Flo: Difference between revisions

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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=11 Aug 2017 |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=12 Aug 2025 |work=[[Venture Beat]]}}</ref> <ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=13 Aug 2025 |title=About Flo |url=https://flo.health/about-flo |url-status=live |access-date=13 Aug 2025 |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" />
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|Website=[https://www.flo.health/ flo.health]
|Website=[https://www.flo.health/ flo.health]
|Logo=Flo-logo.png}}
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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" />
==Consumer impact summary==
{{Ph-C-CIS}}
==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 Sep 2019 |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=13 Aug 2025 |website=privacyinternational.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=22 Feb 2019 |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=13 Aug 2025 |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>{{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>{{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 Jun 2021 |title=Flo Health, Inc. |url=https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/1923133/flo-health-inc |url-status=live |access-date=13 Aug 2025 |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>{{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 Mar 2024 |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>{{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 Aug 2025 |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=13 Aug 2025 |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>{{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==