Thinking of Gifting Smart Wearable Tech This Holiday Season?You May Want to Remember: HIPAA Is Not Implied

By Angela Harrison, MBA, MLS

Smartwatches, fitness trackers, and smart rings continue to top holiday gift lists. While these devices offer convenience and health insights, there is a critical misconception worth correcting, HIPAA protections do not automatically apply to wearable technology.

HIPAA governs how covered entities and their business associates handle protected health information (PHI). Most consumer wearable devices are not covered entities, nor are they operating on behalf of one. As a result, the data they collect is typically governed by vendor privacy policies, federal consumer protection law, and state privacy statutes, not HIPAA.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is clear on this point: HIPAA applicability depends on who is handling the data and in what context, not on whether the data is “health-related.”

Authoritative reference: https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/privacy/laws-regulations/index.html

An additional risk consideration, often overlooked:While most smart rings and wearables are not designed or programmed to log keystrokes, many are technically capable of capturing far more data than users realize through sensors, integrations, or future firmware changes. In environments where employees or clinicians work with:

• PHI

• Confidential business information

• Intellectual property

even passive or incidental data capture presents risk.

Key reminder for organizations and professionals: “Technology may be safe” does not mean “technology is secure.”In a highly competitive and increasingly hostile cyber environment, any connected device is potentially hackable.

Bottom line: Wearables can be useful, innovative, and convenient, but privacy and security assumptions should be carefully examined, especially in healthcare, legal, and regulated industries. Awareness and governance matter far more than the device itself.

#HIPAA #HealthPrivacy #WearableTechnology #CyberRisk #DataSecurity #HealthcareCompliance #InformationSecurity #PrivacyByDesign