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submitted 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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] 5 points 1 day ago

flo app makes $192 million a year with 5 million paying users, which seems absolutely wild to me for something that covers such a basic need

[-] [email protected] 84 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

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] 123 points 3 days ago

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] 4 points 2 days ago

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

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[-] [email protected] 62 points 3 days ago

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] 13 points 3 days 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.

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[-] [email protected] 39 points 3 days ago

Because its effort. We have to get the average person to care about their security and privacy before they will bother using these alternatives. It's much easier for them to download a popular one off an app store and have the data stick with them, than it is to download f-droid, find the right app, make sure its still supported and setup their own data backup.

[-] [email protected] 16 points 3 days ago

People are mentioning drip, and that's on the Play Store. It's literally the same amount of effort as installing a surveillance app.

[-] [email protected] 25 points 3 days ago

Does drip pay to have their app at the top of the list? Because that's about how far most people look

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[-] [email protected] 12 points 3 days ago

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.

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[-] [email protected] 16 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

I get what you’re trying to say, but this is basically just roundabout victim blaming. Women shouldn’t have to worry about whether or not someone is going to weaponize data on their menstrual cycle against them. Yes it is good to lock your door at night, but ultimately you don’t blame somebody for getting robbed just because they didn't lock it. You blame the thief.

Not everybody is as aware of privacy issues as the rest of us. We have to help them, not berate them.

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[-] [email protected] 12 points 3 days ago

erm, I do use Drip actually. i have used it for over a year now as I didn't want trackers knowing my cycle.

women do use drip. we just don't advertise it, usually.

i have also recommended it to friends who were looking for a more simple app than these google play store ones.

[-] [email protected] 13 points 3 days ago

Besides drip, Euki (github) is another option on both the play store and iOS.

Note that both of these options are maintained by tiny teams with limited resources.

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[-] [email protected] 18 points 2 days ago

Use free and open source software to protect your data. This goes for everybody on any device.

[-] [email protected] 10 points 2 days ago

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] 8 points 2 days ago

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

[-] [email protected] 5 points 2 days 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] 56 points 3 days 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] 22 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

I tried to talk to my wife about data ownership, opensource, etc. but it's difficult to convey how important it is. She uses Flow. I'm trying to get her to at least try alternatives such as Drip

[-] [email protected] 11 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Not surprising, 'open source' is a deliberately ambiguous term, engineered to derailed libre software. First, clear up your own understanding, before telling others. Use simple words like control, scam and abuse. See this example. https://lemmy.world/post/21620691

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[-] [email protected] 27 points 3 days ago
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[-] [email protected] 9 points 2 days ago

As a trans woman, I make sure to log my irregular bi-weekly periods on flo to make sure their data is tip top!

[-] [email protected] 16 points 3 days ago

My wife just asks me to grab her boobs and I can generally let her know several days out and be accurate to within half a day.

[-] [email protected] 16 points 3 days ago

You need to teach me this skill. Any excuse to get frisky with my wife.

[-] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago

How adorable

[-] [email protected] 29 points 3 days ago

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] 16 points 3 days ago

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

I don't think that has happened starting from a period tracking app yet. There was a case involving an unencrypted messaging app used to discuss a criminalized abortion.

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[-] LMurch 13 points 3 days ago

My wife used to use the tracker in fitbit (I think), but once US states started passing laws to track periods, she's stopped using it. It's the wild west in my house now.

[-] [email protected] 16 points 3 days ago

There are 2 open source menstrual trackers in f-droid. They don't share data.

[-] [email protected] 12 points 2 days ago

You can also use an analog tracker...

[-] [email protected] 8 points 2 days ago

Yes of course but it's marketing data.

Marketing data. We need it for marketing to people so they can spend money.

Don't you understand! Marketing data!!!

[-] [email protected] 10 points 3 days ago

File this under "no shit."

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this post was submitted on 11 Jun 2025
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