MyFitnessPal says it may collect or receive health and wellness information you submit as part of your account. It also says it may collect survey and questionnaire responses if you choose to take part in its research. Those responses can include demographics and health details such as conditions, diagnoses and medications, but only if you choose to share them.
Supporting quotations
Categories of Consumer Health Data We Collect
We may collect or receive the categories of consumer health data listed below.
Health and wellness information submitted as part of your account or;
Survey and questionnaire responses you submit (if you choose to participate with our research), including, but not limited to information about your demographics and health (such as conditions, diagnoses, medications, or other similar information), if you choose to share such information
Qualifications & exceptions
“May collect or receive”: the list names categories that may be collected, not a statement that each is collected from every user
Survey responses are collected only if you choose to participate in research
Health details in surveys are covered only if you choose to share them
The survey list is introduced with “including, but not limited to”, so it is not exhaustive
Not stated here
The first item ends with “or;” and the saved text shows no heading naming the group these first two items belong to, so the grouping is not clear.
The policy does not define what counts as health and wellness information submitted as part of your account.
Data Access & Collection · Company practice
Fitness and wellness data
Under the heading “Fitness and Wellness Data”, MyFitnessPal lists dietary habits and restrictions; fitness activity, goals and level; lifestyle information such as sleep habits and life events; and body measurements such as height and weight, Body Mass Index, calorie count, heart rate and other measurements related to physiological condition. These are categories it may collect or receive.
Supporting quotations
Categories of Consumer Health Data We Collect
We may collect or receive the categories of consumer health data listed below.
Fitness and Wellness Data:
Dietary habits and dietary restrictions;
Fitness activity, fitness goals, and fitness level;
Lifestyle information, such as sleep habits and life events;
Body measurements (e.g., height and weight), Body Mass Index, calorie count, heart rate, and other measurements related to physiological condition;
Qualifications & exceptions
“May collect or receive”: a list of possible categories, not a statement that every item is collected from every user
Several items are examples (“such as”, “e.g.”) and “other measurements related to physiological condition” is open-ended
Not stated here
This part of the list does not say whether each item is typed in by you, taken from a connected device or inferred; the sources are listed separately in section 2.
Data Access & Collection · Company practice
Health data from connected apps and wearables
If you connect third-party applications or wearable devices to your MyFitnessPal account, the health data they provide is also covered. The policy calls this “Connected Health Device Data” and says it is subject to the permissions you set on those apps and devices. The examples listed are heart rate and physical activity; the types and length of physical activity; sleep activity and trends; glucose information; and other activity information collected from a connected wearable or app or reported by you.
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Categories of Consumer Health Data We Collect
We may collect or receive the categories of consumer health data listed below.
Health data from third-party applications and wearable devices that you may connect with your MyFitnessPal account and subject to the permissions you may set on those third-party applications and wearable devices ("Connected Health Device Data"), including, without limitation:
Heart rate, and physical activity information;
Information about the types of physical activities you engage in, and the duration of your physical activity;
Sleep activity information and sleep trends;
Glucose information;
Other Information about your activity as may be collected from your wearable device and applications (if connected) or self reported;
Qualifications & exceptions
Covers health data from third-party applications and wearables that you connect to your MyFitnessPal account
Subject to the permissions you may set on those third-party applications and wearable devices
“Including, without limitation”: the examples are not an exhaustive list
Not stated here
The policy does not explain how the permissions you set on a third-party app or device determine what MyFitnessPal receives.
The last item says activity information “may be collected from your wearable device and applications (if connected) or self reported” without saying more about the self-reported part.
Data Access & Collection · Company practice
Profile information that includes health data
MyFitnessPal lists profile information that includes health data as a category it may collect: for example demographic information, age, gender, and an image or photo from your MyFitnessPal account profile.
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Profile Information that includes health data: such as demographic information, age, gender, image or photo, etc. from your MyFitnessPal account profile
Qualifications & exceptions
The profile items are examples (“such as”, “etc.”), not a complete list
Not stated here
The policy does not say which profile fields it treats as health data.
Data Access & Collection · Company practice
Other similar information it may request
The list of categories ends with a catch-all: MyFitnessPal may also collect other similar information that it requests and that is specific to the products or Services you use.
Supporting quotations
Other similar information, as may be requested by us that is specific to the relevant products or Services you engage with.
Qualifications & exceptions
Limited to similar information, as requested by MyFitnessPal, specific to the relevant products or Services you engage with
Not stated here
The policy does not say what counts as “similar information”, so the list of categories is open-ended.
Data Access & Collection · Company practice
Where it collects health data: you, your devices and your use
For consumer health data, MyFitnessPal lists three sources tied to you: information you provide directly; information collected from a device associated with you or from a third-party application you authorized to share information with it; and information collected from your interactions with its apps, Services and platforms. It says its sources are also described in the “Information We Collect About You” section of the MyFitnessPal Privacy Policy.
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Categories of Sources From Which We Collect Consumer Health Data
We may obtain consumer health data from different sources, as described in the Information We Collect About You section of the MyFitnessPal Privacy Policy. With respect to consumer health data, we collect that from the following sources:
Provided directly by you;
Collected from a device associated with you or a third-party application you have authorized to share information with us;
Collected from your interactions with our apps, Services, platforms, etc.;
Qualifications & exceptions
The device and third-party application source applies to apps you have authorized to share information
“May obtain”: a statement of possible sources
Not stated here
The Privacy Policy section it points to was not supplied, so the fuller description of sources is not available here.
The policy does not describe which interactions with its apps and platforms produce consumer health data (the line ends with “etc.”).
Data Access & Collection · Company practice
Health data received from third parties
MyFitnessPal also lists third parties as a source of consumer health data. It names other MyFitnessPal users, business partners, customers, marketing and advertising partners, analytics providers, operating systems, social media platforms, public databases and service providers.
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Categories of Sources From Which We Collect Consumer Health Data
Received from third parties such as other MyFitnessPal users, business partners, customers, marketing and advertising partners, analytics providers, operating systems, social media platforms, public databases, and service providers.
Qualifications & exceptions
“Such as”: the list of third parties is not exhaustive
Not stated here
The policy does not say which kinds of consumer health data each of these third parties would provide, or on what basis they share it.