On the eve of closing arguments in a high-profile class-action trial, the period tracking app Flo settled with plaintiffs on Thursday. The agreement, whose terms were not publicly available, resolves claims that the app improperly shared the sensitive sexual and reproductive health data of millions of women. This development leaves social media giant Meta as the sole remaining defendant to face a jury in the Northern California federal case.
The lawsuit’s core allegation is that Flo betrayed user trust by sharing intimate data despite explicit privacy promises. Plaintiffs’ lawyers contend that while Flo assured users their information would remain confidential, the company embedded a software development kit (SDK) from Meta into its app. This tool allegedly allowed Meta to receive data about users’ menstrual cycles and other reproductive health information, which could then be used for purposes such as targeted advertising.
With Flo now removed from the trial, the legal spotlight intensifies on Meta. The company must now single-handedly defend itself against a class representing an estimated 38 million women. Due to the massive number of people in the plaintiff class and the sensitive nature of the data involved, a verdict against Meta could result in damages reaching into the billions of dollars.
For its part, Meta’s legal team has reportedly denied that the company obtained specific menstruation data from the Flo app.
The legal battle stems from a bombshell 2019 report by The Wall Street Journal. The investigation alleged that Flo was providing user information to Meta, Google, and other third-party companies, sparking widespread user backlash and legal scrutiny over the privacy practices of health and wellness apps. This report served as the catalyst for the class-action lawsuit that has now been partially resolved.
This is not the first time Flo has faced consequences for its data-sharing practices. In 2021, the company settled with the Federal Trade Commission following an investigation into these same issues. As part of that settlement, Flo agreed to new terms, including the requirement to obtain affirmative consent from users before sharing their health data in the future. While Flo has now settled this civil suit, the trial’s continuation against Meta ensures that the critical questions about data privacy and corporate responsibility remain at the forefront.
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