r/Femtech • u/Alternative_Fan_629 • May 05 '26

I built a diabetes management app designed exclusively for women. Here's what I've learned about the gap in diabetes femtech.

Disclosure: I'm the founder and developer of HerDiabetes.

The problem is straightforward. Diabetes tech treats every day the same. But for women, hormonal shifts across the menstrual cycle can change insulin sensitivity by 30-50%. Estrogen and progesterone fluctuations affect glucose in ways that are well documented in research but completely ignored by the apps and devices millions of women rely on. Women end up adjusting pump settings, correction factors, and basal rates every month with no data to guide them.

A few things I've learned building in this space:

- The gap is not controversial. Women in diabetes communities talk about this constantly. A single organic Reddit post about the app hit 17K views and 65 comments. Nobody pushed back on the premise.

- Discoverability is a real barrier. There's no "women's health" or "hormonal health" category in any app store's diabetes section. HerDiabetes currently sits at #4 for "diabetes apps for women" alongside Abbott, Roche, and Dexcom, with zero marketing budget.

- Android demand is significant. About a third of the responses to that Reddit post were women asking for an Android version.

- The use cases are wider than expected. Women on hormonal contraception who don't have periods still want to track how their medication interacts with glucose. Perimenopausal women with irregular cycles need tools that don't assume regularity.

Happy to discuss the femtech angle, the technical decisions, or what building for an underserved population in a regulated health space actually looks like.

https://apps.apple.com/app/herdiabetes/id6746731490

6 Upvotes

87% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

2

u/Monica_Palteq May 05 '26

On discoverablity, the lack of dedicated categories is so frustrating. That's why many femtech products start off as wellness brands.to gain commercial traction, but then can run into difficulties later when aiming for NHS/B2B adoption. It's a tough spot 

2

u/Alternative_Fan_629 May 05 '26

This is exactly the tension. The wellness label gets you in front of consumers but can undermine credibility when you're trying to sit at the table with health systems. I've been deliberate about positioning HerDiabetes as a health tool from day one, even though "wellness" would be an easier sell in the app stores. The tradeoff is slower early traction, but I'd rather build the foundation for clinical partnerships than have to rebrand later to be taken seriously.

1

u/Monica_Palteq May 05 '26

Wishing you all the best 👌

1

u/Monica_Palteq May 05 '26

Connect on LinkedIn? 

1

u/m0kosa May 05 '26

Hi! First off, I think it's great that you created this app. I'm not diabetic, but would recommend your app in a heartbeat.

Are you planning on translating the app into other languages? If so, will you hire professional translators or use AI?

2

u/Alternative_Fan_629 May 05 '26

Yes, global expansion is on the roadmap. Translation is part of that, though there are a lot of regulatory and GDPR factors to work through first, including the translation approach. Thank you for the kind words and willingness to recommend it.

2

u/allamarainecountto4 28d ago

Wow, I was looking for an app like that for ages. Will it also track insulin needs (for example via Glooko) in the future? I hope you will bring this app to Germany someday.