It’s been 1,384 days and still no health breach notifications from 22 companies blatantly violating people’s health privacy rights.

Digital health is a burgeoning area of investment and interest. Unfortunately, it isn’t always easy for patients to tell who the bad actors are. We aim to change this. We want to answer the essential question: How can we protect and expand the rights of patients with opioid use disorders, while reducing barriers to care?

compliance,” often utilize surveillance technologies that enable widespread data sharing, including sensitive health information and location data, with third parties, often without informed consent. This is particularly concerning as individuals seeking addiction treatment share highly sensitive data that, once outside the controlled medical and research setting, can lead to discrimination, legal risks, and algorithmic profiling. Drawing on evidence of deceptive practices by digital health companies and a lack of oversight, this commentary argues that current approaches prioritize surveillance capitalism over data protection. This model increases vulnerabilities that disproportionately impact marginalized populations. We must reimagine digital health approaches for SUD treatment by rejecting the surveillance-driven status quo. Implementing a “privacy by design” framework is crucial, alongside robust accountability mechanisms and professional guidance. Effective digital health solutions for SUD must be rooted in ethical standards that prioritize patient dignity, autonomy, and privacy as foundational principles, ensuring that technological innovation aligns with established medical and research ethics. Ultimately, the goal is to leverage digital health’s potential while safeguarding the rights and well-being of vulnerable individuals seeking SUD treatment.…