A close up view of an unrecognizable Caucasian entrepreneur texting on her smartphone while standing indoors.
Share this @internewscast.com

As many as 50 million individuals have utilized a period or cycle tracking app (CTA), often unaware that the personal information entered can be sold to third-party companies for advertising and research purposes.

Now experts have warned that data could be dangerous in the wrong hands and Australian women “have a right to be angry” about it, one expert says.

These apps, which monitor menstrual cycles and fertility, constitute over half of the thriving ‘femtech’ market, projected to exceed US$60 billion (AU$92.4 billion) by 2027.

A close up view of an unrecognizable Caucasian entrepreneur texting on her smartphone while standing indoors.
Up to 50 million people have downloaded a period or cycle tracking app (CTA).(LinkedIn)

“I do think that people have a right to be annoyed by this, they have a right to be angry about it, and we have a right to demand better.”

Research from 2023 claimed that Australians who use 12 of the most popular fertility apps (Clue, Flo, Glow, My Calendar, Period Calendar, Natural Cycles, Ovia, Pregnancy+, Pregnancy Tracker, WomanLog and What To Expect) are often presented with misleading privacy messages and aren’t given control over how their data is used for advertising and research purposes.

Katharine Kemp, an Associate Professor from the University of NSW’s Law and Justice faculty who conducted the study, indicated that this could lead to the exploitation of users when their data is sold to other parties.

But Ford revealed that’s nothing new in the digital age.

“When we engage with any app, a social media app, even some photo apps, they all have the same relationship with private companies and selling data,” she said.

Apps are required to disclose if they share user data with third parties but those disclosures are often buried in long terms and conditions agreements, which can make it hard for users to understand how their personal data may be used.

While many Australians are willing to take that risk when it comes to their public accounts on social media apps, the data they put into a CTA is more sensitive and personal.

It can feel like more of a risk to use these apps knowing that private information may be sold to third parties who can use it for targeted advertising (such as ads for baby clothes when a person falls pregnant), among other things.

“They market themselves as medical tools, some even claiming to help diagnose conditions, but are not regulated or held to medical device standards, risking harm to women,” Copp said.

It doesn’t help that many CTAs employ an ‘all or nothing’ data privacy agreement wherein users must agree to having their data shared in order to use the app.

“You either say yes or you don’t get to use it,” Ford said.

“It’s unacceptable and I just think that regulators have more of a responsibility here.”

The Cambridge report made six recommendations to mitigate risks posed by CTAs selling user data to third parties and “reframe reproductive care as vital healthcare”.

They included incentivising research on menstrual and reproductive health, raising awareness and digital literacy around period tracking, and public health bodies developing their own CTAs as an alternative to commercial apps.

The report also called for stricter regulation of CTA data as sensitive health information, improving how CTAs manage and protect user data, and making them more transparent.

“We need health providers who we trust to have their own apps, and we need to be able to put the decision back to the people using the apps, and make it very clear about what’s involved,” Ford said.

“There should also be an opportunity to not be part of data sharing.”

Australians deserve stronger protections around these apps instead of expecting individual women to research the data privacy policies of every CTA on the market to find the least risky option.

Ford wants stricter regulations that would force CTAs and other apps to be more transparent about how user data is used and urges Australians to contact their elected officials to take action on the issue.

Copp encouraged Australians to “think carefully about the types of data they would be happy to have shared or enter the bare minimum of data required to give basic cycle information, whilst keeping in mind this can still be shared and profited off”.

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like
Julian Ryan's final words to his mother as floodwaters quickly engulfed their trailer home were simply, "I love you."

Heroic Father Who Lost His Life Protecting Family in Texas Flooding Disaster

Julian Ryan’s final words to his mother as floodwaters quickly engulfed their…
A zoo keeper is having emergency surgery in hospital being "grabbed" by a big cat at a zoo in southern Queensland.Emergency services were called to Darling Downs Zoo in Pilton, south of Toowoomba, this morning after the woman was attacked in an enclosure by one of the big cats.

“Tragic Event: Zoo Reports Owner’s Family Member Lost Arm in Lioness Encounter”

Emergency crews responded to an incident at Darling Downs Zoo in Pilton,…
'Extraordinary figure' in motorsport killed in Taronga Zoo bike crash

Prominent Motorsport Figure Tragically Dies in Taronga Zoo Bike Accident

A passionate cyclist who lost his life in a collision with a…
Premier's pledge after visiting fire-damaged synagogue

Premier Promises Support Following Visit to Fire-Hit Synagogue

Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan has pledged to extend all necessary support to…
Desperate search for 27 missing girls after flood disaster

Intense Effort to Locate 27 Missing Girls Following Flood Catastrophe

At least 51 people, including 15 children, were killed, with most of…
Diddy gets standing ovation from inmates after court victory, his lawyer says

Diddy Receives Standing Ovation from Inmates Following Legal Win, Reports His Lawyer

Sean “Diddy” Combs received a standing ovation from fellow inmates upon returning…

Coroner Finds Kumanjayi Walker’s Death Avoidable and Highlights Rolfe’s Tendency for Unnecessary Force

Warning: this article contains distressing and violent content and the photo of…
A circular structure found inside the lost city.

Archaeologists Unearth Ancient City in Peru Dating Back 3,800 Years

An ancient, lost city dating back to between 1800 and 1500 BC…
The US economy has shrunk in the last quarter, with Donald Trump's trade war blamed.

Trump’s Temporary Tariff Pause Nears Its End, Leading to Uncertainty

The 90-day deadline President Donald Trump set for countries to make trade…

Advocates Call for Greater Awareness and Understanding of Motor Neurone Disease

A rare debilitating disease that eats away at the nervous system to…
Former NRL star 'relieved' after cops drop weed and stolen cash charges

Ex-NRL Player Feels ‘Relief’ as Police Drop Marijuana and Theft Charges

A celebrated former NRL sprinter has been exonerated from accusations of drug…
Mortgage holders are widely predicted to get more relief tomorrow, as the RBA makes it's latest interest rate decision.

Expected Savings for Australian Homeowners from a July Interest Rate Reduction

Mortgage holders are widely predicted to get more relief tomorrow, as the…