A woman in Virginia is issuing a warning to women everywhere: Walmart is tracking your reproductive health purchases.
Creator Paisley (@plazeeee) gives this PSA in a TikTok posted last month.
In it, Paisley says, “Just letting the girly pops know I hopped onto Walmart to do my normal pickup order and a popup popped up letting me know that they are now keeping track of any reproductive […] purchases, so.”
In the caption, she notes that she’s in Virginia.
What does the popup say?
According to an NBC affiliate, Virginia Walmart shoppers were warned that the company collects data related to reproductive health purchases. These include items like menstrual supplies and prophylactics.
The warning purportedly said in part, “Virginia law requires your consent to collect or use information about your potential or actual purchase of reproductive or sexual health products or services.”
It did not give shoppers a choice of opting out of this data being collected. Instead, it told them to not even look at those items online if they didn’t want Walmart tracking them.
“If you do not consent, please avoid viewing, searching for, using or purchasing these products, services or features,” the warning said.
The company appears to have changed this warning in the interim.
As of Wednesday morning, Walmart’s website warned Virginia shoppers, “VA law requires us to inform you about your data rights. By using our site or app, you agree we may collect limited information as defined by state law to fulfill your request and improve our services.”
The warning no longer mentions reproductive health products.
Why are shoppers getting this warning?
Walmart is issuing this warning to Virginia shoppers to comply with a law that went into effect on July 1. That law prohibits retailers from collecting data associated with shopping for reproductive health products without consent. These can include pregnancy tests, birth control, and medication for terminating pregnancy.
State Sen. Barbara Favola (D-Va.) sponsored the bill. She told the NBC affiliate it’s meant to prevent this information from being used to prosecute women in states with severe abortion restrictions. There are fears that even out-of-state purchases could be used in such prosecutions.
Walmart appears to be an outlier for collecting this data.
The Mary Sue’s search in Virginia for these products on Target’s website did not turn up a similar warning. Neither did searches for the same products on Food Lion and Kroger, which owns Harris Teeter.
‘If not Handmaid’s Tale…’
Paisley’s post generated a numb kind of horror. One compared the warning to The Handmaid’s Tale.
“If not Handmaid’s Tale, why Handmaid’s Tale shaped,” she wrote.
Another woman said that she’s simply going to refrain from using menstrual supplies.
“I’m free bleeding,” she said. “It can be everyone’s problem but mine.”
A woman who identified as a post-menopausal 59-year-old said this is why she buys such supplies for others.
“Track away, you’ll never know who it’s for,” she wrote.
Another suggested that women switch to reusable menstrual cups. Others urged people to buy in-store with cash to avoid Walmart collecting this data.
One pointed out that the law probably hasn’t changed what data Walmart collects. It just changed what Walmart has to tell you—if you’re browsing the site in Virginia.
“Nah babes, they’ve BEEN doing that fyi,” she wrote. “It’s just you live in a state that passed a law to FORCE them to let you know.”
Paisley didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry sent Wednesday morning. Walmart did not respond to questions sent via the contact form on its website.
@plazeeee FYI Walmart is now keeping tabs on these kinds of purchases. I am in ?VA
♬ original sound – Paisley
Update Aug. 7, 2025:
In an email to the Mary Sue, a spokesperson for Walmart shared the following statement:
“We believe in transparency and strive to protect our customers’ privacy, including their personal information. We do not sell Virginia consumer health information, and we do not use it for targeted advertising. There is a new law in Virginia requiring us to inform customers how we use certain types of information, and we continue to assess the best way to do that.”
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