Two years ago, Roe v. Wade was overturned. A few hours after the announcement, several tweets had gained significant traction. Each shared the same message – delete your period tracking apps, now. Like so many other women, in a burst of anxiety, I rushed to delete my period tracking app. 

While this initially felt overzealous, if a tad dramatic, the danger posed by the apps’ mundane digital footprints became apparent. Trigger laws had taken effect across the nation, criminalizing abortion. The fear then – and now – lay in concerns over data privacy, namely the health data logged by users about their cycle being used in court to prove that they had received an abortion. Data purchased from the apps created a potential for third-parties using the data to report a suspected abortion to authorities in states where it had been made illegal. 

When Roe was overturned, the two most popular period and fertility tracking apps, (Clue and Flo,) had a combined 55 million users. Despite its massive user base, Flo came under fire for inadequate protection of user data, long before the concerns surrounding abortion exposure arose. Flo had previously handed over user data to Facebook, primarily regarding users’ menstrual cycles and whether they were trying to conceive. Flo has since launched an “anonymous mode,” which allows users to access the app’s features without giving any personal information, such as name, cell phone, or email. 

Clue is a European app. The company has previously claimed that because the app resides in the EU, they are required to meet special data protection requirements relating to reproductive health. They reinforced that they remain committed to data protection. In a response posted to their website, the app’s creators claimed that US authorities cannot subpoena a US user’s data from Clue, and that no US authority can override this, stating that even US users are protected by the European data privacy laws the app is subjected to. 

The less widely used application Stardust has gained the greatest traction for their failure to continuously commit to reproductive justice, with their privacy policy in June of 2022 stating: “We may disclose your anonymized, encrypted information to third parties in order to…comply with or respond to law enforcement…whether or not legally required.” The app tweaked the policy to omit the phrase “whether or not legally required” shortly after being exposed by Vice News for the concerning gap in user privacy. 

The heightened discourse surrounding the safety of period tracking applications has been frowned upon by some data experts. They have argued that concerns should instead be focused on search history and text data, which have been previously used to prosecute women who have been criminally charged for abortion. Other experts have outright discouraged people from using period tracking apps, especially if they reside in a state in which abortion is banned. 

We realize that this is not a cut-and-dry situation. For most average users, the slew of tech and legal jargon seems entirely foreign. So, let’s take a final look at what this means for you. 

The TLDR – your cycle-tracking options and their safety, ranked from safest to least safe for users in states where abortion is not protected, or is at future risk. 

1. On paper: while it takes a bit of getting used to – and extra time – tracking your cycle on a paper calendar is always the best method to protect your health data. If you’re unsure where to start, check out our TikTok on the subject.
2. Apps that are not for profit or paid-only (non-incentivized to sell data), and store data locally (require a warrant to access user data).
3. Apps such as Clue, which are located in the EU.
4. Apps such as Flo, which are located in the US and do not have a clear track record of user data protection.