Unveiling Privacy and Security Gaps in Female Health Apps

Abstract: Female Health Applications (FHA), a growing segment of FemTech, aim to provide affordable and accessible healthcare solutions for women globally. These applications gather and monitor health and reproductive data from millions of users. With ongoing debates on women's reproductive rights and privacy, it's crucial to assess how these apps protect users' privacy. In this paper, we undertake a security and data protection assessment of 45 popular FHAs. Our investigation uncovers harmful permissions, extensive collection of sensitive personal and medical data, and the presence of numerous third-party tracking libraries. Furthermore, our examination of their privacy policies reveals deviations from fundamental data privacy principles. These findings highlight a significant lack of privacy and security measures for FemTech apps, especially as women's reproductive rights face growing political challenges. The results and recommendations provide valuable insights for users, app developers, and policymakers, paving the way for better privacy and security in Female Health Applications.