March 2, 2021

Privacy Blog

Radical Transparency matters to My Normative.

My Normative was founded by two feminist researchers whose ethics data security values were formed around the professional standards demanded of them as health researchers. Our founders carry these standards into every business practice and ensure our organization’s actions meet strict ethical guidelines. 

We value radical transparency at My Normative. We care about you. We care about your privacy. We will tell you when things change, why they’re changing, and how that could impact your data. 

Fitness tracking devices on the market today have the capacity to record highly sensitive personal information, such as the geo-locations of where you exercise, what time of day you exercise, and for how long. We understand that as a women your privacy hasn’t always been valued and trusting an app to hold this type of information can be terrifying. We want you to know that My Normative is committed to protecting this sensitive information. 

We believe the only one who should have access to your identifying data is you. We use Google Cloud technologies to ensure all data is properly encrypted and securely stored. The cloud containing user data and information is only used to enhance your app experience by providing you with your own personal data and insights. Even if we wanted to, we couldn’t look at, touch, or have any contact with identifiable information. 

We have developed a separate cloud environment containing only de-identified information, for our app’s machine learning. De-identification processes occur before the data even gets to this cloud, so no individual’s data could ever be tracked back to them. 

We don’t ask for this information out of curiosity or profitability, but out of necessity. By providing us with your personal data, you are allowing us to provide more accurate predictive health results for you, the user and further our development in female health research.

Just by using the My Normative app, you are literally advancing science. And you are doing so at no risk to yourself. Your personal information is completely de-identified and cannot be sold to third parties. Period. (no pun intended).

Science, Feminism, and Love.

December 18, 2020

What My Normative is doing to give back to the community that raised us.

Small businesses have been hit hard by the pandemic. More than twice as many SME’s (small and medium-sized enterprises) have been affected, and, according to Statistics Canada, the revenue decline they've experienced is at least 20% worse (Statistics Canada, 2020)!

Even more, the impact on small businesses owned by women is disproportionately worse. This comes down to a couple of things. One is that women-owned SME's tend to dominate industries that involve some form of human interaction i.e. education or social assistance, causing longer shutdowns. The other is that lack of adequate child care in lockdown has forced working mothers to step away from work. 

Not only this, but “Women business owners were already challenged by lack of access to capital and greater caretaking responsibilities, and these challenges have been exacerbated by the pandemic,” says Nancy Wilson, Founder and CEO, Canadian Women’s Chamber of Commerce. The business obstacles women have faced in the past have only gotten worse!

My Normative wants to help in the small way we can to get small businesses back on their feet. Kicking off in January, we are launching a small business campaign. For an entire year, we are offering $10,000 of free ad space within our mobile app. As we grow our community and get users onto the My Normative app, we want to showcase your company, your business - all that you have worked for. It’s the least we can do as My Normative continues to grow in such uncertain times. For all businesses struggling through the covid-19 pandemic and lockdown restrictions, we hope to get you in front of our audience!

The campaign launches in January, and our app goes live on March 8th, 2021 – International Women’s Day. If you know a small-medium business owner who has been impacted by covid-19, someone who works predominantly with women, or who focuses on women’s health objectives, we would love, love, love to be able to do something for that person! Send them our way! If you are one of these business owners, let’s get in touch! Contact us at hello@mynormative.ca and we can grow our communities together!

Science, Feminism and Love.

Cited:

Stats Canada: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/45-28-0001/2020001/article/00056-eng.htm

September 15, 2020

Hello world

Are you here after the IBM conference? Great! Cause we got up super early to make sure we released this blog post right-on-time for you.

Welcome!

Here’s the crash course on My Normative Inc.:

  • We’re founded by two woman scientists
  • They probably drink too much coffee
  • The MYNORMATIVE software is going to change how womxn are represented… not just in health trackers… but in modern western medicine. Yeah, we know, it’s a big deal.
  • And finally, because we’re chronically pessimistic people, we’re SUPER passionate about going above and beyond with data security—especially for vulnerable people. This passion for excellence in data security drove our application to (and acceptance to) the IBM Hyper Protect Accelerator program!  

We are excited to participate in this program to further enact our vision, where women's health and wellbeing are a priority, not an after-thought.

But, you already knew that. And if not, welcome to the new normal.

Welcome to My Normative Inc.

Kick your feet up, join the revolution… and for the love of all that is holy, sign up for our newsletter.