Anonymous 'hacks period apps' to protect abortion seekers after Supreme Court decision

Hacker group Anonymous claim they've "hacked and deleted" data on period-tracking apps to help protect abortion seekers after the recent Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v Wade.

On Thursday (30 June) the group took to Twitter to write this message: "Data from menstrual tracking apps have been hacked and deleted to avoid identifying possible abortion in states where abortion is now banned. #Anonymous #OpJane.

Many American women fear that the data collected by the tracking apps could be used against them in potential future criminal cases in states where abortion has been banned.

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In May, women began to remove the apps from their phones when a draft opinion from the Court in February was leaked, suggesting they would overturn the ruling.

But it's since grown in intensity after the Court voted to veto the federal right to the procedure.

Period tracking apps and other health-related apps aren't obligated to adhere to HIPPA (Health Information Privacy Protection Act) because it is only designed for medical professionals.

However, some tracking apps are taking steps to protect users.

For one, Stardust, which is an app that combines period tracking moon cycles and astronomy, announced they would be implemented end-to-end encryption to safeguard users' privacy.

Another period app, Flo, has also announced a new "anonymous mode" feature that will help users remove their name, email, address, and other technical identifiers from their profiles.

"You DESERVE the right to protect your data," Flo wrote in a tweet on Friday moments after the Court's decision.

They also said they would "soon" launch the feature so "no one can identify" people on the app.

In the 6-3 majority opinion to overturn Roe v Wade, Justice Samuel Alito noted that abortions essentially provoke a "profound moral issue on which Americans hold sharply conflicting views."

Alito was also joined in his opinion by fellow Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.

Democrat-appointed Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan dissented from the decision.

"With sorrow—for this Court, but more, for the many millions of American women who have today lost a fundamental constitutional protection—we dissent," they wrote.

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