In our first article , Brendan from our Hauora Health Privacy Working Group provided an overview of what is biometric information and some of its uses. Here, we consider the use of biometric information in Health Apps.
Health Apps are software that are designed to provide health-related information and services to you on your mobile phone, smartwatch, computer or other digital device. Something like a smartwatch or wearable device will be able to pick up biometrics like your heart rate or sleep pattern.
Health apps leveraging biometrics can provide powerful insights to allow you to monitor and look after your health and wellbeing. You could, for example, get health metrics to help you eat or sleep better, monitor your heart rate to avoid stress, or track numbers of steps to reach a fitness goal (remember how we said last time the term biometrics is derived from Greek words that mean “to measure from life?!”).
Wearable devices and fitness trackers have become very commonplace now, and it’s convenient to be able to see certain health and wellbeing information in real time to help you on your health journey. There are some privacy factors to be aware of however:
• As with anything digital/connected to the internet, security is important. Biometrics are obviously a very highly sensitive category of personal information, and it’s really important that they are protected.
• At first blush it seems like the App is only collecting your information to provide you with the service or details you want, right? While that will be the main reason, there are often secondary ways that your information could be used or shared, which you might not expect. For example, provided to third parties like advertisers or other companies that you never signed up to.
As you take control of your health and wellbeing with the use of health apps, you can also take control of your privacy. Here are some simple things to be aware of:
• As a user you should have control over your information. You may not have too much of a choice on what information is collected by the App in order for you to use it, but you should have options around how the information you provide is used and what happens to it when you don’t want to use the App anymore. See what the settings provide for what you can turn off in terms of data sharing.
• On the subject of how your information is used and shared, we know no one likes to read it, but you should check out the privacy notice or information provided by the App. Lots of App providers are going with ‘layered’ privacy notices, so you can quickly jump to certain sections and find out more. Even at a minimum, you can get some good high-level information from “privacy nutrition labels” in the Google Play and Apple App stores.
• Talk with whānau and friends, they may have recommendations for privacy and security, or can help you navigate the settings. Online reviews and resources can also help, like the website from Healthify, which has a library of apps, and provides advice and tips on privacy and security when using health apps.