Flo: Difference between revisions
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|Description=Women's health app which retains data after account deletion and has sold intimate user information to various tech companies without user consent. | |Description=Women's health app which retains data after account deletion and has sold intimate user information to various tech companies without user consent. | ||
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'''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" /> | '''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]] |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250308103127/https://venturebeat.com/entrepreneur/flo-raises-5-million-for-its-ai-powered-femtech-app/ |archive-date=8 Mar 2025}}</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 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260103053714/https://flo.health/about-flo |archive-date=3 Jan 2026}}</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== | ==Consumer impact summary== | ||
=== Freedom === | ===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, 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 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260103092349/https://flo.health/terms-of-service |archive-date=3 Jan 2026}}</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> | 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 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260218151342/https://flo.health/privacy-policy |archive-date=18 Feb 2026}}</ref> | ||
=== Privacy === | ===Privacy=== | ||
Upon a user deactivating, abandoning, or deleting their account, Flo states it will retain some data of the user. <ref name=":2" /> | 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" /> | 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 === | ===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 | 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 |url=https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/menstrual-health-apps-market-report |url-status=live |journal=[[Grand View Research]] |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250719221009/https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/menstrual-health-apps-market-report |archive-date=19 Jul 2025}}</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> | 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 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240715125413/https://www.businessofapps.com/data/flo-statistics/ |archive-date=15 Jul 2024}}</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 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> | 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 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260105055651/https://www.privacyinternational.org/long-read/3196/no-bodys-business-mine-how-menstruations-apps-are-sharing-your-data |archive-date=5 Jan 2026}}</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 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260223045049/https://mashable.com/article/flo-period-tracking-app-will-stop-sharing-data-with-facebook?test_uuid=003aGE6xTMbhuvdzpnH5X4Q&test_variant=a |archive-date=23 Feb 2026}}</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 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> | 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 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20210602032700/https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/1923133/flo-health-inc |archive-date=2 Jun 2021}}</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 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> | 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]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260223045123/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/flo-health-privacy-class-action-1.7137600c |archive-date=23 Feb 2026}}</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 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> | 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 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251230044003/https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/55370837/756/frasco-v-flo-health-inc/ |archive-date=30 Dec 2025}}</ref> | ||
==Products== | ==Products== | ||
Latest revision as of 12:50, 22 March 2026
Flo
| Basic information | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2015 |
| Legal Structure | Private |
| Industry | Health |
| Also known as | |
| Official website | https://www.flo.health |
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.[1] [2] 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. [2]
Consumer impact summary
[edit | edit source]Freedom
[edit | edit source]Flo, under their proprietary software license, restricts the rights to modify, resell, rent, lease, loan, sublicense, distribute, or otherwise transfer rights of the product. [3] A user must also register to use the service.[3]
Flo can change your password at any time at their discretion. [4]
Privacy
[edit | edit source]Upon a user deactivating, abandoning, or deleting their account, Flo states it will retain some data of the user. [4]
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.[5][6][7][8][9]
Market control
[edit | edit source]Flo is the leading menstrual health app on the market as of 2025. [10]
Flo is the fourth-highest profiting health app currently on the market, directly behind MyFitnessPal, reporting US$263m in 2024 alone. [11]
Incidents
[edit | edit source]Selling Data to Meta (2016-2025)
[edit | edit source]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.[5][6]
FTC Files Complaint Against Flo (June 22, 2021)
[edit | edit source]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. [7]
Class Action Lawsuit (2024)
[edit | edit source]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.[8]
Lawsuit in California (2025)
[edit | edit source]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. [9]
Products
[edit | edit source]- Flo App - An app for tracking a woman's menstrual cycle; also used for tracking pregnancies.[2]
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ Magistretti, Bérénice (2017-08-11). "Flo raises $5 million for its AI-powered period-tracking app". Venture Beat. Archived from the original on 8 Mar 2025. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "About Flo". flo.health. 2025-08-13. Archived from the original on 3 Jan 2026. Retrieved 2025-08-13.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Terms of use". flo.health. 2025-08-13. Archived from the original on 3 Jan 2026. Retrieved 2025-08-13.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Privacy Policy". flo.health. 2024-09-06. Archived from the original on 18 Feb 2026. Retrieved 2025-08-13.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "No Body's Business But Mine: How Menstruation Apps Are Sharing Your Data". privacyinternational.org. 2019-09-09. Archived from the original on 5 Jan 2026. Retrieved 2025-08-13.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Period tracking app says it will stop sharing health data with Facebook". mashable.com. 2019-02-22. Archived from the original on 23 Feb 2026. Retrieved 2025-08-13.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Flo Health, Inc". ftc.gov. 2021-06-22. Archived from the original on 2 Jun 2021. Retrieved 2025-08-13.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Schmunk, Rhianna (2024-03-08). "Lawsuit claiming Flo Health app shared intimate data with Facebook greenlit as Canadian class action". CBC Canada. Archived from the original on 23 Feb 2026. Retrieved 2025-08-13.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Frasco v. Flo Health, Inc. - Jury Verdict — Document #756". courtlistener.com. 2025-08-04. Archived from the original on 30 Dec 2025. Retrieved 2025-08-13.
- ↑ "Menstrual Health Apps Market Size, Share & Trends Report". Grand View Research. 2025-08-13. Archived from the original on 19 Jul 2025.
- ↑ Curry, David (2025-01-22). "Flo Revenue and Usage Statistics (2025)". businessofapps.com. Archived from the original on 15 Jul 2024. Retrieved 2025-08-13.