EFF: Apple the only major wearable vendor offering E2EE for health data

If you're tracking your family's health data with a smartwatch or fitness tracker, you might want to know who can actually read that information. According to a new report from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Apple is the only major wearable manufacturer that offers end-to-end encryption for health data stored in the cloud—meaning even Apple itself can't access your heart rate, sleep patterns, or location history.

The EFF reviewed ten leading wearable brands including Garmin, Google (Fitbit), Oura, Whoop, and others. While most companies encrypt data "in transit and at rest" to protect against hackers, this still allows the companies themselves to access your information. That matters because your health data from wearables doesn't have the same legal privacy protections as medical records from your doctor's office.

What This Means for Privacy-Conscious Families

With roughly 40% of Americans now owning a smartwatch, fitness tracker, or smart ring according to surveys cited by the EFF, these devices are collecting incredibly sensitive information about our daily lives. For parents monitoring children's activity levels or couples tracking sleep quality, the question of who can access this data becomes critical—especially when it comes to government requests or data breaches.

The EFF noted that Apple's end-to-end encryption only protects data stored in the Apple Health app itself. If you sync your information with third-party apps like Strava or share data with other platforms, those separate services may not offer the same protection. Just as many health-conscious families research EMF shielding paint to reduce wireless exposure in their homes, understanding data encryption is becoming an essential part of digital wellness.

Limited Transparency Across the Industry

The report also found that only Apple and Google currently publish transparency reports about government data requests for wearable information. For homebuyers concerned about both physical EMF exposure and digital privacy—topics that often overlap in discussions about 5G and wireless technology—this lack of transparency from most manufacturers is concerning.

The EFF recommends that all wearable makers should at least give users the option for stronger privacy protections, even if it means sacrificing some cloud-based features. For families making decisions about which devices to bring into their homes, Apple's approach currently stands alone in offering this level of data protection.

Originally reported by CyberInsider