started · updated
Dutch privacy authority warns about menstrual tracking apps
The Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (AP) has urged Dutch women to be cautious when using menstrual or fertility‑tracking apps. Around a quarter of women in the Netherlands use such apps to record periods, hormonal symptoms, sexual activity and pregnancy intentions.
The regulator says the apps collect a large amount of highly personal data – health, fertility and sex‑life information – that is protected as special personal data under Dutch law. It is often unclear how the data is processed or whether it is shared with advertising partners, and the AP warns that the information could fall into the hands of hackers who might use it for extortion.
Monique Verdier, vice‑chair of the AP, stressed that “girls and women note a lot of intimate information in these apps, making them vulnerable, for example when this sensitive information unintentionally ends up with advertisers.” The AP has not ruled out opening an investigation. In late May, the digital‑rights group Bits of Freedom lodged a complaint about the Flo app, which is used by more than 200,000 Dutch women.
Entities
Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens · Bits of Freedom · FLO · Monique Verdier
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [● 3 SOURCES] The AP may launch an investigation into menstrual apps. dagblad070.nl · www.skipr.nl · www.welingelichtekringen.nl
- [● 3 SOURCES] Approximately 25% of Dutch women use menstrual or fertility tracking apps. dagblad070.nl · www.skipr.nl · www.welingelichtekringen.nl
- [● 3 SOURCES] The AP warns that sensitive data from menstrual apps could be accessed by hackers and used for extortion. dagblad070.nl · www.skipr.nl · www.welingelichtekringen.nl
- [● 3 SOURCES] Bits of Freedom filed a complaint with the AP about the Flo app. dagblad070.nl · www.skipr.nl · www.welingelichtekringen.nl
- [● 3 SOURCES] The Flo app is used by more than 200,000 women in the Netherlands. dagblad070.nl · www.skipr.nl · www.welingelichtekringen.nl
- [● 3 SOURCES] The AP warns that it is often unclear how menstrual apps handle the data they collect. dagblad070.nl · www.skipr.nl · www.welingelichtekringen.nl
- [● 3 SOURCES] The AP says apps may share user data with advertising partners without clear consent. dagblad070.nl · www.skipr.nl · www.welingelichtekringen.nl
- [● 3 SOURCES] Menstrual apps collect sensitive personal data such as health, fertility and sexual activity information. dagblad070.nl · www.skipr.nl · www.welingelichtekringen.nl