Glow pregnancy app recently came under fire after it became the subject of a new Consumer Reports investigation. The app reportedly has security flaws that compromise its users' personal information.
Investigators were able to access Glow users' personal data such as their sex lives, abortions, miscarriage histories, pregnancy due dates, names, email address, and birth dates, among others, Consumer Reports listed. The group said the users' personal information can easily be obtained by someone who only has mediocre technical skills.
Consumer Reports said it was easy to connect accounts in Glow. This means users with ill intentions can include themselves to a woman's account without her knowledge and access her personal data even though she didn't grant them permission.
Glow investor and Chairman Max Levchin assured via Twitter that their team has "corrected the potential issues." Levchin stressed that "there is no evidence to suggest that any Glow data was compromised."
In addition, Glow reached out to its users and advised them to reset their password, update the app, and re-link the app to the account of their partner, Yahoo! reported. Maria Rerecich, Consumer Reports' director of electronics testing, said they were worried about Glow's serious security flaws, but commended the team for their fast response to the non-profit organization's concerns.
Some fertility and pregnancy apps have been criticized for their inaccuracy in predicting women's fertility days. Glow, one of the most popular fertility apps out there, fared badly when it comes to accuracy, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine. The company, however, argued that they are "misrepresented" in the report and that the investigation shouldn't have included them since they indicated that the app is not a substitute for contraceptives, Fortune reported.
Another fertility app that fared poorly in the study's results is Europe's Natural Cycles. Dr. Marguerite Duane, the lead author of the research, said women shouldn't rely entirely on apps telling them when they are fertile. Duane said women are "smarter than smartphones" and they should educate themselves about the science of fertility and birth control methods, Fortune noted.
On the issue of privacy risks, Glow is just one app with security flaws but consumers should still exercise caution. First of all, people should not be too willing to provide developers their personal info without questioning the app's security. Users should be hesitant in sending out data because you don't know where the info goes after you share it.
