Period Tracker Apps Used By Millions Of Women Are Sharing Incredibly Sensitive Data With Facebook

'Period tracker apps are sending deeply personal information about
women's health and sexual practices to Facebook, new research has
found. From a report:

UK-based advocacy group Privacy International, sharing its findings
exclusively with BuzzFeed News, discovered period-tracking apps
including MIA Fem and Maya sent women's use of contraception, the
timings of their monthly periods, symptoms like swelling and cramps,
and more, directly to Facebook. Women use such apps for a range of
purposes, from tracking their period cycles to maximizing their
chances of conceiving a child. On the Google Play store, Maya, owned
by India-based Plackal Tech, has more than 5 million downloads. Period
Tracker MIA Fem: Ovulation Calculator, owned by Cyprus-based Mobapp
Development Limited, says it has more than 2 million users around the
world. They are also available on the App Store. The data sharing with
Facebook happens via Facebook's Software Development Kit (SDK), which
helps app developers incorporate particular features and collect user
data so Facebook can show them targeted ads, among other functions.
When a user puts personal information into an app, that information
may also be sent by the SDK to Facebook.'

-- source: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/19/09/10/209208

Cheers, Peter
-- 
Peter Reutemann
Dept. of Computer Science
University of Waikato, NZ
+64 (7) 858-5174
http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/
http://www.data-mining.co.nz/
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