Advances in technology make data protection updates a necessity

LAW: Understanding the new General Data Protection Regulations which come into force next May

Wearable fitness trackers are a popular new trend offering consumers a handy way to track activity levels.

But how much do we know about the information these trackers collect?

What rights do you have in relation to how your information is used?

The kinds of information that your tracker collects depends on the brand and model of the device.

Most devices track steps walked, distances covered, heart-rate, calories burned, and even sleep patterns, with more advanced models utilising in-built GPS to record swim and cycle sessions too.

While you use your tracker it collects information, companies must get your consent to collect the data.

This is likely to mean they will have to clearly set out what information they gather and what they will do with it.

In practice that means that data will not be passed to another company in a way that can identify you as an individual, through a process called pseudonymisation.

Also, you will have the right to ask the company what information it has collected, at any time.

However what if the time comes when you may decide to stop using your tracker?

Under General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), you will now be able to invoke the “right to erasure”, meaning it should be easier to request that a company deletes all your data, giving consumers further control over when and how data is stored.

Alternatively, if you simply decide to switch to a different brand, the GDPR could allow you to request your information is transferred.

This is the new “right to data portability” which would allow you to change fitness device without having to reset your stats and figures.

The practicability of this provision is still being finalised but, at the moment, looks like a welcome consumer-friendly addition.

In brief, the GDPR is a longawaited update to the 1998 Data Protection Act.

Obviously, technology has advanced tremendously and fitness trackers are just one device we could not have envisaged a few years ago.

The GDPR is therefore extremely welcome in its approach to protecting the vast amounts of highly personal data our technology now can collect about us.

However, there are already some critics arguing GDPR is too restrictive as there is the potential for us all to benefit if more data is shared.

For example, there is talk of the potential to recommend medication based on your overall health profile!

Whatever your view, with technology developing at an increasingly rapid rate, I suspect it will not be another 20 years before we get a replacement.