Do Security and Regulation Failures Put Women’s Health Data, Their Privacy and Even Their Safety at Risk?

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Recent research led by Dr Maryam Mehrnezhad within the AGENCY project has uncovered significant privacy, security, and regulatory shortcomings in FemTech. Through multiple interconnected studies, the researchers demonstrated that current practices in FemTech leave sensitive personal health information vulnerable due to inadequate data handling, technical vulnerabilities in IoT devices, and failures in existing data protection regulations like GDPR and medical device laws. These failings expose users to risks of data misuse, discrimination, and security breaches.

The research identified several critical issues, including a lack of transparency in data collection practices, insecure Bluetooth pairing methods in FemTech devices, widespread GDPR violations in consent mechanisms, and the miscategorization of medical-grade FemTech as “Health & Fitness” in app stores. To address these problems, the researchers advocate for greater transparency from developers regarding data collection and sharing, the adoption of privacy-by-design principles, better enforcement of current regulations, and the creation of domain-specific regulations tailored to the unique risks associated with intimate health data in FemTech, emphasizing the need for a coordinated reform across technical, legal, and social dimensions to protect users.

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