Apps
Did you ever notice that everyone in favour of birth control has already been born - Benny Hill

image by: Kindara
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Women are turning to birth control smartphone apps for a reason
Amid the targeted ads in my social media feeds, a war is playing out: two apps aggressively vie for my attention, stalking me from the sidebars of my browser and comprising every third photo in my Instagram feed – one offering to track my ovulation and get me pregnant, the other offering to do the same, but promising I won’t find myself in the family way.
The latter seems to be winning the war, with quirky gifs and videos showing young women waking up and gleefully taking their temperature, inputting digits into their colourful app, and being told they can throw barrier contraception to the wind that day. It’s sold as being hyper-scientific, with the founders and developers formerly…
Resources
Apple Is Pushing a 'Birth Control' App That Has Led to Unwanted Pregnancies
The Natural Cycles app, which is features in Apple's own "Health" app, relies on a birth control practice that's far less effective than other common methods.
Fertility app 'Dot' found to be as effective as other family planning methods
Results of a first-of-its-kind prospective study with a family planning app find it to be as effective as other modern methods for avoiding an unplanned pregnancy, according to researchers.
In Contraceptive Tech, the App’s Guess Is as Good as Yours
When use of a contraceptive app results in an unwanted pregnancy, don't blame the technology.
It’s Tough Being the First Birth Control App
Natural Cycles is more effective than the pill, but that didn’t help it escape a PR crisis.
Period-tracking apps are not for women
The golden age of menstrual surveillance is great for men, marketers, and medical companies.
Popularity of apps like Natural Cycles highlights serious issues with contraceptives today
The fact that many women are spurning more “medical” kinds of contraception, such as the pill or IUD, in favour of such apps, along with discussion in some cases of their failures, are once again drawing public attention to the hazards of being a pre-menopausal, heterosexual, sexually active woman. The risks of contraceptives range from milder side effects to rare but potentially serious complications. These, of course, come alongside the ever present risk of unintended pregnancy through contraceptive failure.
She invented a birth control app – with some unintended consequences
Elina Berglund says her Natural Cycles app has worked for her. Now her focus is on the US, where women’s healthcare is a political battleground.
These Are the Best Period-Tracker Apps, Hands Down
We've all been there: The heating pads, the ice cream, and the super-size bottle of painkillers are all signs that our periods have arrived—or will arrive any minute. It may seem that those first-day cramps are the worst thing in the world, but nothing is worse than waking up to a surprise visit from your Aunt Flo (or whatever you decide to call your period).
This Fertility App Makes Tracking Easier, But It Isn't Contraception
People who ovulate end up being responsible for most birth control measures, leaving them to decide among an array of options that are physical, hormonal or both. For those who want to avoid hormonal or barrier birth control methods, the remaining choice is to gain some understanding of their typical window of fertility and avoid sex that could lead to pregnancy or use a barrier method during that time.
Why You Should Not Trust Fertility Apps—Yet
The fertility awareness methods they use are real science, but the apps haven’t shown they can deliver the same standard of care.
Can an App Prevent Pregnancy?
The number of apps that give women the tools to track their fertility is growing exponentially, and many make grand claims of effectiveness and ease. Today there are nearly 100 fertility apps on the market, including Ovia, Glow and Kindara. But most are marketed as period trackers, or tools to help women who want to become pregnant.
There’s a smartphone app that can now market itself as birth control in the US
There are several apps that promise to track periods, and presumably fertility, but only one in the US is permitted to actually advertise itself as birth control.
Are Birth Control Apps An Effective Form Of Contraception?
Experts share how tracking ovulation, periods and fertility with apps like Natural Cycles stacks up against other methods.
Birth Control Apps Find A Big Market In 'Contraception Deserts'
Rachel Ralph works long hours at an accounting firm in Oakland, Calif., and coordinates much of her life via the apps on her phone. So when she first heard several months ago that she could order her usual brand of birth control pills via an app and have them delivered to her doorstep in a day or two, it seemed perfect. She was working 12-hour days.
Birth Control via App Finds Footing Under Political Radar
A quiet shift is taking place in how women obtain birth control. A growing assortment of new apps and websites now make it possible to get prescription contraceptives without going to the doctor.
Can an algorithm replace the pill?
Physicist Elina Berglund has created Natural Cycles, an app-based alternative to the pill.
FDA approved a birth control app. Here's what OB-GYNs want you to know.
Natural Cycles is a mobile app that has been approved by the FDA as a form of contraception. Family planning experts have concerns.
Glow Pregnancy App Exposed Women to Privacy Threats, Consumer Reports Finds
However, users should realize that the information collected isn’t covered by the HIPAA laws that govern medical records held by doctors and hospitals. No laws prevent the information from being sold to marketers. And the apps aren’t evaluated for either security or the accuracy of the information they impart.
You Can Now Get Birth Control From an App, Without Seeing a Doctor. Here’s What to Know Before You Try It
In this day and age, you can order pretty much anything online and get it delivered to your door—including protection against unplanned pregnancies. A number of companies have sprung up in the last few years that allow women in certain states to request birth control pills and other contraceptive methods via the Internet, sometimes without even seeing a doctor.
Women are turning to birth control smartphone apps for a reason
Contraception technology isn’t foolproof, but doctors must realise why we find the idea so appealing.
7 Birth Control Apps & Websites That Can Help Make It More Affordable
If you don't have insurance, you live far away from your doctor or Planned Parenthood, or you want to keep your reproductive health private and you need access to affordable birth control, these apps and websites can help.
Natural Cycles
Understanding the complexities of ovulation cycles is hard enough. Thankfully, Natural Cycles aims to make the monitoring process a whole lot less stressful. By logging just a few vital signs, the app’s powerful algorithm can help predict crucial fertility windows...
Ava
Take charge of your cycle with Ava—the only method to track 5 physiological signals of fertility.
Clue
Helping people all around the world benefit from insights into female health.
CycleBeads
CycleBeads® is a scientifically proven way to plan or prevent pregnancy by simply tracking the start dates of your period. It's over 95% effective as shown in efficacy trials and used by millions of women around the world.
Flo
Flo is aiming to become more than just an app, with a hub covering all aspects of female health - WSJ
Glow
Our mission is to provide you with information and insights about your body and your health, whether you're trying to conceive or not. And if, or when, you're ready for pregnancy, our mission will be to bring that experience to you as early as possible.
Kindara
Our mission is to offer women the tools, knowledge, and support to understand how their fertility works, take ownership of their reproductive health, and meet their fertility goals.
Maven
Expert, convenient, and compassionate care wherever you are, whenever you need it. Welcome to Maven, the only virtual clinic dedicated to women’s and family health.
Nurx
The Nurx app is the most convenient and affordable way to take care of your everyday healthcare needs. We prescribe and deliver birth control (50+ brands), PrEP for HIV prevention (along with home testing), emergency contraception, and home STI and HPV testing.
Ovia Health
We help women and families navigate their most important moments with personalized and data-driven solutions for fertility, pregnancy, and parenting.
Period Tracker
The beautifully designed app comes complete with features like syncing your tracker to your calendar, creating bar graphs of your moods and fertility, and offering a forum for women to chat about all things feminine hygiene. To top it off, users find this to be incredibly useful information to share with their doctors - Norah Murphy

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