ENDO: Building a Privacy-First Future for Sexual Health Communication

Talking about sexually transmitted infections should not be harder than getting tested. Yet, for many people, it still is. Fear, shame, uncertainty and lack of privacy often prevent individuals from informing past partners about a possible exposure to an STI. The result is a silence that can delay testing, treatment and prevention.

ENDO was created to challenge that silence!

Positioned as a privacy-first digital health platform, ENDO is developing a solution that enables anonymous STI partner notification and secure access to care. Its mission is direct and socially urgent: to break the cycle of sexually transmitted infections by making communication safer, easier and free from stigma. Through its digital approach, ENDO aims to give people a practical tool to take responsibility for their sexual health while protecting their identity and personal data.

What makes ENDO particularly relevant is that it is not only addressing a medical challenge, but also a behavioural and social one. STI prevention depends on information reaching the right people at the right time. However, traditional partner notification can be emotionally difficult, especially when relationships are complex, past partners are no longer in contact, or stigma is high. ENDO’s model responds to this gap by offering a digital layer of protection and discretion, helping users act responsibly without compromising their privacy.

This is where Health2Innovation became an important part of ENDO’s journey.

ENDO recognises that promoting sexual literacy goes far beyond ensuring passive access to information. It is about shaping attitudes and empowering people to bring about effective behavioural change. By designing a journey in which users do not merely read about prevention, but are actively supported in making a responsible decision (such as reporting a positive or booking a test), the platform transforms knowledge into immediate action. The project’s true impact on the community lies in this ability to bridge the gap between ‘knowing’ and ‘acting’.

ENDO collaborated with the Health2Innovation project both in the pilot and as part of the advisory board, contributing to a broader ecosystem focused on healthcare innovation, digital transformation and real-world impact. This collaboration offered ENDO a valuable opportunity to test, discuss and refine its approach in dialogue with experts, innovators and stakeholders connected to health innovation.

By participating in the Health2Innovation training pilot, ENDO was able to strengthen its development process in a context that values practical implementation, user needs and health system relevance. For ENDO, this meant advancing its mission with a stronger understanding of how privacy-first STI notification can respond to the needs of users, healthcare providers and communities.

ENDO’s role in the Health2Innovation advisory board also reinforced the importance of co-creation. Digital health tools cannot be built in isolation. They require input from people with different perspectives: healthcare professionals, public health experts, technologists, researchers, entrepreneurs and users. Through the advisory board, ENDO contributed its experience as an emerging healthtech solution working at the intersection of sexual health, privacy and social impact.

This exchange benefited both sides. For ENDO, Health2Innovation provided a platform to connect with a wider innovation community and receive strategic insights. For Health2Innovation, ENDO represented a strong example of a startup tackling a sensitive but highly relevant public health challenge through ethical technology and user-centred design.

ENDO’s public positioning also highlights a distinctive commitment to independence and data privacy. On its social media channels, including Instagram and LinkedIn, the team has emphasised its focus on building a stigma-free, privacy-conscious app and preparing the launch of a pilot in Portugal (first in Lisbon and Oporto). The project’s communication consistently links sexual health with trust, autonomy and responsible digital innovation.

The expected impact of ENDO is multidimensional. For individuals, the platform can reduce the emotional barrier associated with notifying partners. For partners who receive notifications, it can encourage earlier testing and care-seeking. For communities, it can contribute to better awareness and prevention. For the health innovation ecosystem, it shows how technology can address stigma-driven gaps in care.

ENDO also reflects a wider shift in digital health: the move towards solutions that are not only efficient, but also ethical, inclusive and human-centred. The project recognises that innovation in healthcare is not only about creating new tools, but about designing systems that people can actually trust and use. In that sense, ENDO’s work aligns strongly with Health2Innovation’s ambition to support meaningful, impact-oriented innovation.

As ENDO continues developing its app and preparing its pilot in Portugal, its collaboration with Health2Innovation stands as a success story of early-stage innovation supported by ecosystem engagement. It shows how targeted support, expert dialogue and pilot opportunities can help promising digital health solutions to move closer to real-world application.

By combining privacy, sexual health and responsible technology, ENDO is helping to reframe STI notification as an act of care rather than shame. Its message is clear: safer sexual health communication is possible, and it begins with tools that protect people while empowering them to act.

Sources: https://endo-app.com ; https://www.instagram.com/endo__app/; https://www.linkedin.com/company/endo-safeissexy/

• At the heart of this impact lies an evolutionary view of health literacy. For the ENDO team, literacy is not merely about providing data or informative articles, but rather about transforming attitudes and behaviours towards risk. By simplifying and destigmatising communication and testing channels, the platform acts as a behavioural facilitator. Users are no longer passive recipients of public health campaigns but become active agents of prevention within their own social networks, maximising the social and epidemiological impact of the ecosystem.

• Pode também mencionar que vamos avançar com o Piloto no Porto e em Lisboa.