Flo: Difference between revisions
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{{CompanyCargo | {{CompanyCargo | ||
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|Website=[https://www.flo.health/ flo.health] | |Website=[https://www.flo.health/ flo.health] | ||
|Logo=Flo-logo.png}} | |Logo=Flo-logo.png}} | ||
'''Flo''' '''Health''', typically shortened to '''Flo''', is a health company founded in Belarus; currently located in the United States, United Kingdom, Amsterdam, and Lithuania, but available worldwide.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Magistretti |first=Bérénice |date=2017-08-11|title=Flo raises $5 million for its AI-powered period-tracking app |url=https://venturebeat.com/entrepreneur/flo-raises-5-million-for-its-ai-powered-femtech-app/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-12|work=[[Venture Beat]]}}</ref> <ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2025-08-13|title=About Flo |url=https://flo.health/about-flo |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-13|website=flo.health}}</ref> Their flagship product is an app, named '''Flo''', designed for period-tracking and pregnancy-tracking. As of Aug. 2025, Flo boasts 68m monthly active users and 380m downloads internationally. <ref name=":0" /> | |||
==Consumer impact summary== | |||
=== Freedom === | |||
Flo, under their [[proprietary software]] license, restricts the rights to modify, resell, rent, lease, loan, sublicense, distribute, or otherwise transfer rights of the product. <ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2025-08-13 |title=Terms of use |url=https://flo.health/terms-of-service |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-13 |website=flo.health}}</ref> A user must also register to use the service.<ref name=":1" /> | |||
Flo can change your password at any time at their discretion. <ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2024-09-06 |title=Privacy Policy |url=https://flo.health/privacy-policy |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-13 |website=flo.health}}</ref> | |||
=== Privacy === | |||
Upon a user deactivating, abandoning, or deleting their account, Flo states it will retain some data of the user. <ref name=":2" /> | |||
Flo has been subject to various international lawsuits due to selling information of users without their prior consent. Data was sent to multiple third-parties.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" /><ref name=":7" /> | |||
=== Market control === | |||
Flo is the leading menstrual health app on the market as of 2025. <ref>{{Cite journal |date=2025-08-13 |title=Menstrual Health Apps Market Size, Share & Trends Report | |||
Menstrual Health Apps Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Platform (Android, iOS), By Application (Period Cycle Tracking, Fertility & Ovulation Management, Menstrual Health Management), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2025 - 2030 |url=https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/menstrual-health-apps-market-report |journal=[[Grand View Research]]}}</ref> | |||
Flo is the fourth-highest profiting health app currently on the market, directly behind [[MyFitnessPal]], reporting US$263m in 2024 alone. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Curry |first=David |date=2025-01-22 |title=Flo Revenue and Usage Statistics (2025) |url=https://www.businessofapps.com/data/flo-statistics/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-13 |website=businessofapps.com}}</ref> | |||
==Incidents== | ==Incidents== | ||
===Selling Data to Meta (2016-2025)=== | ===Selling Data to Meta (2016-2025)=== | ||
Since 2016, it has been alleged that Flo was sending user's private health information to [[Meta]]. Flo has denied these claims, yet an investigation led by journal Privacy International included them in a group of 36 period-tracking apps which sent data through [[Facebook]]'s Facebook Software Development Kit (SDK); whether or not the user has an account with Facebook.<ref>{{Cite web |date=09 | Since 2016, it has been alleged that Flo was sending user's private health information to [[Meta]]. Flo has denied these claims, yet an investigation led by journal Privacy International included them in a group of 36 period-tracking apps which sent data through [[Facebook]]'s Facebook Software Development Kit (SDK); whether or not the user has an account with Facebook.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2019-09-09|title=No Body's Business But Mine: How Menstruation Apps Are Sharing Your Data |url=https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/3196/no-bodys-business-mine-how-menstruations-apps-are-sharing-your-data |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-13|website=privacyinternational.org}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |date=2019-02-22|title=Period tracking app says it will stop sharing health data with Facebook |url=https://mashable.com/article/flo-period-tracking-app-will-stop-sharing-data-with-facebook?test_uuid=003aGE6xTMbhuvdzpnH5X4Q&test_variant=a |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-13|website=mashable.com}}</ref> | ||
=== FTC Files Complaint Against Flo (June 22, 2021) === | ===FTC Files Complaint Against Flo (June 22, 2021)=== | ||
According to an FTC complaint filed against Flo in 2020, the company shared private and intimate data of individuals to: [[Google]], Meta, AppsFlyer, and Flurry, without users' consent. <ref>{{Cite web |date=22 | According to an FTC complaint filed against Flo in 2020, the company shared private and intimate data of individuals to: [[Google]], Meta, AppsFlyer, and Flurry, without users' consent. <ref name=":5">{{Cite web |date=2021-06-22|title=Flo Health, Inc. |url=https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/1923133/flo-health-inc |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-13|website=ftc.gov}}</ref> | ||
=== Class Action Lawsuit (2024) === | ===Class Action Lawsuit (2024)=== | ||
The Supreme Court of British Columbia, Canada, certified a class action lawsuit against Flo due to the findings and allegations of selling personal data without consumer consent.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Schmunk |first=Rhianna |date=08 | The Supreme Court of British Columbia, Canada, certified a class action lawsuit against Flo due to the findings and allegations of selling personal data without consumer consent.<ref name=":6">{{Cite news |last=Schmunk |first=Rhianna |date=2024-03-08|access-date=2025-08-13|title=Lawsuit claiming Flo Health app shared intimate data with Facebook greenlit as Canadian class action |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/flo-health-privacy-class-action-1.7137600c |url-status=live |work=[[CBC Canada]]}}</ref> | ||
=== Lawsuit in California (2025) === | ===Lawsuit in California (2025)=== | ||
A jury in California unanimously agreed that Flo violated the privacy rights afforded to California users by the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) for mishandling the data between non-consenting parties. <ref>{{Cite web |date=04 | A jury in California unanimously agreed that Flo violated the privacy rights afforded to California users by the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) for mishandling the data between non-consenting parties. <ref name=":7">{{Cite web |date=2025-08-04 |title=Frasco v. Flo Health, Inc. - Jury Verdict — Document #756 |url=https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/55370837/756/frasco-v-flo-health-inc/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-13|website=courtlistener.com}}</ref> | ||
==Products== | ==Products== | ||
* Flo App - An app for tracking a woman's menstrual cycle; also used for tracking pregnancies.<ref name=":0" /> | *Flo App - An app for tracking a woman's menstrual cycle; also used for tracking pregnancies.<ref name=":0" /> | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||