potential reason why Apple may become an optimal selection for monitoring menstrual cycles
Reproductive health tech is currently navigating some growing pains. On one hand, stigmas around menstruation have decreased, leading to advancements like clinical studies utilizing wearables for more accurate fertile window predictions. However, there have been concerning developments, such as the revelation that certain pregnancy tracking apps were leaking private user data to employers and fortune-500 companies funding anti-abortion fertility apps.
Apple entered the fray at this year's WWDC by expanding its period tracking options with the introduction of the Cycles Tracking feature on the Apple Watch and iPhone. While not revolutionary, it has the potential to be the breakthrough period-tracking app we've been waiting for.
During their watchOS 6 presentation, Apple revealed that the Cycles Tracking feature would allow users to log various menstrual factors, like flow and symptoms, and provide alerts about their next period. Additionally, users can opt into fertility window alerts, though Apple explicitly clarified that the feature should not be used as a contraceptive method.
This new feature is integrated into the Health app, making it accessible to every iPhone user. Given the immense popularity of Apple devices, this has many optimistic that the tech giant could provide the ultimate period-tracking app, if it can avoid the pitfalls that have been obstacles to creating a top-tier period app until now.
One primary challenge has been building period tracking into existing devices without compromising user privacy. While wearables collect a wealth of data, aspects of reproductive health tracking can be risky. After all, these devices are accurate in tracking heart rate and activity, but the connection between a user's heart rate and their menstrual cycle isn't yet clearly defined.
As a result, it's crucial that any period-tracking app is grounded in solid medical research, with algorithms based on proper medical literature. This is particularly important given a 2016 Columbia University Medical Center study that found only five percent of the 20 accurate period apps surveyed in the App Store consulted medical literature[1].
Apple has yet to provide further details about their predictions regarding period and fertile window calculations for the Cycles Tracking feature. However, if they take the same meticulous, cautious approach they did with heart health data for the Apple Watch ECG, they may be able to make significant strides in the field.
Another advantage Apple has is its unwavering dedication to user privacy and security, a factor that many reproductive health apps have lacked. Users should not be alarmed by privacy breaches, given Apple's history of prioritizing user data protection.
At first glance, Apple's entry into the period tracking market may not seem groundbreaking. But its focus on data privacy, commitment to robust medical research, and native integration into its devices put it in a strong position to provide a truly useful, reliable period tracking solution.
[1] (Alpert, G. (2016, April 01). Period apps' data accuracy varies widely. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/02/well/family/period-apps-data-accuracy-varies-widely.html)
The future of reproductive health technology could see significant advancements with companies like Apple prioritizing data privacy, as concerns over leakages by pregnancy tracking apps have emerged. Apple's Cycles Tracking feature, introduced at WWDC, allows users to log various menstrual factors and provides alerts about fertility windows, eschewing use as a contraceptive method. To avoid past pitfalls and ensure accuracy, it's crucial for period-tracking apps, including Apple's, to be grounded in medical research, with algorithms based on approved literature.
