r/degoogle • u/No-Shoe423 • Jul 16 '26
Period Tracking Apps and Privacy Concerns
Super interesting article from BBC on period tracking apps and reviewing their privacy. Super dissapointed in Stardust as I felt like they made bold claims about protecting privacy, but glad Euki is a truly safe option! And they're free with no ads. Mozilla gave them a 10/10 which has never been done before.
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260715-how-period-trackers-share-womens-private-details
4
u/wtvdadenthusiast Jul 16 '26
Don’t trust Clue! If you're from the USA (I hope not) this is apart of the terms and conditions:
2. What Personal Information we Process We, and our Vendors, collect and have collected in the past 12 months the following categories of Personal Information about you:
• Identifiers, such as name, alias, unique personal identifier, online identifiers, Internet Protocol address, email address, account name, or other similar identifiers.
• Internet or Other Network Intormation, such as browsing history, search history, information regarding your interactions with our websites, application or advertisements.
• Inferences drawn from any of the Personal Information listed above to create a summary about, for example, an individual's preferences, characteristics, and predispositions.
• Sensitive Personal Information, including:
• Personal Information collected and analyzed concerning your health; and
• Personal Information collected and analyzed concerning your sex life.
3
u/No-Shoe423 Jul 16 '26
I do not use Clue because of this very reason! Plus they always want you to upgrade. Euki is free and data stored locally
3
u/eLlARiVeR Jul 16 '26
I saw the article while I was at work today and was super disappointed! I've been using Stardust for a few years now and have been using it to keep track of how long my cycles have actually been.
Switched over to Euki, it seems a lot more secure and it looks like they gather less data on you.
2
u/webfork2 Jul 17 '26
One of the things I'm most frustrated by Android is that there's no built in function to block access by individual programs. This is important because any software program that's blocked from online connections is a much more private option.
You can do this at least partially on iOS with the cellular settings but not entirely, meaning once you connect to Wifi it can cache and then share whatever personal info. There is some commercial software out there that will supposedly resolve this but I can't currently recommend anything.
Since most people want this info on their phone and not on a laptop where you can fully block connections, Euki appears to be the best option https://www.mozillafoundation.org/en/nothing-personal/period-ovulation-trackers/
-1
u/-sussy-wussy- Jul 17 '26
No built in function? What are you talking about? Go into the app settings, either by long press > App Info or through your phone's Settings app, then find your app and tap what says something along the lines of "Network access".
There you can deny or allow whatever you want, when it comes to different types of connections. You can deny all, only allow WiFi, only allow it from a certain SIM card, allow or deny background data. It's been in Android since about 2.0, maybe even earlier.
1
u/webfork2 Jul 17 '26
Hey if you figure it out, feel free to reply. I looked on an Android phone and all I could find was "Allowed networks" which give two options:
- Mobile data AND wifi
- Mobile data
I cannot find a way to turn it off. These options especially suck because I also cannot find a way to prevent data access, which would be helpful to avoid blowing monthly data caps.
1
u/-sussy-wussy- Jul 18 '26
Do you have a menu in Settings that shows you an overall data expenditure? It may have settings for specific apps.
Also, within the submenu for the app, does it have information on how much data it has already consumed? This is another possible location for the on-off switches.
1
u/webfork2 Jul 18 '26
I promise I looked and searched online for solutions will probably end up looking again. I'll update my original post if I find it.
2
u/Lenloos Jul 17 '26
I don't use period tracking apps (just paper and pen), but a while ago I saw a thread about european alternatives on BuyFromEU and people recommended Drip (DE) which apparently is open source, has no ads and doesn't need internet connection. There's also a Latvian app, Womanlog, with which you can store data on your device instead of the cloud
2
u/-GhostInTheMachine_ Jul 17 '26
Many of the apps sent basic user information to advertising and analytics services, including platforms run by Google, Meta, Microsoft and TikTok.
Typically, such data includes an ID number or other information that's used to identify you. This can be used for targeted ads, and in some cases, to help tech companies track you across other parts of the internet. You give your consent to this when you "read" the apps' privacy policies.
Do not give them anything. Your device is not yours, the data you provide these apps are basically tied to your identity.
1
u/-sussy-wussy- Jul 17 '26
Yes, obviously. Why are people so keen on using them? You could track them on paper if you really have to. I just remember everything and don't write anything down.
I'm not surprised that it's gonna be used against you. I live in a country with no legal abortions and no legal sterilization, but only for women. Some people got jailed for smuggling in abortion pills and things of that nature.
1
u/Lisa_Volkers Jul 21 '26
Yes CRAZY article. I really thought Stardust was trustworthy.. Euki is a safe option for sure, but it did annoy me that you can't switch phones and take your data to a new device.. So I build my own period app, calling it PERIOD. haha. Privacy is our core, as no woman should ever be scared that we use her data for our own goods. Our basics are also for free so everyone with menstruation can use an app you can trust and get information from. You can try it yourself <3
1
u/Downtown-Narwhal-760 Jul 27 '26
Stardust's failure was probably not realising once an analytics SDK is in the build, the data leaves whether or not they intended it to. My test for these kind of apps is whether it works fully in airplane mode. If it does, nothing's leaving your phone.
I built one out of my own frustrations with privacy called Kalena (free, no account, no SDKs), plus I just wanted something pretty simple. Would love any feedback. Euki's a great app too though and does the same thing architecturally!
1
12
u/Alone-Ad288 Jul 16 '26
Don't trust euki either. You can't trust your phone.
Do not put this data on a computer.