this post was submitted on 10 Mar 2024

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Menstruation cycle tracking app breached users' privacy, B.C. class-action lawsuit alleges (bc.ctvnews.ca)

submitted 8 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

64 comments fedilink hide all child comments

VANCOUVER - A British Columbia Supreme Court judge says a class-action lawsuit can move forward over alleged privacy breaches against a company that made an app to track users' menstrual and fertility cycles. The ruling published online Friday says the action against Flo Health Inc. alleges the company shared users' highly personal health information with third-parties, including Facebook, Google and other companies.

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[+] [email protected] -12 points 8 months ago (1 children)

There's not a word in this article about why this breach of privacy matters while others do not. It's not stated whether this was in the terms of service for the app, and whether those terms were ruled against.

All kinds of apps have been selling personal information for a long time, and it's been ruled before that it's allowed if they have the proper legalese in the terms of service. Did this app just not have any terms of service?

Why is it a breach of privacy for this app, but other apps doing the same selling of personal data is not?

[–] [email protected] 22 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

Why is it a breach of privacy for this app, but other apps doing the same selling of personal data is not?

From the article...

The lawsuit alleges that Flo Health misused users' personal information “for its own financial gain,” claiming breach of privacy, breach of confidence and “intrusion upon seclusion.”

IANAL, but my understanding, after having read the whole article, is that regardless of the fact that there may or may not have been an agreement between the app creator and its users, that they still ran foul of laws that cannot be waived by any sort of TOU/EULA agreement.

[–] [email protected] -3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I read the article too, and those things you quoted sound to me like things every app does.

Hence my question: what is different here?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

regardless of the fact that there may or may not have been an agreement between the app creator and its users, that they still ran foul of laws that cannot be waived by any sort of TOU/EULA agreement.

It's not a matter of something being different or not. It's no matter what, it's illegal. Law trumps any TOU/EULA.

[–] [email protected] -4 points 8 months ago (1 children)

So what are they doing that illegal that other apps aren't doing??

I really don't know how to be any more clear with this question.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

So what are they doing that illegal that other apps aren’t doing??

I really don’t know how to be any more clear with this question.

From the article…

The lawsuit alleges that Flo Health misused users’ personal information “for its own financial gain,” claiming breach of privacy, breach of confidence and “intrusion upon seclusion.”

[+] [email protected] -4 points 8 months ago (1 children)

[removed by mod]

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

they still ran foul of laws that cannot be waived by any sort of TOU/EULA agreement.

[–] [email protected] -3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

So what are they doing that illegal that other apps aren't doing?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

So what are they doing that illegal that other apps aren’t doing?

You're making an assumption that's not correct, and asking the wrong question.

Multiple apps can have the same legal problem, but the government/lawsuit only goes after one app at a time, the low-hanging fruit first.

As far as what's being done illegally, to cause the lawsuit...

The lawsuit alleges that Flo Health misused users’ personal information “for its own financial gain,” claiming breach of privacy, breach of confidence and “intrusion upon seclusion.”

[–] [email protected] 30 points 8 months ago

Periodical is no wifi, no bs and stored locally on your phone storage. Also is about 5mb in size so pretty minimal. If anyone is interested here's the link https://f-droid.org/packages/de.arnowelzel.android.periodical/

[–] [email protected] 68 points 8 months ago

Result: “sorry we shared your personal data, here’s a check for 38 cents. “

[–] [email protected] 35 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Come on, it is the 21st century.

Nobody should assume any other reason to create such an app than to harvest and sell personal medical data.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Unless:

https://bloodyhealth.gitlab.io/

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago

Unless:

https://bloodyhealth.gitlab.io/

The existence of this app should be spread far and wide for every woman to use, versus the privacy invading ones that are out there.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I am glad I finally got my wife use this Foss alternative instated of some garbage that sends your data to a proprietary server.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Do you know how well it works? Maybe I could suggest it to my girlfriend if she would be interested.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago

The App (Drip) gives you after about 3 months acurate times on when the period should start. If you want accurate fertility tracking your girlfriend will have to measure her basal temperature (ar best daily) and either look out for changing cervical mucus or change in cervix opening/hardness.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (4 children)

It's 2024. People still assume apps installed on their phones aren't siphoning every single 1 and 0 on your phone including your texts and recordings of your voice calls and then selling that data to a 3rd party advertising firm.

Why in FUCKS name would you put your menstrual cycle data on an app that some stranger made?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago

I think you may be way underestimating the number of people who have no idea the software they use is spying on them.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 8 months ago

If it's under free licence like MIT, GPL or alike app can be inspected what it does and anything out of place we can remove.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 8 months ago

Agreed. Although I think the usefulness of the apps are aimed at tracking fertility to help people get pregnant. Which is even more scummy that they sell the data.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 8 months ago

It's useful?

[–] [email protected] 41 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Wow, my girlfriend uses this. Time to get her a FOSS-grown solution. Fuck the corpos!

[–] [email protected] 12 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

here's one i found from a comment below

@[email protected]

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

They need to fix their SSL certificate.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 8 months ago

Seems like they didn't set www to redirect to the main site. If you go to https://dripapp.org it works fine.

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