Privacy in the Age of the Smartwatch: Duke’s Jessilyn Dunn on Wearable Health Data
Duke University's Jessilyn Dunn discusses how wearable devices are generating powerful health data and why privacy protections must keep pace with the rapid growth of smartwatch health monitoring.
As smartwatches and fitness trackers become increasingly capable of tracking heart rate, blood pressure, sleep, and blood oxygen levels, questions around data privacy are becoming more urgent. Duke University’s Jessilyn Dunn, assistant professor of biomedical engineering and director of the BIG IDEAs Lab, is among the researchers studying how digital biomarkers from wearable devices can generate a fuller picture of someone’s health and detect events like acute infections or long-term conditions like heart disease. A recent analysis identified Google and Apple as leaders in privacy protections among wearable platforms, though experts note that significant vulnerabilities remain across the industry. Dunn has noted that privacy concerns are slowing the rate at which researchers can use this data to benefit patients.
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