"In a new report, vpnMentor warns your smartwatch is more than just a fitness tracker it's a window into your daily life. It monitors your heart rate, logs your sleep patterns, detects signs of stress, and even records your alcohol consumption. But where does all that sensitive data go? Who gets to see it and what do they do with it?"
"Health and fitness data is extraordinarily sensitive when harvested to sell ads. But so is your precise location, and roughly 63% of the wearable devices analyzed record location data. And many wearable technology companies claim they don't sell your data. But vpnMentor warns that while this may technically be true, some still share your information (even if it is sometimes anonymized) with service providers, research groups, or advertisers."
An analysis of 117 wearable devices from 33 major brands found that smartwatches monitor heart rate, sleep patterns, stress indicators, alcohol consumption, and other health metrics. The analysis found roughly 63% of devices record precise location data. Health, fitness, and location data are highly sensitive when harvested for advertising or research. Several wearable companies share or sell personal data to marketing partners, service providers, research groups, or advertisers, sometimes after anonymization. Seven brands—Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, Amazfit, Meta Quest, Ray-Ban Meta, and Tile/Life360—explicitly share or sell personal data to third-party advertisers. Google explicitly declares not to use health data for advertising, and Apple limits data sharing to cases with user permission.
Read at www.forbes.com
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