Pixel tracking lawsuits: what they say about data sharing and where each one stands

A tracking pixel is a tiny piece of code, often invisible, that a business adds to its website or app. When you load a page or tap a button, the code can send details about that action to another company, such as an advertising platform. Similar tools, sometimes called software development kits (ready-made code bundles that app makers add to their apps), do the same job inside apps.

Companies use these tools mainly to measure how well their ads work, to understand how people use their sites, and to show ads to people who visited before.

The concern in these lawsuits is what gets shared. The lawsuits say some companies sent information such as pages viewed on health sites, patient login activity, period and pregnancy data, or videos watched, and did so without asking. Some cases rely on laws like the Video Privacy Protection Act, a federal law that limits how businesses share records of the videos a person watches.

Regulators have looked at this practice too. The US Department of Health and Human Services issued guidance on HIPAA and online tracking technologies, which says health care providers covered by HIPAA (the federal health privacy law) should not use tracking tools in ways that disclose protected health information without permission. Separately, the Federal Trade Commission brought a case against Flo Health, alleging the app shared users' health data with outside companies; that matter was resolved by settlement. The private lawsuits listed here, including the Flo Period Tracker data privacy lawsuit, are separate cases, and some may be dismissed or never pay anyone.