3. After deleting your app, ask the app provider to delete your data. Just because you removed the app from your phone doesn’t mean the company got rid of your records. In fact, California is the only state where they are legally required to delete your information. Still, many companies are willing to delete them upon request. Here’s a helpful guide from The Washington Post to walk you through how to do it.
This is how you can safely track your period without an app.
1. Use a spreadsheet. It’s relatively easy to replicate the functions of a period tracker in a spreadsheet, listing the dates of your past periods and finding the average duration from the first day of one to the first day of the next. You can turn to one of the many templates already available online, such as the period tracker created by Frank and the menstrual cycle calendar and period tracker created by Laura Cutler. If you like the scientific side of period apps, templates offer the ability to send yourself reminders of upcoming periods, record symptoms, and track blood flow.
2. Use a digital calendar. If spreadsheets make you dizzy and your whole life is already built on a digital calendar, try making your period a recurring event, suggests Emory University student Alexa Mohsenzadeh, who made a TikTok video showing the process demonstrated.
Mohsenzadeh says she doesn’t miss apps. “I can customize this to suit my needs and add notes about how I’m feeling and see if it’s related to my period,” she says. “You only have to enter it once.”
3. Proceed analogously and use a notebook or a paper planner. We’re a technology publication, but the fact of the matter is that the safest way to protect your menstrual data from being accessed by others is to take it offline. You can invest in a paper planner or just use a notebook to keep track of your period and how you’re feeling.
If that sounds like too much work and you’re looking for a simple, no-nonsense template, try the free, printable Menstrual Cycle Diary available from the University of British Columbia’s Center for Menstrual Cycle and Ovulation Research.
4. If your state is unlikely to ban abortion, you may still be able to safely use a period tracking app. It will be crucial to choose one that has clear privacy settings and has publicly promised not to share user data with authorities. According to Quintin, Clue is a good option as it is bound by EU data protection laws and has been on record with its promise not to share information with authorities.
