Let’s talk about periods.

This is Abby from the PYE team. We didn’t let Chris write this one, although I know that awkward topics are no big deal to him. We had an OB/GYN ask us about the best period-tracking apps that she could recommend to young patients. This isn’t the first time we’ve received this question.

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To begin, we were surprised at how much other baggage comes with some of the more popular period tracking apps. I guess it’s no surprise – if you’re tracking your period as an adult, then you’re probably also interested in sex and fertility. But then there were the chat features on these apps and this is where it got really explicit. No surprise! Anonymous sharing is often raw and extreme.

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Clue:

Age: Adults only

• Apple 
• Google Play
• Apple Watch

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Tracking options: This app is FULL of tracking options (bleeding, collection method, cravings, digestion, fluid, hair, pain, skin, stool, weight, temperature, emotions, energy, mental, motivation, sleep, social, appointments, exercise, party, sex, ailment, IUD, Injection, medication, patch pill, ring, tests). 

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Pros: Written in a more medical/matter-of-fact way and no chat feature

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Cons: Each of the tracking options has an info button that explains what it is and why you want to track it.  For example The “Partying” option allows you to track alcohol, hangovers, cigarettes, and “big night.” The “Sex Life” option allows you to track protected/unprotected, masturbation, sex toys, fantasies, and more.  They do have articles/tips within their “Content” section. Each category is full of articles, but most require a premium upgrade to access. However, all of the titles are visible and your tween/teen may not be ready to view those topics quite yet. A few of these content categories (and an example article title) are: Trying to Conceive (How to Use Ovulation Prediction Tests), Most Read Articles (Female Ejaculation and Squirting: What’s the Difference?), Fertility (Can You Get Pregnant from Precum?), LGBTQIA+ (The Science Behind Periods and Gender), and Sexual Health. 

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Our Thoughts? Adults only. We like that there isn’t a chat feature, however, there is a lot of information your teen might not be ready for.   

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Flo:

Age: Adults only (the secret chat is highly explicit)

• Apple 
• Google Play

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Tracking options: Similar to Clue, Flo offers multiple options for the user to track.  These include mood, symptoms, discharge, digestion/stool, physical activity, and others (travel, stress, meditation, journaling, Kegel exercises, breathing exercises, and disease and injury).

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Pros: Flo is full of insights and articles, but most require a premium upgrade to access.  The articles range from cycle phases to reproduction, nutrition, mental health, sexual wellness, and more.  There is a lot of information for young women if they have questions but don’t have a trusted adult to talk to, however, most are only accessed with a premium account. One thing to note is that some of the articles available in the premium account may be information you aren’t ready for your child to have access to yet.

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Cons: The Secret Chats feature contains explicit content. Really extreme sexual fantasy stuff. This is available in the free version, and it is a place where users can anonymously ask and answer questions.  Just a quick scroll through this section revealed a lot of mature content.  We found questions about skincare, and then questions about “booty calls,” sexual fantasies, sexting, oral sex, etc.  The responses to some of the questions in the secret chat were very graphic and detailed.  

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From a PYE follower:

“I checked my FLO app today, and it has horrible explicit things that are available right in the daily insights. This is a place in the app where you immediately look, and the daily insights are designed (programmed) for anyone and everyone to look at (think of Flo’s version of Instagram stories). The particular story I saw today said that it has “life-changing” tips for masturbation. Previously, I have been horrified by explicit things that I’ve incidentally come across in the secret chats of this app (in response to this, I decided to just avoid that component of the app), but the daily insights are right in your face. I can’t ignore it and will delete the app. I would strongly encourage all women (young or old) to not support this kind of app or company.”

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Our thoughts? This app is appropriate for adults.  While Flo is chock full of information, it also means there is access to a lot of information your child isn’t ready for.  

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My Calendar:

Age: probably ok for high school.

• Apple 
• Google Play

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Tracking Options: This app tracks temperature, weights, symptoms, moods, sexual activity, medicine, and flow.

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Pros:  You can set a passcode for this app. You can toggle off the intercourse log, ovulation and fertility info, and pill tracking. 

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Cons: There are ads (mine was for a calculator app) but going premium removes ads. There is also no user-generated content in this app.

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Our Thoughts? This app looked fairly safe and would likely be appropriate for a high school student.  We like that there isn’t any user-generated content and that there is an option to toggle off intercourse log, fertility info, and pill tracker. 

