Journal Q&A: Wearable Device Security

How secure are wearable devices? What can users do to protect their data?

I have three wearables on me right now. The Apple Watch, Ultrahuman ring, Meta glasses. I see myself continuously optimizing my lifestyle routines in close feedback loops, and in the process am I gradually becoming a cyborg?

Wearable security isn’t a simple yes or no question. My smart ring knows when I’m about to get sick before I do because it detects temperature spikes early. My CGM summarized my metabolism faster than my doctor, after just two weeks of use. My Apple Watch has literally saved calls I missed when my phone died. These devices are getting incredibly good at collecting intimate data. Sleep patterns, glucose spikes, heart rhythms, even the exact angle of my bicep curls through IoT workout sensors.

The security situation varies wildly across devices. Some seriously encrypt data end to end. Others treat your health metrics casually like they’re public information. I’ve seen fitness trackers with laughable API security, right next to medical-grade wearables with better encryption than my bank.

What users should do:

Enable 2FA. Update firmware. Period. I don’t care if your security update notification pops up too often or too late at night. Because those patches matter.

Know where your data lives and read policies. On-device? Cloud? Sold to “partners”? I spent hours researching CGM data policies before choosing one. Read the privacy policy, especially the “we share data with” sections. Companies are betting you won’t.

Audit app permissions ruthlessly. Your sleep tracker doesn’t need your contacts. Your fitness app doesn’t need your microphone. Default to “no.”

Skip public WiFi for pairing. Bluetooth isn’t bulletproof. Be smart about when and where you connect devices.

Here’s the reality: most breaches still happen because of weak passwords and phishing, not sci-fi hacks. Fix the basics first.

What should wearable tech companies be doing to enhance data security?

Be unhackable by design. Companies can do way more. I’d like to see a standard where health data is handled like financial data. But the industry today seems quite happy with being “we’re better than brands doing nothing” when the bar should be “we’re unhackable by design.”

Radical transparency. Tell users what’s collected, where it’s stored, who sees it, for how long. In plain language. When I integrated my CGM via NFC, I had to parse three privacy policies to understand how the data flows. This is unacceptable, by my design expectations.

Security by design, not compliance fear. Encryption in hardware from day one. Apple does this with Secure Enclave. Most competitors treat security like a checkbox. Your device knows when I wake up, what I eat, where I run, when I sleep. This can’t be treated like it’s optional.

Minimize collection, maximize local processing. Do you need six months of step counts on your servers? Brutally purge what doesn’t matter. Process locally. Peripheral intelligence is safer than remote-cloud handshakes. My Ultrahuman ring does more on-device than older wearables. That’s the new standard.

Security audits and bug bounties. I repeat. Handle health data, like financial data. Third-party pentesting isn’t optional.

Secure the APIs. The device might be locked down, but if your API is leaking data, we have a problem. I’ve seen IoT workout sensors with solid hardware and toothless API security.

Real data deletion. Not “hidden from UI but in backups for seven years.” Permanently erased from the planet. Truly gone.

The security by design principle is simple: Assume the worst. 

If my device gets hacked, what’s the worst thing that could happen? 

Now prevent that from happening.

What should consumers be doing to protect their data, especially data collected by wearable devices?

Do the harder thing.

Be paranoid about permissions. My Meta glasses wanted camera roll access. No. My sleep tracker wanted GPS for “better insights.” REM sleep doesn’t need coordinates. So, no. Deny unless there’s clear necessity.

Map your data ecosystem. My ring synced to a fitness app, which shared with a nutrition platform, which integrated with two other services I didn’t care to remember. Every connection and exchange introduces new vulnerabilities. Regularly monitor and control access to multiple apps / brands.

Separate accounts for wearables. Don’t link everything to primary email or social accounts. If one service gets compromised, you want to control the damage.

Prioritize on-device processing. Understand the difference between on-device and cloud processing. When I was experimenting with listening to classical music (trying out different ragas) for deep sleep, I wanted that data processed locally, privately at the edge, not on someone’s cloud. Prioritize wearables that offer on-device analysis.

Track acquisition news. Pay attention to acquisition news. When a wearable company gets acquired, privacy policies often change. I’ve seen “we never sell your data” turn into “we share with partners for improved experiences” after acquisitions. Stay alert.

Understand what data implies. Glucose patterns can reveal early diabetes conditions. Heart rate can reveal stress levels. Temperature variance can indicate illness, coming up. Your wearable data tells stories beyond the explicit metrics that’s visible.

Make your choice count. Support companies that prioritize privacy. When I compared CGM options, data security was as important as accuracy. Companies only change when customers demand it.

The bigger picture here is ridiculously simple. You can’t let someone else handle security on your behalf. Wearable devices are intimate tools. I’ve optimized my sleep, nutrition, and fitness because of them. But treat them like you would treat any other app with access to sensitive information like your banking password. Because that’s exactly what they are.

What makes Apple products stand out from other wearable tech products?

Apple’s been riding the good karma from the Steve Jobs era for a while now, let’s give credit where it’s due. They’ve historically taken privacy more seriously than most competitors. The question now is whether they’ll push the pace or just maintain what they’ve built.

What they do right:

On-device processing is Apple’s gold standard. My Apple Watch analyzes heart rhythms, sleep, workouts locally. No cloud round-trips for basic insights. That’s edge security by architecture. It’s a fundamentally different approach. Compare that to wearables uploading everything – you’re trusting their servers, an employee accesses controls, breach protocols. 

End-to-end encryption for Health data. Apple can’t read it. Law enforcement can’t subpoena it. This matters when tracking reproductive health, mental health, and medical conditions.

Clearer privacy labels. Not perfect, but better than most. I can see what apps request and why.

Long-term updates. My years-old Apple Watch still gets security patches. Can’t expect that level of proactiveness and seriousness with low cost alternatives for fitness tracking.

No ad-driven data mining. Apple doesn’t monetize your health metrics through ads. Google and Meta’s business models create inherent conflicts. When Meta glasses get deeper health integration, I’ll watch that closely and comment.

Ecosystem security integration. My sim-based Watch saved me when my phone died, but it’s tied to my account security, not floating in some cloud.

Where they need to push:

Interoperability without compromise. Interoperability without compromise. Apple’s walled garden approach protects privacy but limits choice. Let me export my Health data in truly portable formats without losing encryption. I should be able to move between ecosystems without sacrificing security.

Granular controls. Give users more granular controls. I want per-app, per-data-type permissions that don’t reset after updates. If I allow a sleep app to see my sleep data, that shouldn’t also grant access to heart rate or activity levels.

Supply chain transparency. Where are components manufactured? What third-party chips are in these devices? The Secure Enclave is great, but what about everything else in the hardware stack?

Stronger stance on data monetization. Take a stronger public stance on health data monetization. Apple should be louder about what they don’t do with data. Make it a competitive differentiator. Force competitors to explain why they need to upload everything.

Faster breach disclosure. Improve breach disclosure. If there’s ever a vulnerability, communicate it honestly, clearly and quickly. The industry standard is too slow, too vague, too corporate-speak.

The honest assessment: Apple is ahead on privacy versus most competitors. “Privacy is a human right” isn’t just marketing – there’s real, intentional engineering behind it. But they seem to be coasting. The foundation is strong, but threats evolve, data gets more sensitive, expectations should rise even more strongly.

I use my Apple Watch because it’s the best combination of functionality and security available. But “best available” isn’t “good enough.” There’s still work to do.