Meta Illegally Collected Health Data of Flo Users, Jury Finds

A California jury has found Meta guilty of violating the state’s privacy laws in a class-action lawsuit filed by users of the period-tracking app Flo. Plaintiffs argued that Meta collected private data about menstrual health without their explicit consent and used it for advertising.

Flo, which has more than 70 million monthly active users, allows people to track different stages in their menstrual cycles, ovulation, and stages of pregnancy. The lawsuit was first filed in 2021. To use the app, users must provide personally identifiable information such as full names, birthdates, and residence information. The app also collects sensitive information related to users’ health, emotional states, and sex lives.

Plaintiffs claimed that Flo had shared this information with “dozens” of third parties, including advertising companies like Meta and Google, which explicitly broke the company’s privacy policy and state laws.

Though Flo was the lawsuit’s main defendant, it also mentioned both Meta and Google as defendants, along with analytics firms such as AppsFlyer and Flurry. Both Google and Flo have settled their respective cases in the last month.

“Companies like Meta that covertly profit from users’ most intimate information must be held accountable. Today’s outcome reinforces the fundamental right to privacy — especially when it comes to sensitive health data,” said Michael P. Canty and Carol C. Villegas, lead attorneys in the case.

Meta, however, disagreed with the August 4th resolution. “We vigorously disagree with this outcome and are exploring all legal options. The plaintiffs’ claims against Meta are simply false. User privacy is important to Meta, which is why we do not want health or other sensitive information, and why our terms prohibit developers from sending any,” said a Meta spokesperson in a statement to news outlets.

This is not the first time Meta has faced legal trouble over its use of personal data for targeted advertising. The company also faces ongoing investigations worldwide. Earlier this month, the company announced it would stop serving political advertisements in the EU after failing to reach an agreement with regulators.