this post was submitted on 11 Jun 2025
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Cambridge researchers urge public health bodies like the NHS to provide trustworthy, research-driven alternatives to platforms driven by profit.

Women deserve better than to have their menstrual tracking data treated as consumer data - Prof Gina Neff

Smartphone apps that track menstrual cycles are a “gold mine” for consumer profiling, collecting information on everything from exercise, diet and medication to sexual preferences, hormone levels and contraception use.

This is according to a new report from the University of Cambridge’s Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy, which argues that the financial worth of this data is “vastly underestimated” by users who supply profit-driven companies with highly intimate details in a market lacking in regulation.

The report’s authors caution that cycle tracking app (CTA) data in the wrong hands could result in risks to job prospects, workplace monitoring, health insurance discrimination and cyberstalking – and limit access to abortion.

They call for better governance of the booming ‘femtech’ industry to protect users when their data is sold at scale, arguing that apps must provide clear consent options rather than all-or-nothing data collection, and urge public health bodies to launch alternatives to commercial CTAs.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Made my own desktop app in python (tkinter) which encrypts the data with GPG. It has predictions and potential ovulation days. The predictions seem pretty accurate so far.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Has "if it makes a funny noise I'll shoot the computer" vibes, love it

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

Haha thanks. If you want to check it out, the link is: https://codeberg.org/kingorgg/period_tracker

I haven't tried it on windows though, so I'm not sure if it will work properly on there. It's just a personal project for now. The UI is pretty basic too.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

No woman in the US should be tracking their period in any sort of app or software.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Drip, the app mentioned several times in this thread, let's you encrypt the locally stored database with a password you have to enter every time you open the app. How is that not safer than a random piece of paper?

It's so exhausting that this thread is full of men telling women what they should and shouldn't do while having very little knowledge about the topic.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

And of people who assume the genders of others.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I'm sorry if I misgendered you. I was already exhausted from the other comments that clearly state that they are men and probably was biased in that regard. But my point still stands that there is no reason to completely forego tracking apps.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Yeah, and of course I haven't looked into all of the tech and security of ways to set up these apps. I'm just exhausted myself from it seeming like nothing is ever 100% secure or free from risk, and I'm so cynical about the country I live in and what it will become in the future that I would just rather not trust anything at this point. I'm sure that doesn't 100% hold water/is completely rational, but it's where my head is.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I get that. It shouldn't be necessary to do research just to be sure it's safe. I apologise for my aggressive tone. It must be really scary and exhausting to live somewhere like that. My country is still holding up but seems to be sliding slowly in that direction too.

So do whatever makes you stay safe and feel safe.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

I appreciate it and you

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

I mean there are at least 2 apps for that in F-Droid. It's just that most people are FOSS illiterate and only if a big corpo give them shit then they trust it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

I happen to be a penis owner.

So what would happen if I were to install and use such a monthly tracker app and pretend I've been having regular monthlies for a while, then suddenly I miss a couple periods, then suddenly start having periods again?

Would the cops come beating my door down claiming I had an abortion? 🤔

Fuck this dystopian mass surveillance shit!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I keep track of my wife's period.

I use mensinator on fdroid made by two woman.

https://github.com/EmmaTellblom/Mensinator

She didn't do it, so I had to.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I happen to be a penis owner.

That's like 95% of Lemmy.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 2 weeks ago

I actually own 2 penises, I keep the spare in a jar in case of an emergency.

/s 😂🤣

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (3 children)

For christ sake, is there no open source option for such a simple task?

Edit:
2 people here could point to drip within 15 minutes of my post, and a third to the fact there are options on F-droid. So why the fuck don't women just use that?
Well i guess the ones with harmful advertising have better graphics or somemeting. Or the fact they allow advertising makes them more visible on google play. And you probably can't even get drip on iPhones.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

i'd like to point out that it shouldn't be on women (or anyone) to be on constant guard against attacks on their privacy.

yes, it is the state of the world, but the attitude of your comment is victim blaming.

let's not forget that while we on Lemmy may be aware of the danger of mass surveillance tech, we're not the majority.

snowden told us years ago how fucked everything is, and surveillance has only grown since then. let's not forget that it is not normal that corpo data-mining is the norm (along with included de-facto warrantless surveillance). Even though we all should be better, nobody should have to be as careful as we are.

hell, let's be real. As long as we use a smartphone, we're not being careful enough either.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Oh for fucks sake, I already apologized twice.
But still walking alone into a dark alley at night in a questionable neighborhood is not the smartest thing if you don't want to be assaulted.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

So why the fuck don’t women just use that?

They probably don't know about it. If I search "period tracker" on Google Play, Drip is in about 40th place in the results. That's several screens down, past a bunch of search suggestions, and the parts where it's open source, on-device, and optionally encrypted aren't clear until I tap on it and read the description.

And you probably can’t even get drip on iPhones.

There's some irony in a comment dealing with people making decisions that are against their interests because they're insufficiently informed speculating incorrectly about something like this when it's easy to check. Drip is, in fact available for iPhone.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

Yeah, discoverability is a massive issue on the Play store. If it doesn't bring Daddy Google 30% of whatever they shovel through in ad money or mtx, then you won't see it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

There is! It's called drip and is a project started by a berlin-based feminist collective iirc.

https://dripapp.org/

Free, open-source, local data only

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

Also trans inclusive which has the double benefit of not being the cliché pink. :)