During the pandemic, many people ditched their gym memberships and invested in personal exercising equipment, helping companies such as Peloton and NordicTrack take off.
But Consumer Reports is out with a warning that those companies, and others like them, are harvesting sensitive data.
The consumer watchdog recently of 10 fitness companies, including Peloton and NordicTrack, and found that along with user鈥檚 basic data, such as height or age, companies might be collecting information regarding pregnancy status and dietary habits.
In the case of BowFlex, Consumer Reports found its privacy contract allows the company to collect and share olfactory data 鈥� or the user鈥檚 smell. Though, the Consumer Report said it’s unclear if that’s happening; the company didn’t respond to a request to comment.
鈥淭he concern is that medical information would be treated the same as anything else, like shopping habits,鈥� said Steven Blair, the security test program leader for Consumer Reports. 鈥淭he policies are written in a very, very broad way.鈥�
Blair said while user鈥檚 information is generally used for targeted advertisements, it鈥檚 not always clear with whom who the user鈥檚 information is being shared with, and how secure the companies鈥� servers are.
鈥淭o be fair, some brands we looked at do say that they adhere to privacy laws, but that’s the absolute minimum, right? That’s what they’re forced to,鈥� Blair said.
He recommended checking the apps’ privacy settings, so information isn鈥檛 being shared publicly. In some cases, customers aren’t able to delete their collected data on the app, but can reach out directly to the company to do so.
Consumer Reports also has a tool, called the permission slip, that directs companies to delete a user鈥檚 personal data.
Peloton told Consumer Reports it doesn鈥檛 sell its members鈥� information to data brokers, though the company鈥檚 privacy policy said it may use the data it collects for marketing.
A representative from Hydrow, another company Consumer Reports looked at, said the company 鈥渇ully adheres to all applicable data privacy regulations.鈥�
Tonal, which Consumer Reports said stores video of its users, said to the consumer watchdog, 鈥淲e save only those recordings that a customer has decided to save.”
鈥淢embers can review their videos to assess their form and refine their movements,鈥� Tonal said. 鈥淚f desired, they can delete their recordings at any time.鈥�
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