According to a survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation, nearly one-third of U.S. women have used a period tracking app. Many say the apps make life easier. But in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, some argue the apps have major privacy concerns. LA Times reporter Sara Parvini wrote about how this digital space is helping some women and raising alarms for others and joined host Lisa McRee on “LA Times Today.”  

“There are many different period tracking apps out there that you can pick in your app store,” Parvini explained. “But the basics are that you plug in as much information as you like to plug in about when your period started, the symptoms of your menstrual cycle, whether it’s cramps or bloating or headache. If you are trying to conceive, you can add that into the app as well. They basically say that these apps will help you to track your fertility as well, based on what your menstrual cycle is.”

There are many reasons people might track their cycles on apps. Parvini talked about a few of them.

“There’s young people who are just trying to track their cycles and just want to learn more about their bodies,” she said. “There are people who are trying to get pregnant who use them as a sort of fertility aid. There are people who are using the forums and these apps for a sense of community if they are having fertility struggles.”

Many women Parvini talked to say the community that they’ve found on period tracking apps has been mostly beneficial and uplifting. 

“I think for a lot of people who are trying to conceive, especially if it takes longer than they thought it would take or is more difficult than they thought it would be, these apps can provide a sense of community because we’re not alone in that struggle,” Parvini said. “I think that for many years there has been a stigma when it comes to conversations of infertility or having a miscarriage. And if you can find a community online that is going through those very same things, it helps you to feel not alone.”

While some doctors agree the apps can be beneficial for tracking one’s cycles, there are privacy concerns in the wake of Roe v. Wade’s reversal. 

“The data that is in these applications is not protected by HIPAA. It is not seen as your own personal medical information, the way when you go to a doctor, your health records are protected,” Parvini explained. “They are seen more as social media. So, it’s really up to the company and their privacy policy, what happens with this information. There is concern that if law enforcement were to get some sort of warrant for that information, it could put people at risk for using these applications.”

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