Menstruation data: Sensitive and personal, but not mine?

The proper nature of the relationship between people and their personal data is yet to be determined. Are personal data trivial to us like a piece of clothing, or more intimate and personal, like our thoughts and feelings? Does it matter how we view this relation? In this article, we present a philosophical critique of the unownability approach to personal data and outline some of its shortcomings. Menstruation data is an example of a particularly sensitive and personal type of data, and we argue that such data should be recognized as personal property, belonging to the data subject. In the following, we start by displaying how and why personal data ownership becomes such an intricate issue and conclude by suggesting that the personhood theory of ownership can provide a foundation for moral ownership, where other theories fall short. Keywords: Data ownership, Privacy, Ethics, Personhood, Alienation