Cycle Apps Face Scrutiny โas Femtech Market Booms: โคData Privacy and โEfficacy concernsโ Rise
BERLIN – The rapidly expanding market forโค “Femtech” – technology focused on women’s healthโ – is prompting calls forโข greater scrutinyโ of cycle tracking and other health โapps, particularly regardingโค dataโ protection and the validity of their claims. While offering potential for scientific advancement through data collection,experts warn users to carefully evaluate app origins and privacy policies.
The proliferation of apps targetingโข menstrual health, fertility, and overall wellness has created โa crowded โmarketplace where distinguishing between beneficial โtools โand less โฃreliable options is challenging. “With the apps โon theโค freeโฃ market, it โฃis difficult to โคsay in general โฃwhether they have aโค benefit or not,” saysโ Carina Vorisek. A key concern is the representation of founders; Vorisek notes, โ”What always scares me a bit personally โis when the founders โof a FemTech company are mainly โmale.”
Certification offers one โavenue โfor assessing an app’s credibility. Apps published โฃby health insurance companies โor classified as “digital health treatments” face notable โคregulatory hurdles, โคrequiring proof of benefit.
However, dataโข privacy remains a paramount concern, especially given the sensitiveโ natureโ of the data collected. The use of โcycleโ apps in โlegal investigations – as seen in the USA โขfollowing โthe overturning of Roeโ v. Wade,where data was leveraged to pursue cases related to illegal abortions – highlights the potential risks.
Germany has implemented stricter data protection regulationsโค through the Digital โHealthโ Applications Ordinance โฃ(Digav), mandating standards โขforโฃ information security,โ purpose binding, data minimization, and โฃuser education. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) also applies to appsโค used within Germany, โคeven those โคoriginating โคfrom countries like the โฃUSA.
A criticalโ distinctionโ exists between medical devices and lifestyle products. While medical apps are subject to rigorousโ testing, cycle apps designed โคsolelyโข for cycleโ observation are currently classified โas lifestyle products andโ do not face the same stringent โขrequirements. Users are โtherefore advised to verify anโฃ app’sโฃ origin and the applicable regulationsโข before use.