Wednesday
Room 3
10:20 - 11:20
(UTC±00)
Talk (60 min)
Beyond the Pink: Data Risks in Femtech You Can’t Ignore
Femtech apps are changing the way millions of women track their reproductive health. But beneath these friendly and helpful interfaces lies a complex and often opaque system of data practices.
This talk explores the privacy concerns surrounding femtech apps, examining how they collect, store, and at times misuse deeply personal health information. Many of these tools operate outside the scope of medical device regulation and exploit loopholes in data governance, while positioning themselves as harmless lifestyle products.
From a cybersecurity standpoint, the talk examines technical vulnerabilities and regulatory blind spots that make femtech uniquely exposed. It argues for a socio-technical threat model; one that accounts for sensitivity of reproductive health data. Finally, this talk challenges complacency, invites critical conversation, and calls for design and policy changes that return control of intimate data to the user.