I love the idea for the device itself. But I absolutely do not want this data to be social, or transmitted anywhere besides a secure, encrypted repository under my own control that I can optionally grant selective access to. Here's why.
My mother has something called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. My aunt also had it. Their mother also had it. It kills as many people as breast cancer every year, by progressively scarring the lungs until it's impossible to breathe. There's no cure except for new lungs. (My mother is waiting for a double lung transplant right now.) As you might expect, measuring blood oxygen efficiency is a good way to track the progress of the condition.
As a result, carrying a smart blood oxygen meter that also measures number of breaths and general health / stress levels really appeals to me. But the health situation here in the States, and in many countries, is fucked (albeit a little better than it was, thanks to our friends at the Obama Administration). Let's say I contracted the condition (although there's no proof that there's a genetic link), or it looked like I might be beginning to succumb, going by my vital signs. The consequences of this information falling into the wrong hands could range from an impact on my career to my insurance standing. It could potentially ruin my life.
Photos of my last Blue Bottle coffee, checkins at Bourbon & Branch, or Lift goal ticks are one thing. This kind of data should not be on a centralized service, in a database I can't directly access. Not ever. And the rise of this kind of product makes me think that there needs to be a sort of WordPress for encrypted personal data, sooner rather than later.
Google Health failed because there was very feel health SaaS companies and EHR systems in place when it launched. Second, it didn't really provide much value to them if they did use the APIs. And third the UI and marketing page were very mediocre.
I run a health app and very few people (far less than I expected) over the last 3 years showed concern about privacy.
We've actually had more emails about people wanting us to add social features so they could connect with others like themselves.
My mother has something called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. My aunt also had it. Their mother also had it. It kills as many people as breast cancer every year, by progressively scarring the lungs until it's impossible to breathe. There's no cure except for new lungs. (My mother is waiting for a double lung transplant right now.) As you might expect, measuring blood oxygen efficiency is a good way to track the progress of the condition.
As a result, carrying a smart blood oxygen meter that also measures number of breaths and general health / stress levels really appeals to me. But the health situation here in the States, and in many countries, is fucked (albeit a little better than it was, thanks to our friends at the Obama Administration). Let's say I contracted the condition (although there's no proof that there's a genetic link), or it looked like I might be beginning to succumb, going by my vital signs. The consequences of this information falling into the wrong hands could range from an impact on my career to my insurance standing. It could potentially ruin my life.
Photos of my last Blue Bottle coffee, checkins at Bourbon & Branch, or Lift goal ticks are one thing. This kind of data should not be on a centralized service, in a database I can't directly access. Not ever. And the rise of this kind of product makes me think that there needs to be a sort of WordPress for encrypted personal data, sooner rather than later.