STI app that promised to root out infected partners shut down

HeHealth’s Calmara, an app that claimed to help women identify male sexual partners with STIs by analysing pictures of genitals using AI, has been shut down after a US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigation.

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Calmara, an app marketed to sexually active women, encouraged users to take pictures of their partners’ genitals and submit them to the app to identify any symptoms that could indicate STIs. Letters delivered to HeHealth from the FTC raised concerns about the company’s claims that the app could detect 10 STIs with 94% accuracy.

However, the FTC notes that the company paid several study authors and that the main study used to support their claims assessed only four STIs instead of 10. Data used to train the AI model included images from users who didn’t get a diagnostic test to confirm the results.

One investigation conducted by the Los Angeles Times found that Calmara also couldn’t discern inanimate objects and failed to identify textbook images of STIs.

Many concerns were also raised about the app’s privacy issues. The app is specifically marketed at women trying to vet potential sexual partners by taking pictures of their partner’s genitals. However, how these women would gather explicit consent from their partners for this image analysis remained dubious. There was also little way of knowing how these images would be used to train AI models and if users would be able to get access to their data.

Other concerns have been raised about the efficacy of using an app that uses visual images to detect infections that are often asymptomatic. Most STIs do not produce discernible symptoms, and many infected people pass them on without knowing. Better2Know wrote about these concerns in May.

Mike Asher, CEO of Better2Know, said:

“We at Better2Know believe that companies shouldn’t play fast and loose with patient health. AI will surely add incredible value to diagnostics in the future. However, the potential of AI should not blind us to its limitations. At this point in time, no AI model can replace testing for clarity into a patient’s sexual health status. If you think you may have an STI, it’s always better to get tested.”

If you’re concerned about STIs, you should get tested. Click the button below to schedule a test at a sexual health clinic near you.