More caregiving apps are adding AI, but health details typed into them are not covered by the federal HIPAA privacy law, a Harvard law expert says.
Apps that help families care for sick or disabled loved ones are getting AI helpers. But a Harvard Law School expert warns that the health details you type into them are not covered by HIPAA, the federal health privacy law. In many cases, the company's own promises are all you have.
AARP estimates that 63 million Americans cared for an adult or child with a medical condition or disability in 2025. On average, these caregivers spend up to 27 hours a week on care. Many deal with poor health, money strain and isolation. Apps are meant to lighten that load.
Ari is currently available only for people with rare diseases. Mejo's information is entered by hand for now, though its cofounder says the team is exploring AI to suggest questions for medical appointments. Briggzy, an app still in testing, hopes to reach a wider group in 2027.
I. Glenn Cohen, a bioethics and health law professor at Harvard, is hopeful about AI in health. He says it can help patients prepare questions for their doctors. But he says most of these tools are not medical devices, so the FDA has not reviewed them. Their safety is largely the company's word.
HIPAA does not apply because the information usually comes from a person or from data collected at home, not from a covered health provider. Cohen says that in some cases, contract promises are all you can rely on. He adds that those terms often absolve companies of responsibility.
He also notes that the data may not be only about the person receiving care. It can include details about parents or other caregivers.
Cohen advises going in with eyes open, especially when a product is free or cheap. Before entering a loved one's details, read the app's privacy terms and check what it promises about how information is used. Think about who else might be named in what you type.
Before typing a loved one's health details into a caregiving app, read its privacy terms, because HIPAA likely will not protect that information.
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