Health workers are urging NHS decision-makers not to sign contracts with controversial US data analytics firm Palantir, citing ethical concerns around human rights and data privacy.
In 2023, Palantir won a seven-year, £330m NHS England contract to deliver the Federated Data Platform (FDP), a nationwide system intended to connect disparate healthcare data from across the NHS while maintaining security and patient privacy.
While the system is not yet fully operational, many hospital trusts and integrated care boards (ICBs) have already signed up to use the platform.
Highlighting how Palantir’s operations around the world have allegedly contributed to “human rights abuses, war crimes, discriminatory policing practices and mass surveillance”, Medact said the firm’s cosiness with law enforcement and border agencies could lead to “data-driven state abuses of power” if people’s sensitive health information is shared with these bodies.
“This report is concerned that the FDP, by bringing together disparate health datasets onto a single platform run by Palantir, could enable UK government departments, such as the Home Office and police departments, to more easily access patient data,” it said.
Medact added that Palantir’s services to other governments, including in its contract with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), have “involved significant cross-departmental data compiling and analysis”, enabling data given to one government department to be repurposed for profiling and surveillance by others.
[We are] concerned that the FDP, by bringing together disparate health datasets onto a single platform run by Palantir, could enable UK government departments to more easily access patient data Medact report
“As well as the potential risk for a current or future UK government to attempt to emulate US-style cross-governmental data sharing, there is a serious risk of Palantir’s contract alienating patients most affected by health inequalities due to this perceived risk,” said Medact, adding that during the pandemic, health advocacy group Patients not Passports found that around 57% of migrants avoided seeking healthcare because they were concerned about being reported to or identified by the Home Office.
Medact said it is concerned that this situation will be made worse by the involvement of Palantir, given its enthusiasm for working with ICE and the existing data-sharing agreements in place between the UK Home Office and the NHS.
These concerns are compounded by the prospect of a potential Reform UK government, as the party has already pledged to facilitate “mass deportations” if it wins power.
According to a Reform policy document published in August 2025, titled Operation restoring justice, the party is aiming to implement an “uncompromising legal reset” and promises to “relentlessly identify and detain all illegal migrants in the UK”. It stated: “Using powers granted by the new legislation, it will automatically share data between the Home Office, NHS, HMRC, DVLA, banks and the police.”
Alongside Palantir’s stated intention to dominate national software provision in the US and allied countries, as well as its active contracts with UK police forces and the Ministry of Defence (MoD), Medact warned that there is a real threat of its involvement undermining data privacy and public trust in UK healthcare institutions.
Policing and military contracts
Outside of its close collaboration with ICE – which is currently engaged in aggressive mass deportation efforts across the US, using unidentified masked agents to conduct operations, and employing fascist rhetoric in its communications and recruitment drives – Medact also highlighted how Palantir assists violent military and policing institutions.
This includes supplying software to the US military during its illegal wars of aggression in Iraq and Afghanistan, providing police forces across the US and Europe with widely critiqued digital “predictive policing” tools, and supplying artificial intelligence (AI) products to the Israeli military.
Storebrand Asset Management, one of the largest asset managers in the Nordic region, divested its holding in Palantir in October 2024, stating that its research indicates that Palantir’s “AI-based predictive policing systems” support Israeli surveillance of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.
Given Palantir’s penchant for working with defence and policing organisations, Medact reiterated that the firm’s involvement in the FDP and other NHS systems represents a clash of values that could undermine public trust.
It added that Palantir is also “likely to benefit reputationally” from NHS contracts, by essentially allowing the firm to launder its own public image by associating with a popular institution.
We argue that NHS England’s contract with Palantir is likely to strengthen Palantir’s software and reputation as a company. Given the highly interoperable nature of Palantir’s different civil and military products, this could indirectly result in the NHS contributing to the advancement of militarised technology used to commit alleged human rights abuses Medact report
“We argue that NHS England’s contract with Palantir is likely to strengthen Palantir’s software and reputation as a company,” said Medact. “Given the highly interoperable nature of Palantir’s different civil and military products, this could indirectly result in the NHS contributing to the advancement of militarised technology used to commit alleged human rights abuses.”
Medact added that, given Palantir’s questionable track record on surveillance and human rights around the world, adopting its technology could see hospital trusts, ICBs and NHS England fall foul of their own ethical procurement policies.
It added that there is a risk of trusts and ICBs being locked into a single supplier, reducing their “ability to transfer to a different supplier or retain full autonomy over the code behind their data management systems”.
