FTC announces $200,000 Premom settlement after fertility app shared data with Google, China

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

Premom settlement overview:

• Who: Easy Healthcare, which owns the fertility app Premom, has reached a settlement with the FTC, Connecticut, Oregon and the District of Columbia.
• Why: Premom fertility app data was allegedly shared with third-party companies without users’ knowledge or consent.
• Where: The FTC lawsuit was filed in Illinois federal court.
• What are my options: Try Norton LifeLock to keep your data safe. 

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced a $200,000 settlement with Easy Healthcare, the owner of a fertility app that allegedly failed to disclose users’ health data would be shared with other companies.

Premom fertility app data was allegedly shared with marketing and analytics firms based in China, as well as companies like Google, according to the FTC.

Easy Healthcare reportedly did not get users’ consent to share their data, nor did it limit what third-party companies could do with the fertility app data, the FTC says.

“Premom broke its promises and compromised consumers’ privacy,” said Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.

“We will vigorously enforce the Health Breach Notification Rule to defend consumers’ health data from exploitation. Companies collecting this information should be aware that the FTC will not tolerate health privacy abuses.”

Premom settlement reached after FTC investigation uncovered health data privacy violations

The Premom settlement was reached following an FTC investigation that found Easy Healthcare had shared identifiable health and location information with third-party companies since 2018.

Premom reportedly collected personal information from “hundreds of thousands” of users. The Premom fertility app data allegedly included details about users’ sexual and reproductive health, parental status, pregnancy status and other physical health information.

The Premom app also reportedly shared users’ location data and unique device identifiers that could be used by advertisers to track Premom users on the internet.

The FTC determined it was possible for third parties to link fertility and pregnancy data to specific individuals. This conduct violated Easy Healthcare’s privacy policies, which stated that the app would only share “non-identifiable data” with third parties, and the FTC’s Health Breach Notification Rule, the FTC said.

The Premom fertility app data was also allegedly shared with China-based mobile analytics companies Jiguang and Umeng between 2018 and 2020. 

Under the terms of the Premom settlement, Easy Healthcare will pay a $100,000 civil penalty for violating the Health Breach Notification Rule and $100,000 to Connecticut, Oregon and the District of Columbia for violating their laws.

Period tracking apps and their data privacy protections have come under increased scrutiny after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

What do you think about the allegations that Premom fertility app data was shared with third parties without users’ knowledge or consent? Join the discussion in the comments.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• How to file a claim in the $725M Facebook data privacy settlement
• FTC files lawsuit against XCast Labs for billions of robocalls
• Class action claims Kohl’s sends unsolicited promotional text messages despite opt-out requests
• Senators re-introduce bipartisan children’s privacy bill