Why you should be careful when using a menstrual app

Fertility and menstruation apps are discredited because your data is not equally safe everywhere. Does that only apply to the United States, or do you also have to be careful with cycle trackers in the Netherlands?

Fertility or menstruation app: watch your dates

For women, menstrual apps are very common these days to track their cycle. That can be very useful. For example, to know when you have your period, or what the best timing is for sex when you are trying to get pregnant. These apps can also help spot abnormalities in your cycle, which can indicate health problems.

In the United States, these apps are now hugely discredited. That has to do with the decision of the US Supreme Court to cancel the national right to abortion. There is now a fear that data from a menstrual app will be used to prove that someone has had an abortion.

That may feel like a far-from-my-bed show, because it’s something that primarily affects women in the United States. Yet you also have to be careful in the Netherlands.

Data is resold

You place a lot of sensitive data in these apps. Not only whether you are pregnant and when you are menstruating, but also, for example, when you have had sex, how your stools were, whether you have drunk alcohol, whether you have exercised, and so on.

Many cycle trackers sell this information to advertisers. Also apps that are popular in the Netherlands. As a result, you may see advertisements about baby clothes, for example, before you have told people that you are pregnant.

In addition, not all these apps have their security in order. Consumer organization Consumer Reports states that menstrual apps such as Glow can be hacked without much effort and with little knowledge.

What to watch out for

It’s a hassle, but be sure to read the privacy policy for these apps. Here it must be described in clear language what happens to your data. Is it written in unnecessarily complicated language? Then you can assume that privacy is not the main thing that the makers of the app are working on.

In addition, check what the app earns money from. These apps are not charities but ways to earn money. If the app is free, chances are your data will be sold to make money from you. Some apps offer a subscription instead.

Also check within the apps that you can unsubscribe from. For example, permission to sell your data to third parties.

What you can find in the privacy policy

We once dived into the privacy policies of various apps. Menstruation Tracker, for example, is not so positive, which states in its privacy statement that your real-time location data can be forwarded to Facebook, Google, Twitter and Amazon, among others.

The Flo app indicates that if the company behind the app is sold, then your data will go with it. You don’t know how that new company will deal with it.

However, you will not always find everything in the privacy policy. Take the Glow app. This app presents itself as a tool to track your cycle, but secretly aims to sell you its fertility products. For thousands of euros you can follow a program to get started with your fertility or you can have your eggs frozen.

So what is a good cycle tracker?

An app where we think the privacy statement is written in clear language, where your data is not just sold and where you get enough options to manage your data is Clue.

Clue only uses your data anonymously for research on menstruation and fertility. The privacy policy is very clear. For example, the company states that data is shared with ad networks, but never your health data or information about your cycle. It is also possible to disable the sharing of this data in the settings. In order to earn money, the app offers a subscription that gives you more functions.

Another option is to use Apple’s Health app. To do that, open the Health app on your iPhone and tap “Data.” Then choose ‘Track Cycle’. You can also track your cycle via the Apple Watch.

By the way, the very best and most secure option is to track your cycle offline, in a paper calendar or spreadsheet.

Delete your data

Do you decide to stop using the app you are using, or maybe switch to another app? Make sure you delete your data or have it removed before you throw away the app. Every app that is offered in Europe must offer the possibility for this. If you don’t find the option in the app, it’s likely what action you need to take in the privacy policy. Sometimes you have to send an email for this.

More privacy tips

Also read our privacy guide for more tips to keep your data safe on your iPhone.