Samsung Health app threatens data deletion if users opt out AI training

> The company plans to grab four categories: your sleep, your medications, your medical records, and your cycle tracking details

So you buy a device but you can't effectively use half of its features because you'd also have to agree to send them your medical records? Ok then if I refuse, will they refund 50% of the device price since now it's not usable any more?

Bought a Galaxy Watch 7 two years ago, the hardware is good and One UI on the watch itself is also quite good (and the last major update improved it) but Samsung Health is such a shit app. Constant ads for some "courses" or videos and things I don't care about. Downloading my personal data doesn't even work, it sends me right to the browser with an error message that I'm "not logged in correctly" and it wants access to all my pictures & videos (seems like a wrong permission prompt there but when I decline it it also fails with "we need access to all your photos & videos". Why? Just send me a download link via email or use SAF and let me pick a download location).

Thanks to this article I also noticed the UI was redesigned. At least I could keep my layout but it didn't work like it should, it added some useless cards. It also asked about new "optional" data sharing which I of course declined. There is now a notice that my data wasn't backupped to my Samsung account the last 3 days (???) and the data synchronization doesn't work, the buttons do nothing, it just says "disabled" even though everything is enabled... typical Samsung shitware. Haven't noticed anything with AI training (there is no option) but I'm also in the EU.

Where is the catch? You rather get two good things if you don't agree:

- Samsung deletes your sensitive health data

- Samsung does not use this data to train some AI

:-)

In some way they are telling that they respect your privacy. Or they have your data (and then do something with it, now or later), or no one will.

They could provide some Google-style takeout to get your data before deletion, but that may not have any meaning or practical use without their devices and software.

This is like Google Ultra for personal accounts. I signed up to see what it was like and then assumed I would be able to disable training on my data as a paid customer. The only way to disable training on paid personal accounts is to disable history (no chat logs) which makes the service much less useful for me.

For Google Workspace accounts that use the Ultra plan you can disable training while retaining history. I didn't bother signing up again. It is user-hostile.

The endearing angle: refusing to keep cookies in the house, because you admit an inability to merely store them.

Samsung has been banned from my choices. There are many brands to choose from.

shouldn't this get them turbo obliterated in europe?

I use Sparky Fitness for all my fitness / health tracking. So, so happy I have everything stored locally, where I can do whatever I want with the data, and I know it's mine and it's private. Very easily to interface with your favorite llm of choice. https://github.com/CodeWithCJ/SparkyFitness/

Something I appreciate about Samsung phones is that having a Samsung account is completely optional. I've never had one. If I accidentally click on one of the dumb AI features I'm not even allowed to use it without an account.

your step count is now a training data point. next they'll hold your resting heart rate hostage until you agree to let the AI analyze your grocery receipts.

One day we will perhaps be able to forgive these companies for mismanaging our data, but we will never forgive them for making us regulate them.

Gemini does the same (though not with health data). The only way to opt out of training on your data is to disable all Gemini chat history.

I was under the assumption that because of GDPR (which is in effect..).. or current "end-user metadata storage" best practices.. if you (a website/or app) didn't immediately disclose to the user what data is being used,stored, and why it is -- then you shouldn't store it at all.

If you agree that the world needs better examples today, then Samsung has definitely showed one.

I use a Watch 6 Classic, just went in to find this toggle. Doesn't seem to exist in the Japanese market at least.

Yes, please - delete my health data. I want my health data - I didn't want Samsung or anyone else to have it unless I provide it. And even then, you can't keep it - you can look at it. It's mine.

That reminds me of a story by a former coworker of mine, who had a xing account and repeatedly asked them to not send me him ads and spam e-mails. They ultimately closed his account.

Some companies are so dead set on doing this shit, that they don't even have mechanism in place that would enable them to act upon you opting out. It is a sign of dysfunctional companies. You can also observe this, when you send companies a GDPR request for deletion and they do eeeeverything to not have to go into their shitty system and delete the data, because that would require them to do manual work.

I mean, Gemini does the same: if you want the history of your chats, there's no way to opt out from the AI training..

How does this not violate HIPAA?

What's with the tracked sharing link?

Tracking-free link: https://www.neowin.net/news/samsung-will-delete-your-health-...

unshortened link: https://www.neowin.net/news/samsung-will-delete-your-health-...

Samsung should be fined out of existence for this.

Am I reading this wrong? It sounds like, short of self-hosting your health data, this is the best of both worlds. Avoiding zombie data retention and avoiding AI? Where do I sign?

>You will not be able to sync health data with your Samsung account and your health data will be deleted unless retained pursuant to applicable law. If retention is required, we will erase it as soon as the required retention period ends.

Don't threaten me with a good time.

I'm so tired of tech companies shoving AI into everything, everywhere.

I'd doubt this is legal under HIPAA law in the US, but good luck

You shouldn't trust them with your health data anyway.

I actually don’t know why people are always surprised when this happens, it’s not your data anymore no matter whatever regulations are there. The other day I reactivated my apple music to get a specific shazam song (I don’t use it anymore or any SaaS for that matter, have my navidrome server for years), but little to my surprise, all my playlists and songs are gone, deleted, everything as if it’s a new account! I thought it’s a glitch and googled it, turned out there are a LOT of people who had all their years of music wiped out for not having the subscription for two weeks only.. so yeah, always own your stuff, especially if you pay for it.

They are dumber than a second coat of paint.

Are we sure this isn’t the text for the “consent to process health data” toggle that is on the same screen? I don’t have a Samsung phone handy to check

This actually seems kinda OK. Consent to train is payment for hosting that data. Find another health app/service with more preferable terms if you don't like it. My only beef is if they do an immediate delete without providing a reasonable method for users to export that data first, which is how it reads.

Apple has default E2EE on health data, which I respect. But they need to take iMessage backup out of Advanced Data Protection and make it default E2EE. Messages are just as sensitive, iMessage is effectively not E2EE if most users are using it with server-side encrypted backups to iCloud. Apple of all companies should be able to make a reliable E2EE that wont cause data loss.