'Big Brother' Might Peek At Your Ovulation Tracking App: New York AG

NEW YORK — With laws surrounding fertility and abortion rights shifting, privacy experts warn that information about menstrual and ovulation cycles collected to help track cycles or aid in fertility could also be used as evidence of a pregnancy being terminated by overzealous prosecutors.

Letitia James offered tips on how to protect the privacy of women seeking medical care, including abortions. The New York attorney general also provided advice to help prevent unwanted digital tracking and data sharing.

"People use fertility tracking apps and location services every day, but if they’re not careful their personal information can end up in the wrong hands," James said. "With abortion rights in jeopardy, it’s more important than ever that everyone take their digital privacy seriously. I urge everyone, especially those visiting abortion clinics or seeking abortion care, to follow the tips offered by my office and be more careful of the apps and websites they use. Safe, accessible abortion care is the future that we are fighting for and I am committed to protecting every woman’s reproductive freedom."

Recent reports indicated that certain websites and consumer apps, like those women may use to track fertility and menstrual cycles, have been collecting and sharing consumers' personal information such as detailed reproductive history, physical location and other personal information, James said. That data can then be unknowingly shared with third parties and then used against individuals seeking abortion care or those who help them, without their knowledge, she explained.

Lawmakers in New York have vowed to protect the right to abortion in the state. Part of those protections is expected to include enhanced privacy protections for medical records and health information provided to third party health and fertility tracking apps.

"It is critical that the privacy of those seeking abortion services is protected, given the threats of legal action against both patients and providers from other states,” State Senator Liz Krueger said. "I am working with Attorney General James and my colleagues on legislation to enhance privacy protections, and commend the attorney general for taking this proactive step and providing patients with valuable information about how to better secure their personal information.”

Attorney General James recommends that individuals seeking abortion care consider taking steps to protect their digital privacy:

• Turn Off Location Services and Ad Personalization On Your Devices: Before going to a sensitive location, like an abortion clinic, you can adjust your phone settings to turn off location services and ad personalization, preventing apps from sharing that information with third parties. Tips from digital experts on how to change your location settings can be found here. Information on how to change ad settings can be found from Apple and Google. If you need to use location services on your device, you can find information on resetting the device's advertising id, before and after your visit, from Apple and Google.
• Use a VPN and Private Web Browser: To limit data sharing, you can use a private browser, which can block website trackers, and a virtual private network (VPN) on your devices.
• Send Messages via End-to-End Encrypted Platforms: When messaging someone about abortion care, use a secure messaging service that uses end-to-end encryption, making it difficult for third parties to spy on you.
• Be Careful About What You Share on Social Media: You should make your social media account private so that third parties cannot find out information about you.
• Manage Your Online Privacy Settings: You can adjust your account’s privacy settings to limit how big tech companies collect and share your data. Google Maps collects information about all the locations you have visited or searched, but you can find out how to limit the location history information associated with your account here.

If you believe you are being tracked when trying to obtain abortion care, you can contact the Attorney General's office for help by completing and submitting a complaint here or by calling (800) 771-7755.