'We follow strict protocols' - popular period tracking app hits back at backlash
A report from the University of Cambridge has claimed that menstrual apps are a risk to privacy, but period tracking app Clue has hit back, detailing exactly how they use users' data
After the damning report from University of Cambridge that select period tracking apps are harvesting and selling user information, popular tracking app Clue has set the record straight.
Clue is a science-based, data-driven menstrual and reproductive health app, trusted by 10 million people globally, and despite their mission to help women - has come under scrutiny following the release of a report from University of Cambridge's Minderoo Centre.
The report said the tracking apps were a "gold mine" for consumer profiling. By collecting customer data, it could allow companies to produce targeted advertisements linked to information users think is kept private.
Under EU and UK law, the data from these period-tracking apps comes under a special category, which means it should have special protections from being sold on - but this report highlights that consent options are not always enforced or implemented. This then allows the data can be sold to advertisers and tech giants such as Facebook and Google.
However Clue has assured users the app follows "strict protocols" when it comes to how data is managed, and said keeping their users safe is at their "core".
Clue CEO Rhiannon White told The Mirror: "We adhere to the very strict standards the European GDPR sets for data security and storage. This applies to the data we hold regardless of where in the world our users are located. Our policy and firm commitment is that no matter where our users are in the world, we will never allow their private health data to be used against them.
"We have never disclosed such data to any authority, and we never will. Anything that does not fundamentally serve female health and the empowerment of people with cycles would be at odds with our principles at Clue," she added.
One of Clue's missions is to help close the research gap in women's health and White assured that when using the data for research, Clue takes the "utmost care and follow strict protocols".
She said gaining insight from de-identified data is an "important part of our mission" because the historical lack of data for research into female health is a major contributing factor to the health gap, so will share this anonymised data with researchers from leading global institutions, such as Stanford and University of Oxford.
"It is up to each user whether they want to help to close that data gap by consenting to their de-identified data being used for this purpose, which is why we offer granular consent options," and added: "This de-identified data is only shared with user consent and all research projects are carefully vetted against our strict criteria to ensure they're in the interest of our community.
Help us improve our content by completing the survey below. We'd love to hear from you!
"We have never and will never sell or share sensitive data with advertisers, insurers or data brokers. That is not our business model -– our business model is direct to consumer subscriptions, ensuring that our users are our customers, and we serve them."
Rhiannon further detailed that the third party tools Clue uses to work are "vetted and assessed" against the strictest GDPR standards and assured they transparently detail exactly what data is handled by each tool and how in the privacy policy.
"Our servers are located in the EU in Germany and in Ireland. When your data is sent between your device and our Clue servers, we use encrypted data transmission, which scrambles the information being sent so it's unreadable. Doing this increases the security of your data transfer," she added.
But the researchers from the Cambridge study warn that by collecting information, it could allow companies to produce targeted advertisements linked to information users think is kept private. They also worry that if this data gets into the wrong hands, it could even affect access to abortion, health insurance discrimination and cyberstalking as well as risks to job prospects.
"There are real and frightening privacy and safety risks to women as a result of the commodification of the data collected by cycle tracking app companies," said Dr Stefanie Felsberger, the lead author of the report. The report calls on organisations such as the NHS and other health bodies to create a "safer" alternative that is trustworthy.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
10 hours ago
- Daily Mail
SMALL CAP IDEA: Titanium demand strengthened by geopolitics
Titanium doesn't have the same buzz as lithium or rare earths, but its importance is climbing fast. Lightweight, strong, and corrosion-resistant, it's essential in everything from aerospace to medical implants, and increasingly, it's becoming a metal of strategic significance. The aerospace sector remains the heavyweight buyer. Titanium alloys are a go-to material for jet engines and airframes, offering the strength of steel at nearly half the weight. As commercial aviation recovers and global defence budgets swell, demand here is set to rise. But titanium's uses go well beyond the skies. In medicine, titanium is the metal of choice for implants. It doesn't react with the human body, making it ideal for surgical applications ranging from joint replacements to dental implants. Industrial uses Meanwhile, industrial uses continue in heat exchangers, offshore equipment, and high-performance parts that need to resist corrosion or operate at high temperatures. Then there's pigment-grade titanium dioxide (TiO₂), a compound used in paints, plastics and cosmetics. That market is less flashy but highly stable, and it offers cash flow potential for producers with the right purity levels. The real shift today, however, is geopolitical. Titanium sponge, the base material for alloys, has traditionally come from Russia and China. Sanctions and growing trade tensions are pushing governments and manufacturers to secure alternative sources. The US, UK, and EU have all flagged titanium as a critical raw material that needs a more resilient supply chain. Energy transition At the same time, the energy transition is giving titanium a new role. Offshore wind, hydrogen production, and geothermal energy all use titanium components to withstand tough environments. It's not as central to the green economy as copper or lithium, but its durability makes it hard to replace. For investors, that all adds up to a market with growing demand and renewed strategic value. High-purity titanium projects, especially those outside China and Russia, are now in the spotlight. That's why developments like Empire Metals ' Pitfield project, which just reported lab-scale results showing 99.25 per cent TiO₂ purity, are attracting attention. That level of refinement is big news. It opens the door to higher-value uses, including titanium sponge for aerospace alloys or high-grade pigment production. No secret sauce The key? Empire's processing team, working with ALS labs in Perth, used well-established methods: beneficiation, acid baking, leaching, and purification, all done on a bulk sample taken from near-surface drill cores. Crucially, it didn't need to 'seed' the process with external TiO2 this time, a sign of improved chemistry and recovery. This could make the production route more scalable and cost-effective down the line. Next steps include repeating the process on a 70-tonne bulk sample and shipping material to potential customers. With a £7million cash buffer and a maiden mineral resource estimate due soon, Empire is shifting gears from exploration to development. Panmure Liberum sees this as a pivotal milestone as Empire works to define the scale and economics of Pitfield. Pivotal milestone The initial resource is expected to confirm a vast titanium system, with earlier estimates pegging the exploration target at up to 32 billion tonnes at grades of 4.5 to 5.5 per cent. If Pitfield can deliver consistent, high-purity TiO2 using conventional, scalable techniques, it could become a rare western supply of titanium at a time when geopolitical tensions are encouraging buyers to diversify away from Chinese and Russian sources. For now, Empire is flying under the radar, but these results show it could be developing something far more significant than your average junior mining project. It's worth watching.
