29th October 2019

Facebook Will Remind You to Go for Checkups, Get Your Shots

By PC Mag

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Did you get your flu shot yet? Facebook can send you a reminder.

Facebook and US health organizations are collaborating on a new Preventative Health tool, which will act as an all-in-one hub for information and remind people to go for their checkups.

So far, it's focused on the two most common causes of death in the US—heart disease and cancer—but the Preventative Tool also serves resources related to the flu. Partners include the American Cancer Society, the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

To check it out, search Preventive Health in the search box and it should appear under Facebook Shortcuts. It will pull in your age and sex to generate accurate recommendations, both of which can be edited. You can set reminders for checkups, which display the type of test or procedure as well as the date and time, but Facebook will never see actual test results, nor will advertisers.

"Information you provide is securely stored and access is restricted to a group of people at Facebook who work on the product or maintain our systems," Chief Privacy Officer Erin Egan wrote in a company blog post. "We don't share personal information about your activity in Preventative Health with third parties, such as health organizations or insurance companies, so it can't be used for purposes like insurance eligibility."

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