Your health-tracking apps may be sharing data with advertisers and data brokers

Health-monitoring apps that record blood pressure, glucose levels or medication schedules frequently upload the data to cloud servers and share it with advertising and analytics partners, as shown by multiple FTC settlements involving GoodRx, BetterHelp, Flo Health and others. Because most of these apps fall outside HIPAA, they are only subject to general consumer-protection rules, though Senator Bill Cassidy has introduced legislation to broaden privacy protections, which remains pending.

Researchers have found that data brokers purchase and resell health-related profiles, including conditions like diabetes or hypertension, at prices ranging from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands per year. Such information enables scammers to craft convincing fraud calls that reference a victim's medical condition. Consumers can reduce future data collection by turning off device-level ad tracking, disabling marketing-related options inside each app, and using opt-out links required by laws such as the CCPA. Existing data already circulating online can be removed through manual requests or third-party removal services, though complete erasure is unlikely.