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Home / Healthcare & Medicine / Healthcare / Protecting Health Data in the Modern Age: Getting to Grips with the GDPR / Anna and her apps

Anna and her apps

Watch the video to get to know Anna. We will follow Anna her on her medical journey and see what health data is generated outside the medical context.
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5.1
TRIX MULDER: Meet Anna. Anna’s a young professional who just finished university. Like most people, she enjoys hanging out with friends, doing sports, and she has a broad interest in a variety of topics. Here we see her in a bar with friends. We will follow her during the two weeks of this course, and we will use her as an example to clarify certain aspects as regards health data. Like most people, Anna uses a smartphone, smartwatch, and many other modern technologies. As can be expected from using these types of technologies, she checks them regularly. And by doing so, she uses a variety of apps each day. How many of these apps do you actually use each day? Do you know?
47.7
Are you aware of all the data that flows through these apps– your personal data? Nowadays, you can use smart technologies for different purposes. You can use them for online banking, to check the weather, to manage your agenda, to read books, but also to keep track of your health. There is a large variety of health-related apps that keep track of how much you move and eat during a day, what your heart rate is, and there are even apps to measure your blood pressure. You enter a lot of personal data in these apps in order to use them. Most of these apps have privacy policies which explain how your personal data is being handled.
84.3
These privacy policies are not always easy to understand. Did you ever read one? There might be some unexpected surprises in these policies you are not aware of. Look at the examples we found in the privacy policies of some health apps. We also may partner with third parties to analyse location data that we collect in order to develop new products and services. We may collect information about the contacts stored on your device, as well as friends you invite to the app if you choose to share such information with us. We may receive information about you from our corporate affiliates.
117.5
Such information may include online and offline purchase information and information collected through the website’s apps and online services operated by our affiliates. We may use and combine this information with additional information that we collect for the purposes described in this privacy policy. When you use the services, we automatically receive and record certain information from your computer, mobile phone, tablet, or other device. To obtain such information, we may use web logs or applications that recognise your device and gather information about its online activity.
150.7
TRIX MULDER: Anna starts off her day with a run. She uses a running app which is connected to a music app. Next to this, she also uses a smartwatch to track, for example, her activity, number of steps, energy use, and heart rate.
170.7
Oh, no! What’s happening to Anna? It looks like she’s in pain. Hopefully, she’s OK.
180.7
We will check back with Anna in a later video. But for now, what does your cloud look like? Make your own app cloud and discuss with other learners what data you think is being used by these apps.

In this video you will meet Anna. We will follow her during the 2 weeks of this course and use her as an example to clarify the regulation of protecting health data in both a medical and private context. We will follow her on her medical journey and see what health data she generates by using modern technologies.

Anna uses a smartphone, smartwatch and many other modern technologies. These technologies can be used for different purposes. She needs to enter a lot of personal data in these apps in order to use them. Most of these apps have a privacy policy which explains how your personal data is being handled. According to the GDPR these policies need to be written in clear and plain language. However, as you will see in this video, these privacy policies are not always easy to understand and may include some provisions which are not privacy friendly.

Do you use modern technologies such as apps and wearables? Are you aware of the data you enter in them? In the next step you will have the opportunity to make your own app cloud and discuss which data might be being used, but for now we’re interested to know whether you use modern technologies such as apps and wearables? Are you aware of the data you enter in them? Have you ever read a privacy policy?

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This content is taken from University of Groningen online course
Protecting Health Data in the Modern Age: Getting to Grips with the GDPR
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Protecting Health Data in the Modern Age: Getting to Grips with the GDPR

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Protecting Health Data in the Modern Age: Getting to Grips with the GDPR

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