Hearst buys RealAge, acquires medical background of 8 million people
One of the lesser-known news items of the past week was the acquisition of online site RealAge. RealAge is a website that provides an online test collecting a variety of personal health and medical information, and it in return offers a calculated “real age” number that represents what they call a “biological age”, as well as personalized health and fitness information. According to them,
RealAge is the biological age of your body, based on lifestyle, genetics, and medical history.
Over a year ago, I got some viral email invitations to the service from friends, at which point I remember thinking that anyone who is filling out this survey is subject to having their medical information spread to the highest bidder for acquisition of the database, once it grows in size enough. From the privacy policy’s Disclosure of Your Personal Data section:
If another company acquires our company or our assets, that company will possess the Personal Data collected by it and us and will assume the rights and obligations regarding your Personal Data as described in this Privacy Statement.
On September 17th, Hearst Corporation announced its acquisition of RealAge. I hadn’t heard about the site for quite some time, but instantly I remembered exactly what it was. Apparently it’s up to about 8 million users now, mostly women from 30-59 years old. According to the Herald Tribune, analysts believe the price was shy of $100 million, but they account mostly for the acquisition on the basis of revenue and current traffic.
I would think that the 8 million submitters of private medical information would feel a little uncomfortable when their data got acquired by a major publisher, but I haven’t seen any real journalists exploring that angle yet. Oh well, at least it wasn’t a life insurance company.
November 28th, 2007 at 12:13 pm
Good post. This is why people must use a fake name in any “service” like that one. The so-called doctors behind the site from the Oprah show seem to be highly dubious in their approach. In their most recent book, they are promoting a massive medical blood test that costs $1500. They are your typical US style Doctorpreneurs out to make millions. They also seem to be on the payroll for promoting Aspirin, and a few other supplements.