Mobile health apps are growing in popularity as a way consumers can be more attuned with their health — yet 88 percent of these apps collect and track users' data, according to a June 17 report published in the British Medical Journal.
The study looked at 20,991 mobile health apps listed on the Google Play Store that did not require a paid subscription. Nearly half focused on collecting sensitive health data, such as symptom checkers and menstruation trackers.
Five things to know:
- Eighty-eight percent of mobile health apps had code allowing them to collect user data. However, just 4 percent actually sent the data to third parties.
- The top 50 third parties comprised 68 percent of data collection operations in apps' coding.
- Nearly a fourth of data transmission (23 percent) occurred on unsecure platforms.
- Twenty-eight percent of apps provided no privacy policies, which is against Google's terms of service. There were 3,609 reviews of these apps that raised concerns over privacy.
- In response to the study, a Google spokesperson said app developers should request permission to collect users' data, according to a June 17 article by The Guardian.
"Our Google Play Developer Policies are designed to protect users and keep them safe," they said. "When violations are found, we take action. We are reviewing the report."