Fitness tracker use comes with security risks

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Monitoring body metrics using fitness trackers and apps from Google, Apple, Garmin, and Strava is a convenient way to stay on top of health and wellbeing

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Even the most reputed companies can suffer from hacking or inadvertent sharing of personal data

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Data obtained by fitness apps is not legally protected in the same way that health information is

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Customers typically are unaware of the extent to which third parties may have access to their information

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Holiday shopping is a common time to buy consumer health products

Under the federal or state laws, the data that fitness trackers collect is not regarded as "health information"

Make sure to opt out of fitness trackers using your information to generate revenue from ads

Gadget users should be cautious about posting their whereabouts and activities online or allowing information to automatically become public

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Use a strong password that is unique to your gadget, and make sure the associated app has two-factor authentication enabled

Sharing login information is never a smart idea. In some situations, it might have disastrous effects

Make sure to keep the app and the device updated with security patches

Photo: Karolina-Grabowska

The objective is to be as safe as you can be, even though nothing is completely full-proof