When there’s a computer in your pocket, it’s hard to remember the days when a computer took up an entire room. Now, there’s an even smaller computer device many people rely on every day: watches. We’re not talking about traditional watches with gears, but IoT (Internet of Things) wearable fitness watches like Apple Watches, FitBits, and Google Pixels. Some of these computers go even smaller, like Oura, a company that makes fitness wearables the size of a ring. It’s a haven of health data, but where does it go? Let’s discuss how you can safeguard your health data while using fitness wearables.
The history of health wearables
Wearables designed to track your health can be traced back to the 1960s. Dr. Yoshiro Hatano of Japan created a device called the Manpo-kei, which translates to “10,000 steps per day,” which is one of the first times “steps” were attributed to combating obesity. However, the first pedometers cropped up long before Thomas Jefferson as a rudimentary but utilitarian device that laid the groundwork for where we are today. We mention Jefferson because his mechanical concept made pedometers much more practical and widely used for decades.
Fast forward to when phones first became “smart.” There was no telling how far their helpfulness could go. What started as a better way to make calls, send texts, save contacts, and use a calculator became an endlessly multifunctional tool that can be used to aid almost every part of your daily life. FitBit was one of the first companies to make health wearables popular with their first successful release in 2007, which was paired with an app designed to give you a breakdown of your fitness. At that time, the popular phrase “getting your steps in” came into the fold, which was a way to encourage oneself to get enough movement throughout the day.
When did health wearables become mainstream?
In 2014, when Apple released its Health app, smartphones started to go beyond counting steps and heart rates. Non coincidentally, the first Apple Watch came out less than a year after this development. Apple also created its own version of “getting your steps,” which is “closing your rings” — a three-circle method to make sure you’re staying active.
Since then, it has been a mad dash for all competitors in the industry to make health wearables smarter and gamify fitness, introducing innovative ways to track workouts, menstruation, calories, symptoms, and more. In the latest update, Apple Watches are now able to track vitals like EKGs and even predict when you are under the weather or having a cardiac episode. After an incident like the COVID-19 pandemic, this is a breakthrough technology that could help people stay more vigilant of their health and take their symptoms seriously at first onset.
Where does health data go?
Now we arrive at the vital question: “If tech wearables are collecting all of this data, where does it go?” Security-minded individuals will notice the correlation between health wearables becoming smarter and an increase in sensitive data collection. On the surface, this health data is stored in its designated app. Depending on which device you use or your preference, the app might be different.
But going deeper, your health data may be added to a database with thousands of other people’s data in that app’s physical servers. Depending on the fortitude of security of that company, or if you use these apps over public Wi-Fi, you could be opening yourself up to the wrong people. Just recently, there have been a string of breaches at popular health apps like Strava, revealing the data of thousands of users.
What are the dangers of leaked health data?
There is a reason why you don’t want bad actors getting ahold of your health data. Our health is something many take seriously, and it can become a severe point of stress in many people’s lives. Even the lives of those who are blessed with good health. Cybercriminals pinpoint these vulnerabilities in our psyche and exploit them through various methods like social engineering, ads, and fake products. Depending on their information about you, they can forge convincing physician or insurance records that trick you into sending money or private information like your social security number.
Tech wearables are not the only way people willingly give their health data to an outside entity. Popular analyzation services like 23andMe take physical DNA samples from their customers to make all kinds of deductions about that person’s health and wellness, as well as their background and predispositions. If you’ve done 23andMe, you’ll notice your results are not one-and-done: you can access them repeatedly through a portal, meaning that data must be stored somewhere.
To demonstrate how dangerous this can be, 23andMe was just ordered to pay up to $10,000 in damages per victim of a recent data breach they experienced. When it comes to lawsuits like this (especially paying out customers of software), a big check implies serious implications and misuse of that data.
Keeping your health data secure
Before you rip the health wearable you’re using off your wrist, there are more solutions than simply abstaining from them. In general, the less technology you use, the safer you are from cyber threats. But these wearables have other valuable features like crash/fall detection, blood sugar monitors, and more that are specially catered to the elderly and people with disabilities, which make their lives much more accessible. Here are some of the steps you can take to stay safe:
Research the wearable you will be using. It goes without saying. Opting to use just any health app may leave you at greater risk of experiencing a cyber attack if you don’t understand the measures they take to put safety and security above all else. In general, apps with a larger framework, like Apple and Fitbit, are safer because they have been built to handle their user base over the course of many years. However, apps that allow you to store your data locally rather than in a cloud are also generally safer.
Don’t voluntarily give too much away. Although DNA analysis services are fun and can provide not only interesting but also useful information about your health, it’s better to go about these tests in a traditional manner. It’s a delicate balance as many have shared stories of learning about their predispositions to certain cancers, like through BRCA mutations, using these services. Ultimately, too much information is stored and possibly sold by these companies to make using them more valuable than talking to your doctor.
Don’t open your health app over public Wi-Fi. Your health wearable is likely connected to your phone, which acts as a hub, through Bluetooth. Since this is a direct link, it is very unlikely to be hacked. However, when you open your health app over public Wi-Fi, there is always a chance that once you connect to the internet, your data will be sent to a cloud. Without encryption, it is easy for hackers sharing the same network to capture this data and use it against you. Gymgoers should be very wary of this imminent threat.
Review privacy settings. Even while using a reputable fitness app brand, you should still take extra precautions. Some settings may allow your app to track you across other apps, send diagnostic data, or track your location unnecessarily. Only opt-in to required services to enable your health wearable to work correctly. Everything else is extraneous and possibly unsafe.
Update your app regularly. This is something you should do with all apps, but health apps especially. Updates are designed to patch vulnerabilities in software that may allow hackers to enter more easily. When you skip updates, you are keeping these holes open and making yourself needlessly vulnerable to infiltration.
Use strong passwords. Generally, you will need to use a portal to access your health data unless you are, say, an Apple user with all Apple devices. Ensure your password is unique and random, as weak passwords make account takeovers much easier for hackers. You can use our free password generator to create a good password without the guesswork.
Taking the extra step to protect your health data
Depending on what app you choose, you may not have a choice where your health data goes. That’s why it’s important to do everything possible to protect it in your daily usage. You can use a VPN like IPVanish to safeguard your data everywhere you go. While using IPVanish, you don’t have to worry about opening your health apps while connected to public Wi-Fi because your data will be automatically encrypted and sent to one of our secure remote servers. This way, even if someone were to intercept your connection, they wouldn’t be able to read any of your sensitive health data. That way you can keep your fitness goals in check without anybody snooping on your progress.