In particular, the CDAON cited issues of public trust associated with Palantir’s handling of sensitive health data, and highlighted that viable alternatives already exist.
“We already have similar tools in use that presently exceed the capability and application of what the FDP is currently trying to develop or roll out at a system level,” they wrote.
Medact’s report has been sent to decision-makers sitting across the NHS, including trust boards, ICBs, health scrutiny committees and the Health Data Governance Committee.
Recommendations and Palantir response
To alleviate the concerns identified in its report, Medact has recommended that NHS decision-makers decline to implement the FDP or any other Palantir products in their local data systems, scrutinise their current contracts with the supplier, and investigate the feasibility of in-house or open source alternatives.
Medact has called for NHS England to immediately terminate its Palantir contract.
A spokesperson for Palantir said the firm’s “software is playing an important role in improving patient care – helping to deliver 100,000 additional operations, a 12% reduction in discharge delays and the removal of 675,000 patients from waiting lists”.
They added: “How that software is used is entirely under the control of the NHS, with data only able to be processed in accordance with their strict instructions.”
The spokesperson said the firm also has “no intention of and no means of using the data in the way that the Medact report is suggesting”, adding that “to do so would be illegal and in breach of contract”.
This includes claiming that it is “a matter of company policy” not to support predictive policing applications, that it’s work with ICE is long-standing and dates back to the Obama administration, and that there are “comprehensive” data processing safeguards and controls in place for the FDP.
“Palantir engineers are only able to access NHS data under the direction of the data controllers. This only takes place for appropriate engineering activities like data pipeline deployment and product support tasks,” the company said.
“The technology includes granular access controls and full auditability, ensuring that individuals within the institutions we serve can access only the information necessary to perform their roles. It also provides a clear, traceable record of who accessed specific data, when they accessed it, and for what purpose.”
Palantir added that while it has not been involved in the most high-profile Israel Defense Forces (IDF) artificial intelligence (AI) targeting systems, “we are, however, very proud of the work and support we have provided to Israel following the vicious attacks of October 7th”.
Unlike the other glasses I tested, Even doesn’t sell a subscription plan; everything’s included out of the box.
The only downside I could find with the G2 is that it is largely devoid of offline features, so the glasses have to be connected to the internet to do much of anything. Considering the G2’s capabilities, it’s a trade-off I am more than happy to make.
Other Captioning Glasses I Tested
There are plenty of capable captioning eyeglasses on the market, but they are surprisingly similar in both looks and features. While many are quite capable, none had the combination of power and affordability that I got with Even’s G2. Here’s a rundown of everything else I tested.
Photograph: Christopher Null
Photograph: Christopher Null
Photograph: Christopher Null
Leion’s Hey 2 is the price leader in this market, and even its prescription lenses ($90 to $299) are pretty affordable. The hardware, however, is heavy: 50 grams without lenses, 60 grams with them. A full charge gets you six to eight hours of operation; the case adds juice for up to 12 recharges.
I like the Leion interface, which lays out caption, translation, “free talk” (two-way translation), and a teleprompter feature on its clean app. You get access to nine languages; using Pro minutes expands that to 143. Leion sells its premium plan by the minute, not the month, so you need to remember to toggle this mode off when you don’t need it. Pricing is $10 for 120 minutes, $50 for 1,200 minutes, and $200 for 6,000 minutes. There’s no offline use supported, and I often struggled to get AI summaries to show up in English instead of Chinese (regardless of the recorded language).
Photograph: Christopher Null
Photograph: Christopher Null
You’re not seeing double: XRAI and Leion use the same manufacturer for their hardware, and the glasses weigh the same. The battery spec is also similar, with up to eight hours on the frames and another 96 hours when recharging with the case. XRAI claims its display is significantly brighter than competitors’, but I didn’t see much of a difference in day-to-day use.
The features and user experience are roughly the same, though Leion’s teleprompter feature isn’t implemented in XRAI’s app, and it doesn’t offer AI summaries of conversations. I also didn’t find XRAI’s app as user-friendly as Leion’s version, particularly when trying to switch among the admittedly exhaustive 300 language options. Only 20 of these are included without ponying up for a Pro subscription, which is sold both by the month and minute: $20/month gets you a max of 600 upgraded transcription minutes and 300 translation minutes; $40/month gets you 1,800 and 1,200 minutes, respectively. On the plus side, XRAI does have a rudimentary offline mode that works better than most. For prescription lenses, add $140 to $170.
