Privacy is a hard thing to balance with period trackers (and other trackers of health-related info). They really are super helpful- every time I go to the doctor and I get asked when my last...
Privacy is a hard thing to balance with period trackers (and other trackers of health-related info). They really are super helpful- every time I go to the doctor and I get asked when my last period was, all I have to do is open my app. I can mark when I have penetrative sex, so that if I'm late one month I know whether or not I need to think about grabbing a test. And after 3.5 years of tracking, the algorithm is pretty good at figuring out when my next period should be, often within a day or two. But each helpful function requires more data, some of it fairly private.
Privacy is a hard thing to balance with period trackers (and other trackers of health-related info). They really are super helpful- every time I go to the doctor and I get asked when my last period was, all I have to do is open my app. I can mark when I have penetrative sex, so that if I'm late one month I know whether or not I need to think about grabbing a test. And after 3.5 years of tracking, the algorithm is pretty good at figuring out when my next period should be, often within a day or two. But each helpful function requires more data, some of it fairly private.
[A previous discussion on Tildes about period apps, in case folks are interested: Period-tracking apps are not for women]