Google and Flo to pay $56 million after misusing users’ health data

Google and Flo Health settled class-action lawsuits over claims they shared Flo Health users’ intimate health data with third parties such as Google, Meta, AppsFlyer and Flurry, including information about menstruation or pregnancy from 2016 to 2019. The settlements, disclosed this week in San Francisco federal court according to Reuters, amount to $56 million in total—$48 million from Google and $8 million from Flo Health.

The deals come after an earlier trial in which Meta was found liable for California Invasion of Privacy Act violations related to Flo app data, with Meta expected to appeal. The FTC had investigated Flo Health and, in 2021, concluded that the company misled users about its data privacy practices, contributing to a class-action lawsuit that also involved Flurry, which settled separately for $3.5 million. Flo and Google deny wrongdoing but have agreed to the settlements to avoid trial and potential damages.