Google and Flo Health have offered to pay $56m settlement for a privacy lawsuit which alleges the healthtech unlawfully shared users’ personal data with digital advertising companies, including Google and Meta, for targeted advertising.
Flo is one of the most popular period tracking apps in the world and became Europe’s first femtech unicorn when it raised $200m last year, in a round led by US investor General Atlantic.
In a proposal filed yesterday to a federal judge, Flo and Google committed $8m and $48m respectively, as part of a wider $59.5m settlement fund for the women whose Flo app data was shared, according to specialist legal media outlet Mlex. This data allegedly included information about the women’s periods and pregnancy status.
As part of the proposed settlement, Flo and Google would not admit any wrongdoing. Flo will also have to put a clear notice on its homepage about its privacy commitments and link to its privacy policy in large font for a year once the court enters its final judgment.
The case, which reached San Francisco court in July, involved five named claimants who argued they never gave permission for their data to be shared with Meta and Google, which were also on trial.
Meta also denied any wrongdoing but did not settle the case. The social media giant has been found to have illegally captured users’ reproductive health data from Flo. Its request to have the case retried was denied earlier this month.
Founded in 2015, Flo’s platform allows users to track period cycles and monitor symptoms, as well as providing them with tailored health insights and educational content around pregnancy and perimenopause.
The case could have implications for European healthtechs, Rob Cobley, commercial partner at law firm Harper James, told Sifted in July.
"If the court finds that Flo or Meta unlawfully collected or shared sensitive data without proper consent, it may reinforce calls for tighter controls on SDK use and greater scrutiny of what data is being transmitted behind the scenes,” he said.
Sifted approached Flo Health for comment.