Daily Mirror
11 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
'We follow strict protocols' - popular period tracking app hits back at backlash
A report from the University of Cambridge has claimed that menstrual apps are a risk to privacy, but period tracking app Clue has hit back, detailing exactly how they use users' data After the damning report from University of Cambridge that select period tracking apps are harvesting and selling user information, popular tracking app Clue has set the record straight. Clue is a science-based, data-driven menstrual and reproductive health app, trusted by 10 million people globally, and despite their mission to help women - has come under scrutiny following the release of a report from University of Cambridge's Minderoo Centre. The report said the tracking apps were a "gold mine" for consumer profiling. By collecting customer data, it could allow companies to produce targeted advertisements linked to information users think is kept private. Under EU and UK law, the data from these period-tracking apps comes under a special category, which means it should have special protections from being sold on - but this report highlights that consent options are not always enforced or implemented. This then allows the data can be sold to advertisers and tech giants such as Facebook and Google. However Clue has assured users the app follows "strict protocols" when it comes to how data is managed, and said keeping their users safe is at their "core". Clue CEO Rhiannon White told The Mirror: "We adhere to the very strict standards the European GDPR sets for data security and storage. This applies to the data we hold regardless of where in the world our users are located. Our policy and firm commitment is that no matter where our users are in the world, we will never allow their private health data to be used against them. "We have never disclosed such data to any authority, and we never will. Anything that does not fundamentally serve female health and the empowerment of people with cycles would be at odds with our principles at Clue," she added. One of Clue's missions is to help close the research gap in women's health and White assured that when using the data for research, Clue takes the "utmost care and follow strict protocols". She said gaining insight from de-identified data is an "important part of our mission" because the historical lack of data for research into female health is a major contributing factor to the health gap, so will share this anonymised data with researchers from leading global institutions, such as Stanford and University of Oxford. "It is up to each user whether they want to help to close that data gap by consenting to their de-identified data being used for this purpose, which is why we offer granular consent options," and added: "This de-identified data is only shared with user consent and all research projects are carefully vetted against our strict criteria to ensure they're in the interest of our community. Help us improve our content by completing the survey below. We'd love to hear from you! "We have never and will never sell or share sensitive data with advertisers, insurers or data brokers. That is not our business model -– our business model is direct to consumer subscriptions, ensuring that our users are our customers, and we serve them." Rhiannon further detailed that the third party tools Clue uses to work are "vetted and assessed" against the strictest GDPR standards and assured they transparently detail exactly what data is handled by each tool and how in the privacy policy. "Our servers are located in the EU in Germany and in Ireland. When your data is sent between your device and our Clue servers, we use encrypted data transmission, which scrambles the information being sent so it's unreadable. Doing this increases the security of your data transfer," she added. But the researchers from the Cambridge study warn that by collecting information, it could allow companies to produce targeted advertisements linked to information users think is kept private. They also worry that if this data gets into the wrong hands, it could even affect access to abortion, health insurance discrimination and cyberstalking as well as risks to job prospects. "There are real and frightening privacy and safety risks to women as a result of the commodification of the data collected by cycle tracking app companies," said Dr Stefanie Felsberger, the lead author of the report. The report calls on organisations such as the NHS and other health bodies to create a "safer" alternative that is trustworthy.
Fashion United
12 hours ago
- Fashion United
Aliexpress strengthens European presence with local warehouses
Chinese online marketplace AliExpress has brought its services closer to European customers. The company further expanded its European strategy with the launch of the new fulfilment channel, Local+. With this initiative, AliExpress aims to shorten delivery times by shipping products from local warehouses in Europe. To this end, the company recently acquired 10 warehouses in the UK, Germany, and Spain, according to Retail Detail and E-commerce News. AliExpress also took over the shipping from European traders. Since 2022, European sellers were able to offer their products through the platform, but until now, they were responsible for shipping themselves. With the introduction of Local+, AliExpress took over this logistical responsibility. For European fashion companies, this potentially meant a lowered threshold to operate via AliExpress. The company underlined that 'European consumers will benefit from faster deliveries, free shipping and free returns.' For the time being, it remained unclear how many European fashion retailers were active on AliExpress. More than one billion parcels were brought into the EU annually, a large proportion of which came from AliExpress and other non-EU e-commerce platforms, reported the NVWA. This article was translated to English using an AI tool. FashionUnited uses AI language tools to speed up translating (news) articles and proofread the translations to improve the end result. This saves our human journalists time they can spend doing research and writing original articles. Articles translated with the help of AI are checked and edited by a human desk editor prior to going online. If you have questions or comments about this process email us at info@
