RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesEvery morning, you strap on the cuff, press the button and watch the number pop up on your phone. It feels private. It feels like it is just between you and your app. That sense of privacy can be misleading.
Depending on the app and your settings, that reading, along with your glucose numbers, weight and medication schedule, may be stored in the cloud or shared with service providers. FTC cases show that some health apps have also disclosed sensitive information to advertising and analytics companies. Separately, data brokers market health-related profiles that scammers could exploit.
Here's what may be happening behind the screen of your health app and how to limit the exposure.
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ARE INSURANCE APPS WATCHING YOU?
Here's the assumption almost everyone makes: "My health data is protected. Isn't that what HIPAA is for?" Often, no.
HIPAA generally protects health information held by covered health care providers, health plans and their business associates. A consumer app you choose independently often falls outside HIPAA. However, an app may come under HIPAA when it handles protected health information on behalf of a covered provider or health plan.
Apps outside HIPAA do not operate without any rules. Many may still fall under the FTC's Health Breach Notification Rule, state consumer health laws and general protections against unfair or deceptive business practices.
Sen. Bill Cassidy introduced the Health Information Privacy Reform Act. The proposal would extend HIPAA-like privacy, security and breach-notification standards to some health information held outside the traditional HIPAA system. It would also require plain-language warnings before certain technologies begin generating wellness data that HIPAA does not protect.
As of today, the proposal remains introduced and has not become law. That means the same blood sugar reading can receive different legal protections depending on who holds it and why.
You would think a company that builds a blood pressure app would only use your numbers to track your blood pressure. Federal regulators have repeatedly found otherwise.
These were not obscure apps built by scammers. They were mainstream health services, and regulators alleged that the sharing happened through ordinary advertising and analytics tools running in the background.
That does not mean every blood pressure app behaves the same way. However, it gives you a strong reason to check what your own app collects, where it stores the information and which companies receive it.
ARE APPLE DEVICES SPYING? WHAT YOUR IPHONE TRACKS
Here's the part that should genuinely unsettle you. A Duke University researcher contacted 37 data brokers as a prospective buyer. Twenty-six responded, and 11 were willing and able to sell mental health data. Some advertised information tied to depression, anxiety and other conditions, along with demographic details. One broker advertised names and postal addresses connected to specific conditions. Prices ranged from $275 for aggregated counts to annual licensing fees of $75,000 or more.
This problem reaches beyond mental health, as data brokers can collect and sell many forms of health-related information. The FTC has documented data broker categories related to pregnancy, diabetes, high cholesterol and other potentially sensitive health interests.
In a final order issued in December 2025, California's privacy regulator fined Datamasters $45,000 for failing to register as a data broker. The order said the company bought and resold contact lists tied to sensitive conditions.
Those lists included 435,245 postal addresses associated with Alzheimer's disease, more than 2.3 million associated with blindness or visual impairment, 133,142 associated with addiction and 857,449 associated with bladder-control issues. California's enforcement chief warned that reselling lists connected to Alzheimer's disease could enable targeting that goes far beyond ordinary advertising.
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Put yourself in a scammer's shoes for a second. Random cold-calling is a numbers game. Most people hang up. However, a list of people associated with diabetes or high blood pressure could help a scammer choose a much more convincing lie, including fake Medicare and health care offers.
A caller claims to be from Medicare or a diabetes association and offers free glucose meters or test strips. All they need is your Medicare number "to process the shipment." Federal health officials have warned about callers impersonating Medicare, Social Security or diabetes organizations while offering free glucose meters, test strips and other supplies. The supplies may never arrive, or someone may fraudulently bill Medicare using your information.
A caller could reference your blood pressure or diabetes like a nurse checking in, then pivot to a plan that supposedly covers exactly what you need. Knowing a real detail about your health does not prove the caller represents Medicare, your doctor or an insurance company.
Ads, emails or calls may push treatments or supplements connected to a condition associated with your profile. Their timing may make the offer feel personal, but that does not make the medical claim or the seller legitimate. A scammer does not need to hack yo...
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