“The fact that GDPR applies is not that relevant in this case. The company also tweeted that it would have a “primary legal duty under European law” not to disclose any private health data and it would “not respond to any disclosure request or attempted subpoena of their users’ health data by US authorities”.īut just because data is being processed by a European company, doesn’t mean that it is entirely immune from US prosecution, said Lucie Audibert, a lawyer at Privacy International, a global NGO that researches, litigates and advocates against abuses of technology and data by governments and corporations. But Clue does not track users’ precise location, and says it does not store sensitive personal data without a user’s explicit permission. The company’s website says the app collects device data, event and usage data, in addition to a user’s IP address, health and sensitive data it may use for the purpose of improving the app, the services, and preventing abusive use of its service. The Berlin-based app Clue said it was “committed to protecting” users’ private health data and that it was operating under strict European GDPR laws. Two of the most popular period trackers in the US, Flo and Clue, have more than 55 million users combined. The Berlin-based period tracker app Clue says it does not store sensitive personal data without the user’s explicit permission. They have helped make women’s lives easier in many ways, from family planning and detecting early signs of health issues to choosing the perfect time for a holiday.
Nearly a third of American women have been using them, according to a 2019 survey published by the Kaiser Family Foundation. “But every company has their individual storage and privacy policy about how they use and how long they store data,” Spector added.Ĭycle trackers are popular for a reason. “If they are trying to prosecute a woman for getting an illegal abortion, they can subpoena any app on their device, including period trackers,” said Sara Spector, a Texas-based criminal defense attorney, and ex-prosecutor. In a state where abortion is a crime, prosecutors could request information collected by these apps when building a case against someone. As with various other apps, cycle trackers collect, retain and at times share some of their users’ data. The trend already started last month when a draft supreme court opinion that suggested the court was set to overturn Roe v Wade was leaked, and has only intensified since the court on Friday revoked the federal right to abortion.
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