Period tracking apps allegedly shared users’ private data about sexual activity with Facebook

A new report claims that apps such as Maya and MIA Fem sent personal information to Facebook.

Period tracking apps have allegedly shared their users’ personal data — about everything from the last time they had sex or masturbated to the type of birth control they use — with Facebook, according to a new report.

An investigation by Privacy International, a U.K.-based watchdog non-profit, found that two popular apps boasting millions of users, Maya and MIA Fem, conducted “extensive sharing of sensitive personal data with third parties, including Facebook.” At least one of the apps reports that it has since corrected the issue.

Within the apps, users input information like the start of their last menstrual cycle, any symptoms like cramping, and when they have sex, in order to track their periods and ovulation. According to Privacy International’s report, the apps were then sending that information to Facebook through the social media company’s Software Development Kit, a Facebook-created program to help app developers update their product, track usage and set up advertising.

Privacy International found that Maya and MIA Fem were immediately sharing information about users before they agreed to a privacy policy, regardless of whether or not the user had a Facebook account.