Period and Symptom Tracking Apps: 5 Privacy Checks Before You Log Another Day

When periods start skipping, stretching or getting heavier in perimenopause, an app can make the pattern easy to show your clinician. Many cycle and symptom apps are free, and some charge a subscription. Before you log another day, it helps to know who else can see that information.

HIPAA usually doesn’t cover your app

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services¹ says HIPAA’s privacy rules generally don’t protect health information on your personal phone or tablet. In most cases, they don’t cover data you enter into an app for personal use, unless a health care provider or health plan gave you the app.¹

HHS adds that information collected by apps may be used to target ads, or sold to a data broker.¹

What has gone wrong before

In 2021, the Federal Trade Commission² settled with the developer of a fertility and period-tracking app used by more than 100 million people. The FTC alleged the company shared users’ health information, including the fact of a pregnancy, with outside data analytics firms after promising to keep it private.²

In 2024, the FTC updated its Health Breach Notification Rule to make clear that it covers health apps, so apps must notify users after certain breaches of their health data.³

5 privacy checks

1. Ask whether you need an app at all. HHS suggests avoiding unnecessary apps, especially free ones.¹ A paper calendar or a note on your phone records dates and flow without a third party.

2. Read the privacy policy for these answers. Does the app share or sell data? Does it share with advertisers or analytics companies? Can you delete your data, and does deletion include backups? If the answers aren’t clear, choose another option.

3. Turn off location access. HHS advises not giving apps location permission unless they need it, noting many apps that resell data don’t need your location.¹

4. Limit ad tracking. HHS describes how to turn off “Allow Apps to Request to Track” on Apple devices and delete or reset your advertising ID on Android.¹

5. Log only what you need. For a perimenopause visit, dates, flow, spotting between periods and symptoms such as hot flashes or sleep problems are usually enough.

Use the record, then share it on your terms

Whatever method you choose, a few months of data helps your clinician see the pattern. Print or screenshot the summary and bring it, rather than linking accounts you don’t need to link.

Try: “Here are my cycle dates and symptoms for the past six months. What do you make of the pattern, and is there anything I should be checked for?”

Period, Handled includes a Period Scorecard and a visit script. Use the paper scorecard to track your cycle privately and bring it to your appointment. See the book.