Let’s talk about periods.
This is Betsy 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 recently had an OB/GYN ask us about the best period tracking apps that she can recommend to young patients. This isn’t the first time we’ve received this question.
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.
Clue:
Age: older teens
- Apple
- Google Play
- Apple Watch
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).
Pros: Written in a more medical/matter of fact way
Cons: Each of the options has an info button that explains what it is and why you want to track it. For example: The “Party” option allows you to track drugs, hangovers, cigarettes, and drinks. The “Sex” option allows you to track protected/unprotected (there are descriptions), and it discusses how sex drive can be impacted by the fluctuations in hormones throughout a cycle. Clue also offers the option to toggle off if they can collect usage data under a unique identifier. They do have articles/tips that pop up. The one available now is about how to exclude a cycle from the analysis. In the article it gives examples of possibly needing to do this because of Plan B use, an abortion, a miscarriage, pregnancy, etc.
Our Thoughts? Older teens. We like that there isn’t a chat feature, however there is a lot of information your younger teen might not be ready for.
Flo:
Age: Adults only (the secret chat is highly explicit)
Tracking options: Similar to Clue, Flo offers multiple options for the user to track. These include sex/sex drive, mood, symptoms, discharge, and other (travel, stress, disease and injury, alcohol).
Pros: Flo is full of insights and articles, but most require a premium upgrade to access. The articles range from cycle phases, 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 quite yet.
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 skin care, 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.
July 29, 2022 update 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 m*sturbation. 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.”
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.
My Calendar:
Age: probably ok for high school.
Tracking Options: This app tracks temperature, weights, symptoms, moods, sexual activity, medicine, and flow.
Pros: You can set a passcode for this app. You can toggle off the intercourse log, ovulation and fertility info, and pill tracking.
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.
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.
FitBit:
Age: adults (community feature has predator risk)
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).
Pros: You can actually use the FitBit app without having a FitBit. The app allows you to track multiple areas for your health.
Cons: The FitBit app has a community option where the user can join any of the community groups once email has been verified. There are different topics for each group, and even options to join groups of people who are near your location.
Our thoughts? The Fitbit menstrual cycle tracker seems pretty straight forward. 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.
Easy Period – Lite Tracker:
Age: tweens+
Tracking Options: This app is literally as basic as the name. It only tracks your period.
Pros: There is no community, no e-commerce, and no news. The premium option is only $0.99 for the year. There isn’t anything related to pregnancy or fertility.
Cons: Not available on Google Play.
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.
Finally – the iPhone Health App:
Age: tweens+
- Apple
- Apple Watch
Tracking options: This app tracks temperature, weights, symptoms, moods, sexual activity, medicine, and flow.
Pros: It’s already on the iPhone! Nothing extra to download.
Cons: Not available on Google Play.
Our thoughts? We feel that this app looks like a good option for a young girl.
Concluding thoughts about our research.
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.
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 the 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.
Now What? Have you Heard of Protect?
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*There may be affiliate links throughout this post because we’ve tested and trust a small list of parental control solutions. Our work saves you time! If you decide that you agree with us, then we may earn a small commission, which does nothing to your price. Enjoy!
Garmin Connect will also do this, in conjunction with a Garmin watch.
*GIANT FACE PALM* What kind of ‘research’ is this? Flo is in legal hot water RIGHT NOW with the FTC for privacy violations and Fitbit was just acquired by Google – also in legal hot water for privacy violations… particularly for children privacy violations! Don’t trust, do your research! Maybe instead of putting together a list of apps that totally disregard user’s privacy in the name of profit, advocate for better consumer protections. You can do so for the Flo app right now by writing a public comment on the FTC website through March 1 2021. Case number 1923133. Go now.
Ok, Flo is a new case and we don’t recommend either for young girls, which is who we were doing this research for.
