80% of pregnancy and baby apps share sensitive family data with third parties, study finds

Research suggests many popular pregnancy and baby-tracking apps share personal and health data with third parties.

Pregnant woman using laptop showing pregnancy ultrasound scan and baby tracker app on smartphone. Monitoring pregnancy health with AI. Healthcare technology.

Getty/Oscar Wong

Published: June 23, 2026 at 11:34 AM

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Millions of parents use pregnancy and baby-tracking apps to log milestones, monitor development and get personalised advice. But new research suggests many of these popular tools may be collecting and sharing far more information than families realise.

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A study by cybersecurity company Surfshark found that 80% of the most popular pregnancy and baby-tracking apps share user data with third parties. In some cases, this includes sensitive information such as photos, videos, health details and medical records.

The findings raise fresh questions about how family data is being collected, stored and used at a time when more parents are turning to digital tools to support their parenting journey.

What did the study find?

According to Surfshark's analysis, pregnancy and baby-tracking apps collect an average of 11 out of 38 possible data types listed on the Google Play Store.

The study found that data commonly collected can include:

Researchers say this information is often shared with third parties for advertising, analytics and research purposes.

Eight of the apps analysed were found to collect photos, five collected user-generated content, four collected location data and three collected health and medical information.

Which app collected the most data?

Surfshark identified BabyCenter as the highest data-collecting app in its analysis.

According to the study, BabyCenter collects 16 different types of user data and shares all of them with third parties.

The report states that information collected includes app activity, in-app search history, health information, user-generated content, names, email addresses and location data.

Researchers say that, when combined with information gathered elsewhere online, this level of data collection can create detailed profiles of families and their behaviours.

Concerns over AI-powered parenting tools

The study also found that three in ten analysed apps have integrated artificial intelligence features into their services.

Apps including Glow Nurture, Kinedu and Huckleberry offer AI-powered tools designed to answer parenting questions or provide tailored guidance.

Surfshark says privacy policies do not always clearly explain how AI systems are trained or whether user-submitted information may be used in that process.

This has prompted concerns about whether highly personal parenting conversations and baby-related information could potentially contribute to future AI model development.

Why experts are urging parents to check privacy settings

Tomas Stamulis, Chief Security Officer at Surfshark, said parents may not always realise how much information they are handing over when using digital parenting tools.

"Today, every parenting question – from pregnancy symptoms to baby milestones – gets logged into apps, Google searches, or AI chatbots. What many don't consider is where that information goes and how it's used. Pregnancy and baby tracker apps handle some of the most sensitive information under GDPR – both children's and health data," he says.

Stamulis also warned that data collection can have implications beyond advertising.

If your child has health issues and you're entering detailed medical information, you become an even more valuable target for highly personalized advertising – and potentially insurance companies

Tomas Stamulis, Chief Security Officer at Surfshark

"Some platforms now feed this data into AI training, and every piece builds a comprehensive profile tied to you and your family," he says."

How parents can protect their family's data

While many parenting apps offer helpful features and support, experts recommend taking a closer look at privacy policies before signing up.

Surfshark advises parents to:

For parents already using pregnancy or baby-tracking apps, checking what permissions have been granted and removing access to unnecessary data can also help limit what is shared.

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As digital parenting tools continue to evolve, particularly with the addition of AI-powered features, privacy experts say understanding where family data goes is becoming just as important as tracking a baby's next milestone.

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