Wearable health devices have become a fashion, fitness and wellness necessity in modern society, seamlessly integrating into our daily routines.
Smart health technologies are embedded in our smart devices, including Apple Watches, Fitbits, Whoop wearable technology and the increasingly popular smart rings.
These wearable devices collect a wide range of personal health data, such as heart rates, step counts, walking speed, blood oxygen levels, sleep patterns and stress levels.[1] With a few clicks of a button, individuals can access and share this data with health care professionals and their social circles.
This underscores a deeper issue: our increasing reliance on wearables to track, monitor and analyze intimate health data. This growing dependence raises significant concerns about privacy, security and the potential for misuse of such data, especially in criminal investigations.
While all this data can arguably help improve our health and motivate positive changes, the data contained in these devices could also potentially serve as key evidence against targets of criminal investigations and criminal defendants. The use of such data in investigations also presents significant constitutional and reliability concerns.
