Menstruation apps: What happens to your data and how it can be used to criminalize abortion

"What does the volatile global political environment have to do with the menstruation of millions of people? With whom do menstrual cycle apps share our medical data? And how can this information be used to criminalize women who choose to have an abortion? More and more people are downloading menstrual tracking apps on their phones. Hence, these questions are becoming a major concern for researchers and academics."

"Menstrual tracking apps turn personal health information into data that's collected, analyzed and sold. This poses risks and harm to users and society, as menstrual tracking data can be used to monitor people's reproductive lives, says Dr. Stefanie Felsberger, lead author of the Minderoo report. Femtech the market for technology products focused on women's health and wellness is a lucrative business, expected to reach $60 billion by 2027."

"Menstrual cycle apps contribute at least 50% of this growing market and present themselves as closing the gender health gap, according to the Minderoo report. The three most popular apps alone have 250 million downloads overall. These apps collect information about the user's menstrual period, symptoms, emotions, exercise, sexual preferences and contraceptive methods among other data and generate predictions about ovulation dates, PMS and their next cycle."

Menstrual tracking apps gather extensive personal data including periods, symptoms, emotions, exercise, sexual preferences, and contraceptive methods. Collected data are analyzed to produce predictions about ovulation, PMS, and cycle timing despite evidence that many apps lack medical accuracy. The femtech market is rapidly growing and lucrative, with menstrual apps composing at least half of the sector and top apps exceeding 250 million downloads. Investigations find a real risk that app data can be accessed by private companies for commercial purposes and by governments for law enforcement, potentially enabling surveillance of reproductive lives and criminalization of people who seek abortions.

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