I actually created a period tracking app called ‘dottracker’ with young girls in mind so it doesn’t have any of the ovulation, when to be intimate, or other adult stuff. You can set up an alarm that will remind you before your period to be prepared with supplies. It keeps track of your period history and shows predicted periods. It’s still relatively new so any input about changes would be great. There is an android and apple version. Here is the link to the apple version.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dottracker/id1516943015
Is there a version of your dot tracker for Android? My daughter is 10 almost 11 and just started her period last night. I am so upset that there is NO apps out there that seem to be safe for younger girls. My daughter does NOT need any of the intimate tracking parts to it or chat things. I just want her to be able to track her period safely! I am so hoping you have a Droid version of your app because it sound just like what I’m looking for!
Just download the magic girl period tracker app. Thats good for kids and teens. And you can remove some of the options
I tried clue and it’s telling my daughter that killing your unwanted child is somehow healthcare. Then i went with spoton and it’s a PP app so pro abortion. I guess i will have to do magic girl but I’m afraid of the chat group option. I wish the dottracker was available in android. Flo is awful
I just found this one and downloaded it for my daughter, but we haven’t set it up yet. Can you disable the chat feature? I’d love to hear more about your experience with it!
This looks like EXACTLY what I need for my young daughter! Is it possible to enter the length of a period manually? Many people are not so regular that each period is exactly the same length, especially when it is first starting out! Unfortunately it won’t be usable for us if she can’t enter the length of each period individually. I’m really hoping she can use it! It seems to be the only option out there that is appropriate for a young girl. Thank you!
I downloaded this app for my daughter. The only issue we are having is erasing a cycle we accidentally entered. Any suggestions?
Add a section for girls to select moods & another section to select symptoms. Show selections as emojis/stickers. Put data in a calendar format. Add a place to add notes to each day. Include encouragement to drink water, get exercise, and clean body.
I’m unable to find “dottracker” no matter if I use a space or not. I’m going through the Google Play Store. Any tips or tricks? Your app sounds perfect for my daughter
Hello – what a great idea. I just downloaded the app for my daughter. But I can get the sign in page (first page) to work. Is this a problem you be encountered before?
Thanks Lorien
I downloaded your app, but don’t want my daughter having to actually sign in at this point. Is there a way to change that? Also having a way to contact you guys from the app would be nice.
I just downloaded this for my daughter. But I can not sign up. The sign up screen just stays put when I click the arrow after my info is filled out . I really need something appropriate.
Maggie, I thank and applaud you for the work you’re doing! But ovulation tracking isn’t just “adult stuff” in view of our girls’ overall health. Ovulation begins before a first period, and if taught the signs, is just as easy to track as irregular tween /teen cycles and offers an extra step in early detection of metabolic and hormonal, even non-disease conditions that could impact their future (Ex. If I had started tracking at 13 or 14 instead of 22 I would’ve known about my very short luteal phase well in advance, and prepared accordingly for building fertility boosts and earlier gynecological care into my diet and lifestyle. I would have been far more confident, tracking either for trying to conceive and trying to avoid pregnancy once married.) I could see your app becoming a fast favorite in my own 2 daughter household and recommending to church friends if ovulation were added!
Is the android version still available for download? I can’t find it.
We’re working on an updated post now, since these apps are getting worse and some aren’t available anymore. Please look for it soon!
It seems this app doesn’t exist.
As a father I am so stressed out about my daughter starting her period yesterday & trying to support her through these initial days, it’s something to celebrate but I’m finding it quite upsetting. I am also genuinely shocked and disgusted that there isn’t a safe simple tracking diary without the sexually explicit or adult oriented content plastered all over it. Just unbelievable, I think I need to learn programming and build one myself!
I think you do! We do offer a few options in our post, but as you can see, there are very few.
Important update as of 7/29/22: I checked my FLO app track 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 that their Flo’s version of Instagram stories.) The particular story I saw today said that it has “life-changing” tips for m*sturbation. 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.
Thank you so much for this update. I’m adding this information to the post!
Chris
It appears that the Easy Period App is available for android now. At least I think it is the same app mentioned in the article.
Thank you! Great information for parents!!
Came across this article today & can confirm Flo is getting worse and worse. My daughter will start her period soon, and I think I will just go old school and have her mark it in a paper calendar. It’s too risky with secret chats & trying to monitor what new content an app decides to push on a particular day.
Thank you. We need to update this article for current apps.