• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
NewslettersData Sheet

The FTC comes down on yet another digital health company for third-party sharing of sensitive information

By
Andrea Guzman
Andrea Guzman
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Andrea Guzman
Andrea Guzman
Down Arrow Button Icon
May 18, 2023, 2:46 PM ET
Roslan RAHMAN / AFP

Hi, it’s Fortune’s tech fellow Andrea Guzman filling in for David. 

Recommended Video

An app known as Premom pitches itself as an “all-in-one personalized ovulation calculator and period tracker” that offers monthly cycle reports and overviews of pregnancy timelines. It promises users “you don’t have to navigate your ovulation tracking journey alone.” 

And its hundreds of thousands of users really aren’t alone since, according to Federal Trade Commission charges and a settlement announced on Wednesday, the app allegedly shared their sensitive, personal information with third parties. The FTC says Prenom also disclosed users’ private health data to AppsFlyer and Google and failed to notify consumers of the unauthorized disclosures. 

“Premom broke its promises and compromised consumers’ privacy,” said Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. Levine went on to alert companies that the FTC “will not tolerate health privacy abuses.”

It’s the latest in a series of crackdowns on digital health companies. Earlier this year, the FTC proposed a ban on the GoodRx app sharing users’ health data for advertising. That was followed by BetterHelp’s March settlement with the FTC for allegedly sharing information about users’ mental health concerns with outside companies like Facebook and Snapchat. 

The Washington Post reports that both GoodRx and BetterHelp had said that the practices they’d carried out were common for the industry.

The responses reveal the cavalier attitude some companies have around their users’ highly sensitive health information. In Premom’s case, the data it shared with third parties dealt with information around users’ sexual and reproductive health, parental and pregnancy status, and other information about physical health conditions. 

The importance of safeguarding personal health data is gaining attention amid increasing restrictions on reproductive rights, including a court challenge on an abortion pill known as mifepristone, North Carolina’s law to ban abortion after 12 weeks of pregnancy, and South Carolina’s push for a proposal to ban the procedure after six weeks. Digital data, including information from Facebook and Google as well as from online pharmacies, has been used to build cases against those seeking or providing abortions.

Easy Healthcare, the company behind the Premom app, denied wrongdoing. In a release, the company said the settlement went through so it could “avoid the time and expense of litigation,” and went on to boast about its new line of supplements and the upcoming launch of a prenatal multivitamin.

Want to send thoughts or suggestions to Data Sheet? Drop a line here.

Andrea Guzman


On privacy. In this Sunday’s edition of The Trust Factor newsletter, Fortune’s Eamon Barrett will discuss how, in the post-GDPR era, companies and brands can navigate data privacy concerns while leveraging first-party consumer data to provide better services to customers. Subscribe to The Trust Factor to get it delivered to your inbox.

NEWSWORTHY

How to get a pay raise at Microsoft. Chief marketing officer at Microsoft Christopher Capossela told employees angry about the lack of salary raises that the best way to increase their pay is to make the stock go higher. “The most important lever for almost all our employees’ compensation upside is the stock price,” Capossela wrote in a chat with employees last week that was viewed by Fortune. This comes after Microsoft told employees that the company will not provide raises to full-time salaried employees due to economic conditions and after Capossela cashed out $4.4 million worth of stock.

Amazon’s investment in cloud infrastructure in India. Amazon Web Services plans to invest $12.7 billion into cloud infrastructure in India by 2030 to meet growing customer demand for cloud services. The investment will bring 131,700 jobs for roles including engineering, telecommunications, and construction, and adds to Amazon’s spending in India as it currently maintains two data center regions. It’s also an increase to a previous November pledge to invest more than $4 billion in the market, and one that the country is celebrating. Rajeev Chandrashekhar, minister of state for electronics and information technology in India welcomed the investment and said it will “catalyze India’s digital economy.”

Montana's TikTok ban. Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a bill Wednesday that makes it illegal for TikTok to operate in the state. It will take effect in January 2024 and would be void if the platform is sold to a company that is not based in “any country designated as a foreign adversary” by the federal government. But cybersecurity experts have raised skepticism over whether a ban is even possible. The state is also anticipating legal battles as Montana’s attorney general said he expects the law will end up in court.

REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK

“The venture business, if you want to be at the top, requires insane, remarkable hustle…You have to live in fear that the next Google is going to get funded by a firm that’s not yours."

—Longtime VC investor Bill Gurley in an interview with Fortune about what he’s been up to since stepping back from Benchmark, where he backed companies like Uber, Grubhub, Zillow, and more

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Former IBM CEO Ginni Rometty: Resilient leadership means running towards conflict, by Jane Thier

Has Elon Musk become a risk to his own investors? ‘I’ll say what I want and if the consequence of that is losing money, so be it’, by Christiaan Hetzner

A Meta exec says she once turned down CEO jobs because she was taking a paycut to work a 4-day workweek so she could help raise her children, by Jane Thier

Elon Musk has regrets about ChatGPT. He says he’s a ‘huge idiot’ for letting go of OpenAI., by Chloe Berger

Shaq’s been on TV nonstop during the NBA playoffs—but here’s the strange tale of how he avoided FTX crypto class action papers for months, by Shawn Tully

BEFORE YOU GO

The first CRISPR-edited snack. Pairwise is launching its own mustard greens that it says will be less bitter than the plant. Scientists at the company used the DNA-editing tool CRISPR to take out a gene that’s responsible for a peppery flavor when the food is raw. It’ll be available later this month and eventually, CRISPR-made seedless blackberries and pitless cherries could be on shelves, too. The new offering is coming to some restaurants in Minneapolis, Minn., St. Louis, Mo., and Springfield, Mass., with plans to hit grocery stores this summer. Wired talked to Tom Adams, cofounder and CEO of Pairwise about the new green, which he described as "a new category of salad."

This is the web version of Data Sheet, a daily newsletter on the business of tech. Sign up to get it delivered free to your inbox.

About the Author
By Andrea Guzman
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Newsletters

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Newsletters

Walmart International president and CEO Kathryn McLay speaks at Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit on Oct. 10, 2023.
NewslettersMPW Daily
Walmart’s leadership shakeup sees one female CEO contender leave—and another up-and-coming exec climb higher up the ladder
By Emma HinchliffeJanuary 16, 2026
1 day ago
Stack of colorful credit card on a silver laptop.
NewslettersCFO Daily
Why a proposed 10% cap on credit card interest is rattling big banks
By Sheryl EstradaJanuary 16, 2026
1 day ago
Databricks CEO speaking on stage.
NewslettersTerm Sheet
2025 U.S. VC deal value soared to $339.4 billion, says PitchBook. But there’s a catch.
By Allie GarfinkleJanuary 16, 2026
1 day ago
Signage for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) at its fabrication plant in Phoenix, Arizona on Monday, March 3, 2025. (Photo: Rebecca Noble/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
NewslettersFortune Tech
U.S. and Taiwan reach a chippy new trade agreement
By Andrew NuscaJanuary 16, 2026
1 day ago
NewslettersCEO Daily
AI is becoming baked into health care. Now CEOs are focusing on patient and practitioner outcomes
By Diane BradyJanuary 16, 2026
2 days ago
AIEye on AI
Worried about AI taking your job? New Anthropic research shows it’s not that simple
By Sharon GoldmanJanuary 15, 2026
2 days ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
America’s $38 trillion national debt is so big the nearly $1 trillion interest payment will be larger than Medicare soon
By Shawn TullyJanuary 15, 2026
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
Politics
The Nobel Prize committee doesn't want Trump getting one, even as a gift—but they treated Obama very differently
By Nick LichtenbergJanuary 16, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Europe
Americans have been quietly plundering Greenland for over 100 years, since a Navy officer chipped fragments off the Cape York iron meteorite
By Paul Bierman and The ConversationJanuary 14, 2026
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
Politics
Anthony Scaramucci thinks Trump's 'hard-left' move to cap credit-card fees is because he's 'texting back and forth with Mayor Mamdani'
By Nick Lichtenberg and Eva RoytburgJanuary 16, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Jensen Huang tells Stanford students their high expectations may make it hard for them to succeed: 'I wish upon you ample doses of pain and suffering'
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJanuary 16, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Health
The head of marketing at Slate posted on LinkedIn requesting cleaning services as a benefit at her company. The next day, HR answered her call
By Sydney LakeJanuary 15, 2026
3 days ago

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.