Privacy
MyChart and a major hospital said I could opt out of sharing my health data. But they didn’t make it easy
My journey included a notary, a hospital that won’t honor its own policies and employees that gave me wrong information.
Gabriel Hongsdusit
Visual Designer
Gabriel Hongsdusit is the visual designer at The Markup. Previously, he was the design and visuals editor at Reveal, where he was responsible for the overall design and visual direction of the newsroom, which included illustrations, editorial design, product design, photo editing, and data graphics. Before that, he was the design apprentice for the Institute for Nonprofit News.
Gabe graduated from UCLA with a bachelor’s degree in linguistics and Mandarin Chinese. He is based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Privacy
Patients: All my best tips on how to opt out of data sharing
Even when patients are told they can opt out, medical providers often don’t give patients instructions on how. For patients who are interested in opting out, here are my best tips on how to start.
Privacy
The form asked my permission to share my health data. Then it wouldn’t let me say no.
Dark patterns force patients to share their data with big healthcare networks, even when the privacy form they’re signing explicitly says they can opt-out.
Privacy
How Californians can use a new state website to block hundreds of data brokers
A tool called DROP lets California residents fill out a few forms to keep their personal data from being tracked or sold by data brokers.
News
Could this mysterious California news site influence the 2026 election?
The California Courier uses the name of an established paper and doesn’t disclose apparent Republican ties. Critics call it “pink slime”
Privacy
We caught companies making it harder to delete your personal data online
Dozens of companies are hiding how you can delete your personal data, The Markup and CalMatters found. After our reporters reached out for comment, multiple companies have stopped the practice.
Pixel Hunt
We caught 4 more states sharing personal health data with Big Tech
Healthcare exchanges in Nevada, Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island shared users’ sensitive health data with companies like Google and LinkedIn
The BreakdownPixel Hunt
This is how you stop data trackers from sucking up your health data
The Markup and CalMatters found multiple ways consumers can block the trackers quietly sending your data to tech companies, including those used on state-run health exchange websites.
Pixel Hunt
How California sent residents’ personal health data to LinkedIn
The state’s health insurance exchange transmitted pregnancy and domestic abuse data during a marketing campaign. It is reviewing its website practices.
Tools
Here’s Every Local Police Agency Enforcing for ICE
Partnerships more than doubled during the first months of Trump's current term under a program known as 287(g)
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