Cool but the proper solution is that they shouldn't have access to this data at all. It should be either stored locally, or encrypted on their servers. Companies not being able to access their consumer data should be the default.
this post was submitted on 11 Nov 2024
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Research conducted by the Mozilla Foundation indicates that the app referred to in the article, Clue, gathers extensive information and shares certain data with third parties for advertising, marketing, and research reasons.
Here are some menstruation tracking apps that are open-source and prioritize user privacy by keeping your data stored locally on your device:
So the government just needs to acquire this data from one of those third parties if it wants it.
so what they're really saying is they won't give it away for free
They do claim to not share any medical data with third parties though. See other comments for source.
I wouldn't trust them either way...
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Drip doesn't save anything to the cloud, it's all local to your device. I can't speak to the others.
Which does mean one has to backup and manually move your tracking history to a new device. Guess who forgot to do that 😂
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The only way to protect data is to not gather it.
Having your own data can be incredibly useful and valuable, the trick is protecting that data so that nefarious actors can't use it.
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That will last only until a judge signs a warrant.
Or until the American people get bored with talking about it, like with everything else, then stop caring and just let whatever happen.
Or until Trump decides to have an army of hackers like Putin.
We already do. We wage cyber warfare with other countries the same.
Were people unclear on this? They think that the US is just letting cyber warfare happen without participating...?
Don't fall for it. Read their privacy policy.
They keep your data in the cloud and share it with third parties, including advertisers.
Pen and paper doesn't snitch.
not defending the bogus use of the cloud to host sensitive data, nor do i unquestioningly believe this? but correcting the record since you did 80% of the work in finding the link:
Be assured that the sensitive health data you track in the Clue app is never shared with or sold to advertisers, or any partners whose services we may recommend in Clue.
If you actually read what you sent it seems like the only data that is shared to advertisers is standard marketing stuff like IP, device ID, age group, and location. Still bad and I stand with others recommending locally hosted FOSS alternatives.
There are also foss alternatives. Install fdroid and get drip.
Drip is a horrible name for a period tracking app lol
What an insightful comment, the_crotch
It actually inspired me to start writing my own competing period tracking app, Margaret Plug That Up Already You're Ruining The Carpet
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Why the hell period data needs to be stored on the cloud?
How much could it weight? A few Kb? Local storage!
I would never trust such data leaving my device when is no need for it whatsoever.
Aren't there any open source period tracking apps? I'll do one, it can't be that hard. An sqlite database patched to a frontend calendar and some basic predictions based on normal scenarios.
Aren’t there any open source period tracking apps?
Many. On F-Droid.
drip. menstrual cycle and fertility tracking (Open-source, non-commercial and leaves your data on your phone.) https://f-droid.org/packages/com.drip/
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They say that, but when Ken Paxton subpoenas them they will say they have no choice. It would be better to use an app that doesn't store this data server side at all.
FOSS Period Tracking Apps Exist: (there may be others, as well)
https://fossdroid.com/a/bluemoon.html
https://fossdroid.com/a/mensinator.html
https://github.com/TotallyMonica/foss-period-tracker
Also paper and pencil.
Also the oldest known "writing" is a stick with 28 notches on it.
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My wife uses a spreadsheet and connected it to her calendar. Seems pretty accurate.
It is a modified version of this:
Why do they need to save the tracked period data to a server farm? Why can't it just be saved on the phone, huh?
Probably because they want to be able to maintain users during device switches. Given much of the world is on an annual or bi-annual cycle it'd suck to lose your users each time.
They could just do the password manager approach where the data is encrypted on your phone but stored in the cloud. App retains users, sensitive data remains private.
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First I thought "WTF is period data a thing that should concern the government", but then I noticed we are talking about the future Handmaids Tale country here.
Yeah they may not cooperate with authorities, but I'm sure they'd be happy to sell it to contractors working on behalf of the government to the same ends. They already sell the info as it is.
Period tracking apps should store no data at all in the cloud.
Some people want convenience of accessing the data between devices.
It's okay to store stuff in the cloud just make it's encrypted deeply and thoroughly and that the user is the only person with the key.
There's absolutely no reason for them to have access to this data.
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Still not worth the risk to download it. Get a paper journal, they make ones that guide you through tracking all the necessary data.
Paper without some sort of code to hide what's happening isn't much better, considering if something ever happens you could get searched.
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Newsweek has really trash headlines. No one’s asking, yet, so that’s a terrible headline.
(Yes I voted Kamala, and yes I did it for medical autonomy reasons as well as orange potato reasons, Vance reasons, heritage foundation reasons, and Project 2025.)
It’s still a trash headline and pretty standard fare for Newsweek. Why is it trash? Because it’s classic The Boy Who Cried Wolf. When I read this headline, I need it to be real.
menstrual surveillance
Now that's a phrase I would've never thought I would read.
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I wouldn't trust it. We now live in an era where, if you want control of any kind of information, you simply can't share it digitally in any way.
This kind of surveillance should be something every platform fights against. Remember that the government does not own you and they are only entitled to any of your data at all when necessary to uphold the law and under a warrant. Protect your right to privacy or they will use what you do I private to justify stripping you of all your other rights in the name of justice they will at that point no longer uphold.
Can’t those app offer this feature : replace all the original data by pseudo random data shifting the menstruation cycle in a way that would benefit the user at that moment ? Or : shift all data to x days (easier to undo)
It’s crazy that we live in a world where we have to think about such things…
For now
Shit which reminds me. Now I have to stop using the app… and delete it.
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