Health apps pose a privacy risk, but experts provide this advice

Thursday, September 10, 2020 (American Heart Association News)-Your heart rate, blood pressure, or weight can be increased, thanks to thousands of free or inexpensive devices, similar to ordering a dispatch or food delivery on your smartphone. A health app that tracks with just a few taps.

However, you may unknowingly pass your health data to a third party each time you click.

As the popularity of health apps has skyrocketed, experts and health care providers have begun to warn consumers of hidden dangers. In May, the American Medical Association called on lawmakers and the medical industry to install “regulatory guardrails” to protect the privacy of patients of all kinds in the digital age.

Until that happens, Health app users are senior authors of new research on privacy issues and apps, unless they’re protected from passing data to technology giants and marketing companies to be targeted in advertising. Mohammed Abdullah says.

The study, presented at the American Heart Association’s Virtual Hypertension Science session starting Thursday, surveyed 35 different diabetes mobile apps, and found that all apps were exposed to third parties, even if they weren’t listed in the app’s privacy policy. I found out that I am providing. Studies are considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

“At this point, there are no restrictions on what companies can do with this data,” said Abdullah, a medical student at the University of Texas School of Medicine in Galveston. “As technology and health care become more intertwined and businesses spend billions of dollars on health care apps, it’s becoming increasingly important to ensure check and balance.”

He said data about health apps is not protected by HIPAA, a 1996 law protecting the health information collected by doctors and healthcare systems.

“For now, it’s like an unprotected Wild West,” said Dr. David Grande, author of a study on health privacy in the digital age, published in July at JAMA Network Open. “Health privacy concerns are growing at an astronomical pace, but we still have an obsolete view.”

For example, Grande said many Americans are unaware that if their health data is collected, it will be available online forever. In Europe, the “right to forget” online privacy law provides consumers with some protection. But in the United States, digital health information is “immortal.”

“People don’t understand all the digital footprints left behind every time they interact with the Heath app. Frankly, it’s very difficult to understand. Who the heck is a long and complex privacy contract? Would you like to read?” said Grande, head of policy at the Leonard Davis Institute for Health Economics in Philadelphia at the University of Pennsylvania.

It could be a daunting task like that, but Abdullah read the agreement[同意する]Asking people to take 5 minutes to know what happens to the data when they click.

“We have to weigh the risks against the benefits,” he said. “This app helps patients keep track of their blood sugar levels, but is it worth using if they know the data may be shared?”

For consumers who are concerned about privacy, one danger is that ads appear in health apps.

“When you open the app and find the advertising service, you can see that the data is being sent to a third party in some form (shape or form),” Abdullah said.

Another tip is to check the app’s automatic settings and make changes that protect your privacy, such as turning off location. But that also has drawbacks, says Grande. “In some cases, turning off privacy settings can make apps harder to use.”

Like many internet-based services, health apps are usually free to download, and app makers make money through advertising and selling data to third parties, he said.

However, that business model may change as legislators begin to set more stringent guidelines and consumers are more willing to pay for healthier apps.

“Consumers list their health very high in terms of where they want privacy,” Grande said. “I think the thirst for regulation and privacy control will grow as they grow more uncomfortable as all aspects of their lives are tracked.”

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