Are you tracking your health with a device? Here’s what could happen with the data
By Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times (TNS)
Every day millions of people share more intimate information with their accessories than they do with their spouse.
Wearable technology — smartwatches, smart rings, fitness trackers and the like — monitors body-centric data such as your heart rate, steps taken and calories burned, and may record where you go along the way. Like Santa Claus, it knows when you are sleeping (and how well), it knows when you’re awake, it knows when you’ve been idle or exercising, and it keeps track of all of it.
People are also sharing sensitive health information on health and wellness apps, including online mental health and counseling programs. Some women use period tracker apps to map out their monthly cycle.
These devices and services have excited consumers hoping for better insight into their health and lifestyle choices. But the lack of oversight into how body-centric data are used and shared with third parties has prompted concerns from privacy experts, who warn that the data could be sold or lost through data breaches, then used to raise insurance premiums, discriminate surreptitiously against applicants for jobs or housing, and even perform surveillance.