Period-tracking app Flo introduces ‘anonymous mode’ after Roe v Wade ruling

Period-tracking app Flo has decided to add a new “anonymous mode” feature to let users remove personal data like names, email IDs and technical identifiers from their profiles.

The move comes in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling to overturn Roe v Wade, giving rise to concerns that period-tracking apps could be used by law enforcement authorities to access data and prosecute those seeking abortions.

The app released a statement in which it stated that the “anonymous mode” feature had already been planned but the process to roll it out was expedited in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling on abortions.

“Flo will always stand up for the health of women, and this includes providing our users with full control over their data,” Susanne Schumacher, Flo’s data protection officer was quoted as saying by NPR.

“Flo will never share or sell user data, and only collect data when we have a legal basis to do so and when our users have given their informed consent. Any data we do collect is fully encrypted, and this will never change.”

The app emailed all its users on 29 June to inform them of the feature and said it will be made available in the coming weeks.

Ms Schumacher added that once a user activates anonymous mode, their account would be stripped of personal identifiers.

“If Flo were to receive an official request to identify a user by name or email, Anonymous Mode would prevent us from being able to connect data to an individual, meaning we wouldn’t be able to satisfy the request,” the email said.

The app informed users that they could request to have all their personal information deleted from the app by emailing customer support.

Flo had earlier come under heavy criticism for sharing its users’ data. An investigation by the Wall Street Journal found that the app informed Facebook when a user was on their period or if they intended to get pregnant.

Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reached a settlement with Flo last year after it alleged in a complaint that Flo had promised to keep user heath data private and use it only to provide the app’s services to users but the app had instead “disclosed heath data from millions of users of its Flo Period & Ovulation Tracker app to third parties”.

The FTC pointed out that these third parties “provided marketing and analytics services to the app, including Facebook’s analytics division, Google’s analytics division, Google’s Fabric service, AppsFlyer, and Flurry”.

Andrew Smith, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection said at the time that consumers “need to be able to trust” apps that “collect, use, and share sensitive health information”.

“We are looking closely at whether developers of health apps are keeping their promises and handling sensitive health information responsibly,” he said.

Under the settlement, Flo must undergo an “independent review of its privacy policy and obtain user permissions before sharing personal health information”.