ago

        Yeah, discoverability is a massive issue on the Play store. If it doesn’t bring Daddy Google 30% of whatever they shovel through in ad money or mtx, then you won’t see it.

        • Zak@lemmy.worldEnglish
          4·
          6 days ago

          I’m not sure what the best answer to that is. I don’t think it’s forcing Google to improve its search results.

          I want it to be the average person gaining a baseline level of computer and media literacy such that they seek out and find apps that cannot send sensitive data to third parties without the user’s clear intent, but I don’t think we’ll ever get there.

          • Blackmist@feddit.ukEnglish
            8·
            6 days ago

            Unfortunately I think the age of computer literacy came and went. Phones don’t even seem to want you to know that a file is a thing.

          • EldritchFeminity@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
            2·
            5 days ago

            Personal responsibility only gets you so far when the big money actively fights against it. I think the answer lies in both holding companies like Google to higher standards as well as improving access to the knowledge we need to navigate what the world has become. It doesn’t help anybody when the FBI has recommended people use an ad blocker for over a decade but nobody has ever heard them say it.

      • Buffalox@lemmy.worldEnglish
        23·
        6 days ago

        The fact that I got 3 responses that stated it is available on F-droid made me think that. F-droid does not have anything iPhone, because you can’t side-load on iPhone.

    • warm@kbin.earth
      423·
      6 days ago

      Because its effort. We have to get the average person to care about their security and privacy before they will bother using these alternatives. It’s much easier for them to download a popular one off an app store and have the data stick with them, than it is to download f-droid, find the right app, make sure its still supported and setup their own data backup.

      • ViatorOmnium@piefed.socialEnglish
        171·
        6 days ago

        People are mentioning drip, and that’s on the Play Store. It’s literally the same amount of effort as installing a surveillance app.

        • entwine413@lemm.eeEnglish
          25·
          6 days ago

          Does drip pay to have their app at the top of the list? Because that’s about how far most people look

        • warm@kbin.earth
          6·
          6 days ago

          People are not researching privacy conscious apps and typing it in. Drip isn’t even remotely close to being among the top results for a period tracker. That’s the point, the average person prefers convenience over privacy these days.

      • freeman@feddit.orgEnglish
        5·
        6 days ago

        To be honest, the backing up is not trivial for most.

        Even for me, while the technical aspect is no problem, the mental burden of thinking to do the backup and then the few minutes it takes to do the backup. Not a problem for a local only FOSS app but its quite a task to keep track of 10+ apps with different backup/export options, backup-passwords and so on. I use a ToDo-App with recurring tasks but still

      • Buffalox@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1020·
        6 days ago

        People don’t give a shit, and prefer to stay uninformed. Maybe more Darwin awards are necessary?

        Edit: Maybe that was out of line, but I’m just so fucking tired of people who choose to be ignorant.

          • Buffalox@lemmy.worldEnglish
            74·
            6 days ago

            I admit that was out of line, but for fucks sake, there are so many stupid people doing stupid things it’s unbearable. Voting for Trump for example. And the Russian people supporting the war on Ukraine.

              • Buffalox@lemmy.worldEnglish
                13·
                5 days ago

                I bet if I looked at your smart phone or computer I would see plenty of services you use that compromise your privacy.

                I bet you won’t.
                Edit:
                This is about advertising, and I have zero advertising on both my phone and desktop computer.
                But thanks for downvoting my response based on actual knowledge of my own systems. While up-voting an idiotic completely unsubstantiated claim.
                People here a weird sometimes!?

        • chunes@lemmy.worldEnglish
          21·
          6 days ago

          I know people can read it if they want. I don’t see what it is to you.

      • Buffalox@lemmy.worldEnglish
        55·
        6 days ago

        I admit that was out of line, but for fucks sake, there are so many stupid people doing stupid things it’s unbearable. Voting for Trump for example. And the Russian people supporting the war on Ukraine.
        I’m just so fucking tired of how ignorant people choose to be.

    • ace_of_based@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      153·
      6 days ago

      i’d like to point out that it shouldn’t be on women (or anyone) to be on constant guard against attacks on their privacy.

      yes, it is the state of the world, but the attitude of your comment is victim blaming.

      let’s not forget that while we on Lemmy may be aware of the danger of mass surveillance tech, we’re not the majority.

      snowden told us years ago how fucked everything is, and surveillance has only grown since then. let’s not forget that it is not normal that corpo data-mining is the norm (along with included de-facto warrantless surveillance). Even though we all should be better, nobody should have to be as careful as we are.

      hell, let’s be real. As long as we use a smartphone, we’re not being careful enough either.

      • Buffalox@lemmy.worldEnglish
        28·
        6 days ago

        Oh for fucks sake, I already apologized twice.
        But still walking alone into a dark alley at night in a questionable neighborhood is not the smartest thing if you don’t want to be assaulted.

        • ace_of_based@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          132·
          6 days ago

          if you don’t want to be assaulted.

          you don’t have to apologize, that’s not my point. in fact i want you to quietly think about how what you said before, and just now might be wrong til it hits home for you.

          i know it seems like im baiting an answer. its the net, arguing is fun, nothing’s stopping you from replying, but I’m being straight with you. stop victim blaming. you’re not stupid, im not saying you are. *please, stop. it only helps the oppressor, and we’re all getting stomped by that boot.

          i want you to know im not tryina bust your chops specifically. sure, i picked your comment to reply to, but it’s nothing personal.

          I’m also speaking broadly to the room, reminding everybody what we already know; that how we look at pervasive surveillance n how we got to live under it is absolutely broken.

    • Botzo@lemmy.worldEnglish
      13·
      6 days ago

      Besides drip, Euki (github) is another option on both the play store and iOS.

      Note that both of these options are maintained by tiny teams with limited resources.

    • Nima@leminal.spaceEnglish
      12·
      6 days ago

      erm, I do use Drip actually. i have used it for over a year now as I didn’t want trackers knowing my cycle.

      women do use drip. we just don’t advertise it, usually.

      i have also recommended it to friends who were looking for a more simple app than these google play store ones.

    • Skvlp@lemm.eeEnglish
      4·
      6 days ago

      Drip looks to be available on Google Play, App Store and F-Droid.

      It probably has a lot to do with informing people.

    • GreatAlbatross@feddit.ukEnglish
      3·
      6 days ago

      Feedback I’ve heard about Drip was that the interface was slightly wanting. Which is a shame. Sample of one, bear in mind!

    • meneervana@lemm.eeEnglish
      2·
      6 days ago

      I think many women just do not know it exists or do not know about the risks of using other apps

    • Ulrich@feddit.orgEnglish
      33·
      6 days ago

      Because they don’t care. Even if it leads to potential abortion legal charges.