Does Ovia share data with employers

Ovia shares aggregate, de-identified health data with employer clients who sponsor the app as a benefit. The company states individual data is not shared. However, in small workplaces, aggregate data can reveal individual behavior. The business model creates a structural conflict of interest between employee privacy and employer insights.

Is Ovia safe to use at work

Whether Ovia is appropriate depends on your comfort with your employer having access to aggregate reproductive health data. If your employer sponsors Ovia, they are paying for health data insights from their workforce. Many employees are not aware of this arrangement.

alternatives

Ovia Health Alternative: No Employer Data Sharing

Ovia is used as an employer-sponsored wellness benefit and shares data with employers in aggregate. Here's what that means and what to use instead.

The Employer Relationship Problem Ovia Health markets its app directly to employers as a workforce health benefit. Employers pay Ovia to offer the app to employees and receive aggregate health data insights about their workforce in return. The company's business model depends on this relationship. A Washington Post investigation in April 2019 documented exactly what employers could see. Companies that purchased Ovia's corporate wellness program received aggregated employee reproductive data: average age, trimester distribution, high risk pregnancy percentages, C section rates, infertility rates, and return to work timing. These are not abstract metrics. In a department of 15 people, aggregated C section rates and return to work timing can point to specific employees. Ovia's terms of service grant the company an "irrevocable license" to "utilize and exploit" personal data. The company was subsequently acquired by Labcorp, which adds lab testing data infrastructure to the reproductive tracking data Ovia already collects. Only the enterprise version of Ovia, the one offered through employer programs, is HIPAA covered. The consumer version of the app is not. Users who download Ovia dir