data privacy
In letters to Monument, Workit Health and Cerebral, the senators expressed concern about reports that the companies are sharing health data with third parties like Google and Facebook.
The researchers found 20 of the 23 apps reviewed shared data with third parties. Only 16 displayed a privacy policy, and three collected data before consent.
Also: Study lends support to smartphone PPG pulse oximetry; Happify Health adds new language support to digitial mental health programs.
Digital health and data experts illustrate the risk of sharing anonymized fitness data and call for systematic reform.
Contact tracing apps, symptom checkers and other data-driven tools provide tangible benefits, but experts say that more can be done to educate individuals on what information they collect and how it's handled.
A recent survey suggests that patients value knowledge of how exactly their personal information will be used.
The proposed legislation would make companies seek consent from consumers before collecting personal data to track COVID-19, among other data privacy requirements. No Democratic senators have attached themselves to the bill.
The MobiHealthNews staff shares its thoughts on how HIPAA, investor funding, digital health commercialization and other focus areas will be changing over the course of the new year.
A UK-based research group reports that period tracking app Maya and MIA are sharing sensitive data with Facebook.
Researchers noted transmissions of specific sensitive data, such as a user’s drug list, that could de-identify the user and be repurposed for commercial uses.