Apple's Potential Advancements May Make it Preferred for Monitoring Menstrual Cycles
In a move aimed at enhancing user privacy and convenience, tech giant Apple has announced the launch of its Cycles Tracking feature. This new addition to the iPhone and Apple Watch allows users to log important information about their menstrual cycles, including mood, bleeding amount, birth control used, cervical mucus quality, details of last sexual encounter, and frequency of sex.
The Cycles Tracking feature also includes alerts for the next period and offers the option for notifications about fertile windows. However, it's crucial to note that this feature should not be used as a contraceptive method. Apple has included a footnote to emphasise this point.
Apple's dedication to privacy is evident in its decision to encrypt all health data, including reproductive health data, on-device. Furthermore, the company does not sell data to third parties, providing an added layer of privacy for users. If a user opts for iCloud backup, the data is encrypted in iCloud as well.
The Cycles Tracking feature is integrated into the Health app, making it available to every iPhone user. Users can also log their flow and symptoms, as well as results from ovulation prediction kits.
The introduction of the Cycles Tracking feature is being praised as a step forward, as currently, anyone who wants to track their menstrual health has to download a third-party app. Apple's natively built period tracking into its phones is a welcome change for many users.
However, it's important to note that the Cycles Tracking app bases its predictions of menstrual cycles and fertile windows primarily on user-entered cycle data analyzed with proprietary algorithms. While this approach is common for many commercial cycle tracking apps, it is distinct from clinically validated fertility monitors or temperature-based contraceptive apps that are more rigorously grounded in medical science and clinical studies.
A study in 2016 found that only 20 free apps out of over 1,000 surveyed in the App Store were found to be accurate, and only five percent consulted medical literature. This highlights the need for caution when relying on such apps for health planning or contraception.
Apple's approach to the Cycles Tracking feature is different from some apps like Natural Cycles, which employs temperature-based proprietary algorithms calibrated by basal body temperature measurements and has clinical evidence supporting its contraceptive reliability to some extent. However, these apps rely on continuous data collection and specific physiological metrics, which the Cycles Tracking feature does not.
In conclusion, while the Cycles Tracking feature offers a convenient and private solution for menstrual health tracking, users should approach its predictions with caution. The feature is a step forward in terms of privacy and convenience, but it is not a replacement for medical advice or clinically validated fertility monitors.
[1] - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5812246/ [2] - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5812247/
- Gizmodo has covered the new Cycles Tracking feature by Apple, which is a step towards health-and-wellness technology, focusing on women's health specifically.
- In the future, tech enthusiasts might consider the Cycles Tracking feature as an example of Apple's commitment to integrating science and technology, particularly in the field of reproductive health.
- Amidst the barrage of third-party health apps, Gizmodo notes that Apple's Cycles Tracking feature, despite offering convenience and privacy, should not replace medical advice or clinically validated fertility monitors.
