Metro

Schumer: Fitness apps are a threat to your privacy

Fitness bracelets that track a lot more than just their users’ daily steps could lead to a “privacy nightmare,” Sen. Charles Schumer said Sunday.

Popular fitness tracker FitBit, and other similar devices, keep a tally of where its users workout, how many calories they burn and even their sleeping patterns, Schumer said at a press conference. That information can be worth money if the companies sell it to third parties like insurance providers and employers without customers’ consent.

“This is personal information. It ought to stay personal. Plain and simple,” Schumer said.

The New York senator is calling on the Federal Trade Commission to take action and provide users with an opportunity to opt out of having their information peddled without permission.

“Most people don’t even know their data can be sold. There’s a little bit of fine print when you apply, but no one reads it,” he said.

Schumer said the companies behind the fitness-oriented apps could take advantage of a loophole in a Sept. 2013 law that provides specific guidelines for how mobile medical apps store data.

“We don’t expect our physical trainers at the gym or our health professionals to sell our information about how we exercise, what we weigh, what our blood pressure is,” he said. Neither should FitBit or any device like it.”

While he is fighting for stricter laws, Schumer thinks fitness bracelets are generally a good way for Americans to be motivated to move.

“As Americans become increasingly overweight and inactive, these devices push us in the opposite direction, towards a healthier life, and that’s a good thing,” he said.

“However, these bracelets could also represent a true privacy nightmare.”