All this said I'm more concerned about Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) on smartTV you buy in the store and never even realize it's phoning home with everything you watch...
"In my previous blog, I revealed that Oura data is not end-to-end encrypted. That means that an Oura user's health data can be unscrambled at certain points as it travels from a person's ring, through their phone app, over the internet, and as it lands on Oura's servers."
Very strange -- it seems to be conflating end-to-end encryption with encryption-in-transit.
> the once-responsive Oura has not yet replied to any of my inquiries, or committed to releasing the numbers
Illinois has a tight biometric-privacy law [1]. I’d bet Oura isn’t particularly careful about prohibiting e.g. a Texas police department querying the protected information of Illinois residents.
This is why although I don't love my Apple Watch, I'm not using anything else. It's very sensitive data and Apple is the only company worth trusting with it. They're not perfect but compared to others there's no competition.
Apple has a great PR (propaganda) department that has convinced many people they respect your privacy. In truth, they do not. They're "better" than Google, but only slightly. And only so slightly that realistically it doesn't matter.
"Apple is taking the unprecedented step of removing its highest level data security tool from customers in the UK, after the government demanded access to user data."
A great example is Apple's new in-house cellular modem design, which gives you the option to stop reporting your exact location to your cellular provider.
The best way to prevent the Feds from getting access to customer data is to not collect it in the first place.
Google's Health Connect system doesn't share this data either (without a consent prompt for third party apps, off course). This is to the point where I wish it would just support some kind of sync, because two devices hooked up to the same accounts need a third party app to transfer the health info.
Apple is subject to the same laws Oura is. The competition is too.
Yeah there's no one I'd trust with my personal data except Apple. Their track record of refusing to bow down to the feds has been golden. 24 carat infact.
Apple literally removed encrypted file storage as a feature in the UK rather than comply with demands for access to encrypted customer data from the UK government.
Previously, they refused US government demands for a backdoor that would allow them to unlock locked devices.
I will once again proselytize for the new pebble time 2 (I am quite a fan of it). Open source and comes with standard sensors for health monitoring (6 axis imu, heart rate monitor, SpO2). Health data can be kept and analyzed on your phone and there are various apps that can do so. Suffice to say there are “surveillance-free” options out there, and if you’re not satisfied with current app options it is easy to hack your own together
If your concern is that the government may access the data, whether it's covered by HIPAA or not is irrelevant, because HIPAA allows government access. Though yes, it would still be better than non-HIPAA in general.
"Mr Smith has been running again, we better bring him in for questioning!"
Very strange -- it seems to be conflating end-to-end encryption with encryption-in-transit.
Illinois has a tight biometric-privacy law [1]. I’d bet Oura isn’t particularly careful about prohibiting e.g. a Texas police department querying the protected information of Illinois residents.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biometric_Information_Privacy_...
Everything about that company is disgusting.
Such a shame, too. I was eager to learn more about my health.
Government can already get ALL your celltower locations without a warrant
AND read all your emails and text messages that are over 6 months old, without a warrant
Apple has a great PR (propaganda) department that has convinced many people they respect your privacy. In truth, they do not. They're "better" than Google, but only slightly. And only so slightly that realistically it doesn't matter.
"Apple is taking the unprecedented step of removing its highest level data security tool from customers in the UK, after the government demanded access to user data."
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgj54eq4vejo
It happened in the UK; it will not be long before it happens in the US.
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Also, USA: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-36084244
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Also, France, Germany, Australia, Brazil, Japan: https://www.apple.com/legal/transparency/pdf/requests-2024-H...
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Also, Russia: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-04/apple-fil...
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Also, China: https://www.article19.org/resources/apple-cares-about-digita...
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Also in general: https://proton.me/blog/iphone-privacy
The best way to prevent the Feds from getting access to customer data is to not collect it in the first place.
Apple is subject to the same laws Oura is. The competition is too.
All it takes is a political sea change for E2EE to go away.
Apple already has to hand over a wealth of information when asked by the feds.
Previously, they refused US government demands for a backdoor that would allow them to unlock locked devices.
But every one of these devices demands some Android/Apple app, and shipping all my health data to basically non-HIPAA data brokers.
Id be all over a local-only no-data-exfiltration health tracker. But the companies do NOT want to provide that.
I, uh, guess, "go surveillance capitalism", for more choices?
In overly simple terms, if insurance is not involved, then it’s not subject to HIPAA.