The app that tracks your cycle knows more about your body than your doctor does. For years, it could sell that. California decided it can't.
Ava:
Michael, this is one almost every woman is quietly exposed on. Period trackers, ovulation apps, pregnancy apps — millions of women use them, and most have no idea that intimate data could be sold or handed to a data broker. And then there's the location piece: your phone knowing you visited a clinic. Did California actually do something about this?
Michael Benavides, Esq.:
It did, and it's significant. Effective January 1, 2026, Assembly Bill 45 (AB 45)
strengthens privacy protections for reproductive and sexual-health information and for the location data that can reveal it. This is one of the strongest women's-privacy laws in the country right now.
What AB 45 actually does
Ava:
And the apps themselves — the trackers on your phone?
Michael Benavides, Esq.:
That's the other half. California treats reproductive- and sexual-health apps — period trackers, pregnancy apps, and the like — as covered by the state's medical-confidentiality framework (the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act). That means the intimate data those apps hold gets meaningfully stronger protection than ordinary app data, and mishandling it carries consequences.
What you can do with this
Ava:
The Pink Data line holds again — your most private information is not their product.
Michael Benavides, Esq.:
And when the information is this personal, California now puts real weight behind that.
Pink Data
helps California women take back control of their most personal information. If a period app, health app, or data broker mishandled your reproductive or location data, we can help you understand your rights under California's new protections. Free, confidential consultation: 707-362-4166.
PINK DATA is a women's- and family-focused brand of the Law Office of Michael Benavides, Esq., California State Bar No. 270714. Ava is an editorial brand voice, not an attorney; all legal analysis is provided by Michael Benavides, Esq. General information about California law, not legal advice; no attorney-client relationship is formed. AB 45 and related health-privacy rules are new — verify current statutory text and effective dates before relying on them. ATTORNEY ADVERTISING.
