Period tracker app Flo introduces ‘anonymous mode’ after Roe outcome

After a week since the Roe decision, the period tracker app Flo has announced the introduction of an ‘anonymous mode’ that will protect users from identification. 

The announcement has taken place on the app’s social media, as a response to users concerns about how third parties might be able to access their health data. Flo has reassured its users that the new ‘anonymous mode’ will remove personal emails, names and technical data from the users’ accounts.

Users will be able to access the anonymous mode through the Android and iOS app’s settings with the possibility of still enjoying most of the app’s benefits. 

The company stated that this new feature was already in the making, but that the Roe decision accelerated its development.

Anonymous Mode will be available to all users in the coming weeks. pic.twitter.com/ZlgnUvTIlI

— Flo Period Tracker (@flotracker) June 30, 2022

Rachel McConnell, director of user experience, said in a statement “now, more than ever, women deserve to access, track, and gain insight into their personal health information without fearing for their safety.”

“By offering anonymous mode, we’re granting another layer of security for our users so they can continue to gain valuable health insights about their bodies without anxiety or concern,” she added.

“Flo will always stand up for the health of women, and this includes providing our users with full control other their data,” added Susanne Schumacher, Flo’s Data Protection Officer. “Flo will never share or sell user data, and only collects data when we have a legal basis to do so and when our users have given their informed content. Any data we do collect is fully encrypted, and this will never change.”

Founded in April 2015, Flo is the most popular women’s health app globally with  a 230 million community that enjoys its features in 22 different languages. Flo provides personalised health insights, expert tips and cycle and ovulation tracking to support women during their reproductive lives aiming to build a better future for female health. 

Despite the introduction of this new feature, Flo has been subjected to some allegations by the Wall Street Journal that found that the app was sharing its users’ data with Facebook every time they logged in their period dates.

Following these allegations Flo has reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission that requires the app to review its privacy practices and get app users’ consent before sharing their data. 

While Flo denied the allegations, the investigation leaves room for skepticism about how period apps share their users’ health data and about how reliable they really are. 

Period apps and privacy after Roe reversal

On a typical period tracking app the user inserts what day her flow has started, when it stopped, how heavy it was and other possible symptoms. This allows the app to create patterns about the users’ periods, having access to when the next flow may come, when they might be most fertile, and mainly about when they miss a period.

The fear amongst women is that law enforcement could use personal data collected from these apps in order to identify women seeking an abortion.

Until this past May, a recent Vice investigation has found that anyone could buy weekly trove of data on clients at more than 600 Planned Parenthood sites around the US for as little as $160. 

This is possible only thanks to HIPAA, the 1996 American Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which only protects the privacy of personal data at a doctor office. The Act does not protect any data that tech companies or third-part apps collect from the user. 

Alexandra Reeve Givens, CEO of a Washington-based digital rights non profit, said “In the digital age, this decision opens the door to law enforcement and private bounty hunters seeking vast amount of private data from ordinary Americans.”

Multi-billion companies such as Google and Apple haven’t released any statement yet to inform their users on how they might cooperate with law enforcement. 

“Individuals seeking abortions and other reproductive health care will become particularly vulnerable to piracy harms, including through the collection and sharing of their location data,” said the four Democratic lawmakers who asked federal regulators to investigate Apple and Google.

“Data brokers are already selling, licensing and sharing the location information of people that visit abortion providers to anyone with a credit card.” They added.