Google and Flo Announce Multi-Year Health Partnership After $56 Million Settlement

Google says its new multi-year partnership with women’s health app Flo will bring personalized features to Google Health, while the companies face renewed scrutiny over user privacy.

The companies say they plan to build products together and incorporate Flo into Google Health. Google says it is working to sync the services for deeper insights, potentially using trackers such as Fitbit Air and the Google Health Coach premium service. Google also says users must give separate, explicit permission for each type and purpose of data sharing, and can withdraw permission at any time. It says shared Flo data will not be used for advertising, sold, or made available to other apps or developers.

In response to questions about privacy, Google said Google Health Coach onboarding explains that third-party app data is used to provide personalized coaching. The company said its algorithms are designed not to log or store sensitive women’s health events, and that ongoing monitoring is intended to keep AI responses aligned with sensitive communication standards. Google also reiterated that it will not use Google Health information for Google Ads.

The partnership follows a $56 million settlement by Google and Flo in a lawsuit concerning allegations that Flo shared users’ sensitive period-tracking data with Google and Meta without their knowledge or consent. A further $3.5 million settlement came from Flurry, a now-defunct mobile company. Meta did not settle and was found liable under the California Invasion of Privacy Act, according to court documents. The article notes that users can review and revoke third-party access through Google’s Privacy Checkup.