Period Tracking Apps and Data Privacy in India: Risks, Awareness and Empowerment Gaps

Abstract

Period tracking apps hold out the promise of empowerment for Indian consumers, but they collect intensely personal health information – cycles, symptoms, moods – that poses very significant privacy threats. In India, where comprehensive data protection legislation is in its infancy, this sensitive data is exposed to risks: probable leaks, abuse by third parties (such as insurers or advertisers), or even state surveillance. Alarmingly, user knowledge of such threats and how apps process data is still drastically low. Most users of these tools blindly trust them without realizing the privacy trade-offs involved, thus creating a perilous gap. Such ignorance negates the very empowerment the apps provide. Real digital empowerment not only demands the tool but also knowledge and agency over one’s data. In reality, tremendous gaps between user awareness, regulatory protections, and app provider transparency prevail, endangering Indian users while trying to monitor their health.