## Experts Sound Alarm Over Privacy and Security Risks For Women Using Period Tracker Apps
Concerns have been raised by leading academics regarding the safety and privacy implications surrounding the use of period tracker apps. Researchers at the University of Cambridge have highlighted the risks women face when using these popular digital tools, suggesting that sensitive personal data may be collected and shared on a large scale, sometimes without the explicit consent or full understanding of users.
Period tracker applications, now a mainstay for millions seeking to monitor their cycles, have seen explosive growth in recent years. According to the latest academic findings, just three of the most widely used apps have collectively been downloaded more than 250 million times worldwide. While these platforms are often marketed as empowering tools to help women understand and manage their reproductive health, their underlying business models have come under scrutiny.
The researchers, working out of Cambridge’s Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy, published a detailed report indicating that menstrual data is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what these apps collect. In addition to basic cycle tracking, they often prompt users to enter information about physical activity, dietary habits, medication, hormone levels, contraception choices, and even sexual preferences. All this data, say the academics, is a treasure trove for marketers and advertisers, enabling granular consumer profiling that goes far beyond benign health recommendations.
This intense level of data collection, the report states, raises serious concerns about privacy and security. The data amassed is not only valuable for targeted advertising but is sometimes traded with a complex network of third parties, further exposing users’ confidential information. Researchers warn that if mishandled or accessed by malicious actors, such data could potentially lead to discrimination in health insurance, affect employment opportunities, or, in severe cases, be used to facilitate domestic abuse.
A particularly pressing issue identified in the report is the shift in user behaviour when attempting to conceive. Women trying to become pregnant often alter their shopping patterns or look up particular medical information online. The data that identifies someone as pregnant or seeking to be is considered exceptionally valuable in the digital advertising sector. This means that companies behind these apps have a significant commercial interest in this deeply personal information.
The authors of the report have expressed particular concern about the lack of robust governance in the so-called “femtech” sector. They have called for immediate improvements in both the security of user data and the clarity of consent processes, demanding “meaningful consent options” for users. This, they argue, would give women greater agency over what happens to their information.
To provide safer alternatives, the research team have recommended that public health organisations consider developing their own period tracking applications. Such tools, they say, could operate outside the commercial pressures that currently dominate the market and could prioritise user privacy over profit.
Dr Stefanie Felsberger, the lead author of the study, emphasised that although menstrual tracking apps are hailed as tools to empower women and address historic gender gaps in health, their proliferation has led to sensitive personal information being treated as a lucrative commodity. “There are real and frightening privacy and safety risks to women as a result of the commodification of the data collected by cycle tracking app companies,” Dr Felsberger warned.
Professor Gina Neff, Executive Director of the Minderoo Centre, noted: “The use of cycle tracking apps is at an all-time high. Women deserve better than to have their menstrual tracking data treated as consumer data, but there is a different possible future.”
The debate around period tracker apps is likely to intensify, as more women become aware of the potential impacts of their digital footprints. As the femtech market continues to expand, the call for greater transparency, regulation, and safeguard of sensitive data is becoming ever more urgent. Advocates argue that protecting women’s privacy should not be seen as an optional extra but as a fundamental requirement in the digital health age.