# Privacy and your health data > Wearables and health apps often collect and share more of your data than you might expect, and removing your name doesn't make data fully anonymous. Read the privacy information, choose the most private settings, protect your phone with a password, and don't treat a high rating as proof an app handles your data well. - Type: Guide - Topic: Technology & Tools › Wearables & Health Data - Reviewed by: Andrew Schox, BSc(Hons) PGradDipPod MPod, Podiatrist (2026-10-21) - URL: https://twikka.com/learn/privacy-and-your-health-data - Updated: 2026-10-21 - **Wearables collect sensitive health information** in real time, so it is worth knowing where it goes [1]. - **Taking your name off data doesn't make it fully anonymous:** the risk of someone being identified can be reduced but not removed [2]. - **Sharing data with other companies is routine in health apps,** and often you can't see it coming [3]. - **Privacy policies are an unreliable guide:** they are long, hard to read, and often don't match what an app does [4][5]. - **A few habits help:** read the privacy information, choose the most private settings and keep your phone protected. ## How private is the data on your wearable? Often less private than people assume. A wearable and its phone app collect data about you, your condition, your activities and your day-to-day choices. That data can be combined, stored and shared with others, and it may be used in ways you didn't expect [6]. Wearables may also record other people [6]. The phone app can hold a lot. Some apps for fitness bands and smartwatches store detailed records: days of recent activity and, in some cases, every data point since you first used the device, such as heart rate every 5 minutes and step counts [7]. The tracker itself can also give away information. Most trackers send out a fixed, unique identifier that could let someone follow your movements over time when the tracker isn't connected to your phone [8]. Some tracker apps have also had flaws that let an unauthorised person read, write and delete user data [8]. Taking your name off data doesn't fully solve this. A person can sometimes be identified from as little as 1–300 seconds of recording, even from sensors not usually thought to identify anyone, such as an electrocardiogram [2]. What you can do: - **Read the privacy information** before you buy or set up a device or app, and choose the most privacy-protective settings. - **Protect the phone linked to your wearable** with a password, and keep its software updated. - **Switch the tracker off when you're not using it.** That is one way to stop it broadcasting its identifier. Devices and apps change often, so what yours does today may differ from what's described here. > **Try this:** This week, open your tracker's app, find the privacy settings and choose the most private option for each one. ## How private is your data in health apps? Not very private, going by what's known: sharing user data with other companies is routine in health apps [3]. Many apps send data to services run by Facebook or Google, and the privacy policy often doesn't say so [5]. Most apps give you no way to see this coming, so you can't make an informed choice about whether it's acceptable to you [5]. Companies that receive app data usually reserve the right to use de-identified, combined data for their own commercial purposes, to share it with commercial partners, or to pass it on if the company is sold [3]. Many apps also send identifiers that can link your activity over time and across services [5], and sharing with other companies raises the chance of someone being identified [2]. Many popular free health apps don't follow well-known privacy practices or data protection rules [9]. Privacy policies aren't a reliable guide. They average about 1,755 words, are written at about college reading level, and often don't make an app's practices clear [4]. A high rating or popularity doesn't show that an app protects your data: the link between an app's rating and having a clear privacy policy is weak [4]. If a policy is long or hard to follow, that is a common problem, not a failing on your part. What you can do: - **Don't treat a high rating or a big download count** as a sign an app handles your data well. - **Use a strong, different password for each app.** ## When to check with a health professional If you're starting exercise after a long break, it's always a good idea to see your doctor first. For an injury or a health condition, see a health professional, such as your doctor or a physio. Treat what an app tells you about your health as general information, and follow your doctor's advice over an app's. Call your local emergency number for chest pain or pressure (or pain spreading to the arm, neck, jaw or back, especially with sweating or feeling sick), severe breathlessness, fainting or collapse, signs of a stroke, a serious injury, or someone who isn't safe. ## Quick answers ### Could my fitness data affect my insurance or job? Information from a wearable covers you, your health condition, your activities and your daily choices. It can be combined, stored and shared with others, and it could interest an employer or an insurer, or be used in ways you didn't expect. Reading a device's privacy information before you start shows what it does with that data. ### How do I check whether a health or fitness app is safe to use? Check who made the app. Be wary of one with no information about its creator or how to contact them. If an app is unclear about what it collects, consider one that works without you creating a profile. A long, hard-to-follow policy is a common problem, so don't blame yourself if you can't make sense of it. ### What should I do with an old wearable before I get rid of it? Before you sell, give away or throw out a device, make sure your personal information is removed from it. Wearables hold sensitive details such as activity and heart rate, so it's worth doing this step before the device leaves your hands. Check the maker's instructions for how to clear it. ## Sources 1. Sivakumar CLV, Mone V, Rejjabbaevich RA (2024). Addressing privacy concerns with wearable health monitoring technology. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery. https://doi.org/10.1002/widm.1535 2. Chikwetu L et al. (2023). Does deidentification of data from wearable devices give us a false sense of security? A systematic review. The Lancet Digital Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2589-7500(22)00234-5 3. Grundy Q et al. (2019). Data sharing practices of medicines related apps and the mobile ecosystem: traffic, content, and network analysis. BMJ. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.l920 4. Sunyaev A et al. (2015). Availability and quality of mobile health app privacy policies. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association. https://doi.org/10.1136/amiajnl-2013-002605 5. Huckvale K, Torous J, Larsen ME (2019). Assessment of the Data Sharing and Privacy Practices of Smartphone Apps for Depression and Smoking Cessation. JAMA Network Open. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.2542 6. Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. Wearable devices and your privacy. https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/privacy-topics/ai-technology-and-innovation/mobile-and-digital-devices/digital-devices/02_05_d_73_wd/ 7. Hutchinson S et al. (2022). Investigating Wearable Fitness Applications: Data Privacy and Digital Forensics Analysis on Android. Applied Sciences. https://doi.org/10.3390/app12199747 8. Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (2016). Every Step You Fake: A Comparative Analysis of Fitness Tracker Privacy and Security. https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/opc-actions-and-decisions/research/funding-for-privacy-research-and-knowledge-translation/completed-contributions-program-projects/2015-2016/p_201516_06/ 9. Papageorgiou A et al. (2018). Security and Privacy Analysis of Mobile Health Applications: The Alarming State of Practice. IEEE Access. https://doi.org/10.1109/access.2018.2799522 --- Source: Twikka (https://twikka.com/learn/privacy-and-your-health-data). General information about physical activity, not medical advice.