Photograph: Christopher Null
Photograph: Christopher Null
AirCaps
AirCaps Smart Glasses
AirCaps does not make its own prescription lenses. Instead, you must purchase a pair of $39 “lens holders” and take them to an optician if you want prescription inserts. I was unable to test these with prescription lenses and ultimately had to try them out over my regular glasses, which worked well enough for short-term testing. Frames weigh a hefty 53 grams without add-on lenses; the company couldn’t tell me how much extra weight prescription lenses would add to that, but it’s safe to say these are the bulkiest and heaviest captioning glasses on the market. Despite the weight, they only carry two to four hours of battery life, with 10 or so recharges packed into the comically large case. Another option is to clip one of AirCaps’ rechargeable 13-gram Power Capsules ($79 for two) to one of the arms, which can provide 12 to 18 extra hours of juice.
The AirCaps feature list and interface make it perhaps the simplest of all these devices, with just a single button to start and stop recording. Transcriptions and translations are available for free in nine languages. For $20/month, you can add the Pro package, which offers better accuracy, access to more than 60 languages, and the option to generate AI summaries on demand (though only if recordings are long enough). As a bonus: Five hours of Pro features are free each month. Offline mode works pretty well, too. The only bad news is that these bulky frames just aren’t comfortable enough for long-term wear.
Photograph: Christopher Null
Photograph: Christopher Null
The most expensive option on the market (up to $1,399 with prescription lenses!) weighs a relatively svelte 40 grams (52 grams with lenses) and offers about four hours of battery life. There’s no charging case; the glasses must be charged directly using the included USB-connected dongle.
The glasses are extremely simple, offering transcription and translation features—with support for about 80 languages, which is impressive. I unfortunately found the prescription lenses Captify sent to be the blurriest of the bunch, making the captions comparatively hard to read. And while the device supports offline transcription, performance suffered badly when disconnected from the internet. I couldn’t get translations to work at all when offline. For $15/month, you get better accuracy and speaker differentiation, and access to AI summaries of conversations. Prescription lenses cost between $99 and $600.
Started more than 50 years ago, data storage company Western Digital is one of the world’s largest computer hard disk drive manufacturers, and produces solid-state drives (SSDs) and flash memory devices. Western Digital makes all the essentials for home office and business digital storage, whether you want to back up via cloud storage, easily take your presentation on a USB flash drive to your next important meeting, or upgrade your home security surveillance’s storage system, Western Digital has what you need—and we have promo codes to help you save.
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The red-light therapy market shows no signs of slowing down. According to Fortune Business Insights, the industry is projected to grow from $1.21 billion in 2026 to $1.76 billion by 2034. Riding that wave is Hong Kong-based Megelin, which is currently running its largest Mother’s Day sale yet, offering major discounts on most of its LED devices and select electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) tools.
I’ve been testing the Duo Lux Laser & LED Light Therapy Mask for the past two weeks as part of a six-week trial. While I’m still forming my final verdict, I already have some early thoughts (more on that below). In the meantime, check out the standout deals because some of these discounts might be too good to pass up while they’re live.
This Laser & LED Light Therapy Mask Is $270 Off
Megelin
Duo Lux Laser & LED Light Therapy Mask
The Megelin Duo Lux Laser & LED Light Therapy Mask combines 660-nanometer (nm) and 1,064-nm lasers with a 660-nm LED light for a more intensive treatment. The brand claims it can help smooth wrinkles, soothe inflammation, reduce pigmentation, and minimize redness. After two weeks of testing, I haven’t noticed any visible changes in my skin just yet, though to its credit, I also haven’t experienced any irritation or adverse reactions.
My biggest issue was the initial unboxing experience: The mask had a strong chemical odor that reminded me of formaldehyde. For a device that sits against your face and doesn’t have a mouth opening, that’s not exactly reassuring. Wiping it down and letting it air out significantly reduced the smell, but it definitely made for a less-than-ideal first impression.
That said, the mask itself is extremely comfortable. The soft, flexible silicone contours well to the face, and the dual-strap design keeps it secure without feeling restrictive. Treatments are quick and easy to customize thanks to four different modes, all controlled through an attached remote. And because it’s cordless, you’re free to move around while using it.
At full price, it’s a steep investment compared to its competitors. But with the current $270 discount, it becomes a much more compelling option, especially given the added laser therapy component, which isn’t as common at this price point. I’ll continue testing through the full six-week period before sharing my final verdict, but if you’re tempted to take advantage of the sale now, Megelin does offer a 60-day money-back guarantee and a one-year warranty.
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