Is it the right time for the new Apple watch to have women's health features?
Apple may control intimate access to information about its users' wombs if rumors are to be believed. Apple's announcement could cause alarm if it doesn't handle this issue with delicacy and sensitivity.
According to rumors from the Wall Street Journal, the new watch might include features like fertility planning. It would be a natural progression from menstrual cycle tracking. Unlike cycle tracking which uses machine learning from your menstrual history, the fertility feature would use a sensor that measures the fluctuations in body temperature. Apple Watch has features that measure blood oxygen level, electrocardiogram, heart rate and sleep patterns.
Tweet may have been deleted(opens in a new tab)
The issue of what tech companies do with women's health data has never been more important. Facebook turned over private messages between a teenage girl and her mother to the authorities in order to prove that they broke Nebraska abortion laws. Meta said there was no mention of abortion in the search warrant, and that they were complying with an investigation of "alleged illegal burning and burial of a stillborn infant." Since we know tech companies give information to law enforcement that can put people behind bars, a world in which data- tracking of this sort leads directly to arrests and convictions for abortions is easy to imagine.
Data gathered about you is not in your possession, which is the biggest challenge in the reproductive rights space right now.
The data that you no longer own is at risk of being hacked. It can be sold to other people without your knowledge. Flo reached a settlement with the FTC for misrepresenting where its data was being shared. It told Facebook when a user had their period or indicated that they wanted to get pregnant.
Modern gadgets don't store this information locally and leave it at that. Data goes into a server or the cloud instead of being deleted in certain cases. "That's a huge improvement if Apple is going against the grain and designing this hypothetical feature with local, encrypted data storage instead of cloud storage," said King.
Apple says the health features on the current Apple Watch protect user data in many ways, apart from Medical ID which provides medical information to first responders without the need for a password. It is end-to-end secure if you back up your health data in iCloud. The data is end-to-end secure if you use two-factor. You can access all of these features through the Health app on your phone. It is riskier to sync your devices.
Apple has a strong focus on user privacy. When you use Apple's voice assistant, the audio is processed on your phone and not on Amazon's server. Safety Check is a feature that will allow users in domestic violence situations to quickly remove access to their devices and data.
Even with strict built-in privacy, law enforcement can still access your device. "If they were trying to use this data to understand your reproductive cycle, then we get into that fight around 'can they make me unlocked my watch?'" King said. Can they force me tounlock my phone? Is there a way to get rid of that data fast?
There was a lot of concern surrounding period tracking apps and how user data could be used to bring about criminal charges in states where abortion was not allowed. The lack of consumer privacy protections mean that risks extend far beyond the use of Apple watch functions or third-party apps. In states where abortion becomes illegal for content in their search history, text messaging and more, people could be accused of being involved in abortion.
Period tracking apps are trying to make sure that their data is safe. Flo launched "Anonymous Mode" which removes any identifiable user information, Glow asserted that it has never and will never sell user data, and Stardust announced that it was the first app to offer end-to-end encryption.
Period tracking apps have not been asked to give over user data in criminal investigations. There are loopholes after the example of Facebook being kept in the dark about the evidence it turned over.
Turner Lee, Editor in Chief of TechTank, said that Apple has been doing a better job than other applications. Their health data is "encrypted and inaccessible by default," and the company has a history of respecting user privacy.
Apple protects its users better than any other company.
Tech companies are moving ahead with technology that gathers data on people. According to the Financial Times, Amazon is testing palm-recognition payment technology in Whole Foods stores and Facebook wants to use your data in the Metaverse.
What's the reason? King said that it was a sensor in search of a solution. Users are kept bound to the products of the companies that use that solution. It may be time to rethink where we leave our digital mark in a climate like this.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
