How to Track Your Period Without an App

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Free period tracker from Imperfect Inspiration

There's been a lot on social media lately about why you should delete your period tracking apps. Various sources have noted that data privacy, including internet search history, are bigger issues — but let's discuss.

Readers, how are you tracking your period these days — with an app, a cute paper way, or something else? (For those of you trying to conceive, have you changed any of the apps you might be using to track basal body temperature and so forth?)

Let's Talk About Period Apps

The Argument For Why You Should Delete Your Period App

A June 24 tweet that got more than 300,000 (!) likes and almost 100,000 retweets was just one of the many urgent messages on social media telling people to delete their period tracking apps after Roe v. Wade was overturned. The tweet urged, “Delete your period tracking apps today.”

Some activists and data privacy experts are concerned about period app data being used by authorities to prove that someone has had an abortion. Mashable quoted a former senior cybersecurity staffer on the Biden presidential campaign as saying, “I would caution people who menstruate to stop using any type of app to track their menstrual health if they have any expectation of having a presence in states which are expected to ban abortion.”

Also consider where your period tracking data is stored. A representative of the digital rights advocacy group Fight for the Future told Mashable that where this data is kept is important. A court would need a warrant to search your phone to get the menstrual charting stored on it, while only a subpoena would be required to obtain data from the cloud.

If you do delete your period app, MIT Technology Review recommends asking the app company to delete your information — and recommends this Washington Post guide on how to do so.

The Argument Against Deleting Your Period App

Other experts, including a representative of the Electronic Frontier Foundation interviewed by The New Scientist, don't believe it's necessary to delete period apps right now. The article noted, “[India] McKinney understands the urge … but says that is akin to not buying a car because you don’t want someone breaking into it on the street.” Instead, McKinney recommends checking apps' privacy guarantees and not allowing apps to use your location data.

Vox pointed out, “[P]eriod tracker apps are very low on the list of things you should worry about when it comes to online privacy and abortions,” while the NYT noted that depending on where you live, you should probably be more concerned about being potentially implicated by your text messages, internet searches, and location data. (Social media posts can also be a concern.)

Note that Google has stated it will delete location data for visits to abortion clinics.

Period Apps with OK Privacy Terms (For Now)

Not surprisingly, a lot of period app users have quickly switched to “safer” alternatives. Stardust suddenly became popular as a supposedly safer option, but TechCrunch soon found concerning data privacy issues. TechCrunch noted that many people have also switched to Period Tracker by GP Apps but pointed out that GP Apps's privacy policy said it would comply with legal requests and subpoenas. TC highlighted the option of using Apple's Health app, which has end-to-end encryption of iCloud records.

Some period trackers, such as Clue (Kat's preferred tracker, which follows EU privacy laws), have issued company statements committing to good data policies, but note that any app's terms and conditions are subject to change. I used to use Flo and am still on their email list; I recently received a Roe-related update email a announcing their new “Anonymous Mode.”

Consumer Reports has a helpful chart that summarizes eight period app's privacy policies.

How to Track Your Period Without An App

The Etsy Way to Track Your Period

There are a ton of really cute period trackers popping up on Etsy that you can use for a digital bullet journal or print out.

1. Kat get emails from Imperfect Inspiration, a TikToker/shop owner/Etsy seller who specializes in organization and planners for people with ADHD. In a recent email she announced her new free download: a monthly period tracker. This one is nice because it shows 12 months at once so you can see variations in your cycle.

(While you're there, her planning game board (free digital download, or $16 laminated) is one of Kat's favorites, especially when she's out of ideas for dinner.)

habit wheel chart turned into a period tracker with 12 months to see your entire cycle
Free period tracker from Imperfect Inspiration

{related: tips for digital journaling}

2. Canadian Etsy seller FeelingCozyOfficial offers printable period trackers, including this instant download for $2.39. It tracks dates, blood flow, symptoms, and cycle length.

3. This printable period journal from Etsy seller PlanPrintLand includes three versions of a period log plus a yearly log and diary days. The digital download bundle is $1.71. The seller also has other reproductive health printables that include a basal body temperature chart and IVF/fertility planner.

Other Easy Ways to Track Your Period

If your cycles are primarily regular, and you just kind of want to know when to expect your next period, here's something Kat used to do long, long ago: On the day you get your period, count forward in your calendar by 4 weeks (28 days). Put an X on the future day so you know when to expect it. If it comes sooner or later than that, track it in your calendar (for example, with different colors or symbols). (You can also set up a repeating calendar event in your calendar app, naming it something other than “period” if you want extra peace of mind.)

{related: If your periods aren't regular (or you're really into environmentalism), we looked at the pros and cons of period underwear and other alternatives products for your period.}

You can also use Google Sheets or this chart from University of British Columbia’s Centre for Menstrual Cycle and Ovulation Research. [Update: In the comments below, India McKinney wrote, “If you are worried enough to delete your period tracker, you should absolutely NOT put your data in anything Google owns.”]

Readers, how are you tracking your period these days — with an app, a cute paper way, or something else?

12 Comments

  1. The morning thread about the state of politics in the UK gave me an idea for a lighthearted thread. What politicians from your country are easy to look at? I’ll go first, Jagmeet Singh.

  2. For whatever is worth, Clue has promised not to share user data and is not US based (so US law enforcement would have a hard time trying to subpoena information). I was already using it just for the lack of pink or obnoxiously pro-conception design.

  3. I use my wall calendar to track my period, with a sharpie. If anybody else is bothered by my dots, circles, migraine headache symbols or similar, tough luck to them.

    1. This is scary. I do not track my period’s any more b/c they are beginning to become irregular. I never understood when I still had regular periods a few years ago that my doctor told me that my days for safe birthing were probably behind me. I told him I had read about a 57 year old woman who gave birth to a healthy baby, and tho I would never have a baby w/o a husband, this matter was interesting and he did not explain it further to me.

    2. Vox linked to the EFF article about privacy for those seeking true reproductive freedom from coercion including menstruators, pregnant folks, and/or abortion-seekers. Happy to learn more about the topic and your organization (and you!) Thanks.

Comments are closed.