> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.endoless.app/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # You deleted your name. But is your health data anonymous? - URL: https://www.endoless.app/blog/you-deleted-your-name-but-is-your-health-data-anonymous/ - Published: 2026-09-09T15:57:07.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-09T15:57:07.000Z - Description: Removing your name is not the same as making you anonymous. Four questions worth asking about health apps, privacy, AI predictions and research. - Author: Alexandra Mont - Tags: #blog-col, DigitalHealth, News You tell an app something you might not even tell your closest friend. When you bleed. When sex hurts. When you’re trying to get pregnant. When you’re too exhausted to get through the day. You press save. **What happens after that should not be a mystery.** For me, this is one of the most important conversations in women’s health technology. Because asking someone to track their most intimate experiences means asking for trust. And “we care about your privacy” is not the full answer. Here are a few things I think we should talk about more. ## 1\. Removing your name doesn’t necessarily make you anonymous. This is the detail I wish everyone knew. A record without a name can still contain a distinctive combination of information. The question is whether someone could connect it back to you. In May 2026, France’s privacy regulator, the CNIL, fined IQVIA Operations France over failures involving its health data warehouses. IQVIA argued that the data was anonymous. The regulator found that it was only pseudonymous, because re-identification remained possible using reasonable means. [The receipts: what the CNIL actually found →](https://www.cnil.fr/en/health-data-fine-5-million-euros-against-iqvia?ref=endoless.app) > “We removed your name” and “you cannot reasonably be identified” are different claims. When a company says “anonymised,” it should be able to explain what makes that true. ## 2\. “We don’t sell your data” doesn’t answer every privacy question. ![Before you press “agree,” ask who else is invited.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/03/00/030051b2-f6fc-4b43-932d-b72e7e3231c0/content/images/2026/09/who-gets-it.png) Your symptoms have a story. Who else gets a copy? It’s a sentence you might look for. Fair enough. But what about sharing? What about the outside companies providing analytics or other services inside the app? In 2021, Flo settled FTC allegations that it shared users’ health information with outside analytics providers after promising to keep that information private. That is a historical case, not a claim about its practices today. [Straight from the source: the FTC’s Flo case →](https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/192-3133-flo-health-inc?ref=endoless.app) The question worth asking is bigger: **Who receives information about me, what do they receive, and why?** You deserve an answer you can actually understand. ## 3\. A confident prediction still needs evidence. “This could be a difficult day” can influence your plans. Whether you rest. Whether you worry. So when an app predicts something about your health, ask: how does it know? Was it evaluated in people like me? How often is it wrong? A polished screen cannot answer those questions. Neither can the letters “AI.” And if your body disagrees with the app, you should not feel that you have to prove your experience to a screen. ## 4\. “For research” deserves a proper explanation. I want better research into endometriosis. I want our everyday experiences to count. I also want people to understand what they are contributing to. Who gets access? For which projects? Is a commercial organisation involved? What choices do you have? Wanting to help other women and wanting boundaries around your own information can exist together. --- ## Why I’m talking about this at Endoless Because building in this space means being willing to answer uncomfortable questions about your own product. I want Endoless to earn trust through clear explanations, careful evidence, and choices people can understand. That is a standard to demonstrate as we build. We ask women to record so much. Their pain. Their energy. Their bleeding. The parts of life that are difficult to say out loud. The least we can do is be equally clear about what happens on our side of the screen. > If a health app asks you to be that honest, you should be able to ask for the same honesty back. Send this to someone who uses a period or symptom tracker. These are questions we should all feel comfortable asking. **Save this: 4 questions to ask your health app** - What leaves my device, and who receives it? - What makes my data anonymous? - What evidence supports your predictions? - Can I choose whether my data is used for research? ![A little curiosity. A few uncomfortable questions. Actual sources.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/03/00/030051b2-f6fc-4b43-932d-b72e7e3231c0/content/images/2026/09/sources-receipts.png) You deserve receipts from anyone asking for your trust. Including us. - [When **“anonymous” wasn’t anonymous:**](https://www.cnil.fr/en/health-data-fine-5-million-euros-against-iqvia?ref=endoless.app) the CNIL’s findings on IQVIA’s health data warehouses, May 2026. - [**Privacy promises meet reality:**](https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/192-3133-flo-health-inc?ref=endoless.app) the FTC’s 2021 Flo settlement over alleged health-data sharing. A historical case, not a claim about Flo’s practices today. - [**“Anonymous” needs more than a costume.**](https://www.cnil.fr/fr/technologies/lanonymisation-de-donnees-personnelles?ref=endoless.app) The CNIL’s explanation of anonymisation versus pseudonymisation. This supports your central point beyond the IQVIA case. *Source in French.* - [**A confident claim still needs receipts.**](https://www.asa.org.uk/news/avoiding-miscon-tra-ceptions.html?ref=endoless.app) The UK advertising regulator explains its ruling on Natural Cycles’ contraceptive reliability claims. Useful for section 3 about evidence; this concerned advertising, not a ban on the app. - [**Flo wasn’t the only case.**](https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/202-3186-easy-healthcare-corporation-us-v?ref=endoless.app) The FTC’s 2023 Premom settlement over alleged sensitive-data sharing and notification failures. A historical example, not evidence of current misconduct.