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FitBit:

Age: adults (community feature has predator risk)

• Apple
• Google

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Tracking Options: The FitBit app allows you to track multiple areas of health.  As far as menstrual cycles, the FitBit app tracks mood, protected or unprotected sex, ovulation test, fluids, and other events (the option given here is the morning-after pill).

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Pros: You can actually use the FitBit app without having a FitBit.  The app allows you to track multiple areas of your health. 

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Cons: The FitBit app has a community option where the user can join any of the community groups once an email has been verified. There are different topics for each group and even options to join groups of people who are near your location.  

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Our thoughts? The Fitbit menstrual cycle tracker seems pretty straightforward. This app would be appropriate for an older teen, but our concern is always when there’s a “community” option and the chat that comes with it. 

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Easy Period – Lite Tracker:

Age: tweens+

• Apple
• Google

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Tracking Options: This app is literally as basic as the name.  It only tracks your period in the free version.  

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Pros: There is no community, no e-commerce, and no news.  The premium option is only $2.49 for the year or 5.99 to purchase once for lifetime access.  There isn’t anything related to pregnancy or fertility in the free version. The premium version allows tracking of love, pain, happiness, and sadness. 

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Cons: None that we could find. 

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Our thoughts? We feel that this app looks like a good option for a young girl.  There are no bells and whistles with this one. The most significant concern is that it’s a super small start-up, which means privacy might not be as buttoned up as the larger apps above. But since you don’t create an account, it’s anonymized data at best. 

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The iPhone Health App:

Age: teens+

• Apple
• Apple Watch

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Tracking options: This app tracks temperature, weights, symptoms, moods, sexual activity, ovulation, cervical mucus quality, medicine, progesterone, and flow. You can choose to add other factors such as pregnancy, lactation, and contraceptives. Each of these trackers can be toggled off. 

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Pros: It’s already on the iPhone! Nothing extra to download.

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Cons: Not available on Google Play. No way to “lock” trackers in the toggle-off position. 

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Our thoughts? We feel that this app could be an option for a young girl with all the extras toggled off. However, there is no way to lock these features in the off position. Lastly, there are a few articles accessible within the app about the basics of fertility and ovulation, spotting, and factors that can impact a cycle. 

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MagicGirl:

Age: content geared for tweens (not worth the risks)

• Apple
• Google

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Tracking Options: This app tracks bleeding, mood, symptoms, diary notes, hygiene, weight, sleep, and exercise. 

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Pros: There isn’t anything related to pregnancy or fertility on the premium version. The design is geared towards a younger audience and includes a video library of introductory period topics such as 10 Period Life Hacks, My First Period, and more. The premium version costs 7.99 and allows parental controls to be locked and removes ads. 

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Cons: You have to pay to remove ads and lock the parental controls which can turn off these features: intimacy, cervical fluid, ovulation test, pregnancy test, the pill, and chat. It contains access to Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok inside of the app. There is a chat feature that cannot be turned off unless paying for the premium version. 

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Our thoughts? While we love the look of this app for young tweens, there are too many risks inside of the app. The video content and graphics within the app don’t make the app inviting for an older teen or adult user, but the access to social media and the inability to turn off features like chat and ads make this app not worth the risk. This app could be useful if a parent wanted to use the video library as an aid in discussions with their tween. 

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Concluding thoughts about our research.

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You’d think that finding an app appropriate for young girls who just want to track their periods would be easier than this, but it’s a good reminder to check out the apps your kids are using. Always check apps for chat features and mature content.  A good rule of thumb is that any app with user-generated content increases the risks.  

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A period tracker app is a great tool to help your daughter understand her cycles (we wish we had these when we were younger!), but nothing beats a trusted adult to come to with embarrassing questions about how her body works and sexual health. These are topics safer left to conversations with trusted adults rather than Google searches and period tracker apps. We highly encourage you to make conversations about our bodies, sex, periods, and hygiene the norm with your daughter.  

What if I have more questions? How can I stay up to date?

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Two actions you can take!

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1. Subscribe to our tech trends newsletter, the PYE Download. About every 3 weeks, we’ll share what’s new, what the PYE team is up to, and a message from Chris.
2. Ask your questions in our private parent community called The Table! It’s not another Facebook group. No ads, no algorithms, no asterisks. Just honest, critical conversations and deep learning! For parents who want to “go slow” together. Become a member today!

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