Best Health Practices: How To Secure Your Wearables For Your Wellness Journey

Best Health Practices How To Secure Your Wearables For Your Wellness Journey

As wellness has become a top priority for people all over the world, more individuals have started donning wearable health trackers, like smartwatches and Fitbits, to monitor and improve their health. According to a recent poll around 2 in 5 consumers own and use wearable tech, with 75 percent using smartwatches and nearly 35 percent using fitness trackers. The majority of consumers agree that wearable tech helps maintain a healthier lifestyle since these have features that allow for health monitoring, motivation and goal setting, and early detection and prevention, among others.

Wearing a smartwatch or a health tracker can be a gamechanger as it gives you access to data that you can use for long-term health management. But since these devices are designed to be connected to the Internet, they can create security risks that allow cybercriminals to steal your sensitive data. Since wearables aren’t invulnerable to hacking, it’s up to the wearer to exercise caution and take active steps to protect their personal data and privacy. If you use a wearable health tracker, here’s what you need to do to secure your device for your wellness journey.

Prioritize Device and Account Security

The healthcare sector is a favorite target of cybercriminals since their systems contain personal, financial, and medical information that can be used for identity theft or blackmail. To protect patient data and devices, many hospitals make it a point to use cybersecurity for healthcare solutions as these provide an effective way to monitor their networks for suspicious activity while keeping sensitive information safe from threat actors. Just like hospital records, your wellness device also holds immense value for hackers since it collects biometric, personal, and precise location data which they can use for identity theft, stalking, or location tracking. They may even share or sell your heart rate or sleep patterns to third parties without your consent, so for your own safety, be sure to prioritize device and account security at all times.

To secure a new smartwatch or health tracker, change the default username and password, and create strong, unique passwords for all associated accounts. Next, prevent other people from getting physical access to your device by setting up PINs, passwords, or biometrics through fingerprint or face ID to lock your wearable when it’s not in use. It’s also recommended to use multi-factor authentication (MFA) whenever possible since it secures your sensitive data, and in case your device gets stolen, MFA can prevent access to your wearable even if the thief knows your password or PIN. Don’t forget to update your apps regularly since the updates come with security patches that will eliminate vulnerabilities.

Guard Your Privacy

A hacker getting access to your health habits and details, such as your sleep patterns, menstrual cycle, or stress and fatigue levels is a cause for concern since they can use this information to create fake identities or commit financial fraud. This is why it’s essential to guard your data privacy whenever you’re using a wearable health tracker. First, be sure to only install verified apps, then adjust permissions to prevent the apps from accessing your location or contacts list. Avoid public Wi-Fi at all cost, and never sync your devices using unsecured networks. When not in use, disable your smartwatch or fitness tracker’s Wi-Fi and BlueTooth connection to minimize the risk of a data breach.

To prevent hackers from knowing your exact location, turn off the location or GPS tracking when you’re not working out. This will help to prevent cybercriminals from knowing your home or work address. You may also want to disconnect your social media accounts from your smartwatch to avoid accidentally sharing your running routes, activity, or personal data. For maximum privacy, consider using a VPN to encrypt the data transmitted by your wearable device.

Practice Good Maintenance and Cybersecurity Habits

Just like your smartphone, tablet, or laptop, your wellness device needs proper care and safekeeping to ensure longevity and data security. Be sure to store your fitness tracker in a safe place, and always check the strap to see if it’s securely fastened to prevent it from falling off during intense workouts. If it needs repairs, take your device to an authorized service center, and wipe it or perform a factory reset before having the screen repaired or the battery replaced. You’ll also need to do a factory reset if you’re selling or giving your device to someone else since this erases your health history, payment information, and GPS logs.

Protect your sensitive data while working towards your fitness goals. Keep your wellness device and accounts secure, enhance data privacy, and practice cybersecurity habits to safeguard your health information at all times.

Samantha Kindler

Samantha Kindler is a world traveler, with four continents conquered and three remaining. She lives in Hawaii, where she enjoys hiking and has the beach available to her throughout the year. She recently got the opportunity to spend over ten months in Korea and fell in love with their minimalist way of life. She has driven to 49 states with her father, but upon visiting Hawaii, she just wanted to stay.