Use free and open source software to protect your data. This goes for everybody on any device.
this post was submitted on 11 Jun 2025
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flo app makes $192 million a year with 5 million paying users, which seems absolutely wild to me for something that covers such a basic need
Made my own desktop app in python (tkinter) which encrypts the data with GPG. It has predictions and potential ovulation days. The predictions seem pretty accurate so far.
Has "if it makes a funny noise I'll shoot the computer" vibes, love it
Haha thanks. If you want to check it out, the link is: https://codeberg.org/kingorgg/period_tracker
I haven't tried it on windows though, so I'm not sure if it will work properly on there. It's just a personal project for now. The UI is pretty basic too.
My wife used to use the tracker in fitbit (I think), but once US states started passing laws to track periods, she's stopped using it. It's the wild west in my house now.
There are 2 open source menstrual trackers in f-droid. They don't share data.
You can also use an analog tracker...
As a trans woman, I make sure to log my irregular bi-weekly periods on flo to make sure their data is tip top!
Yes of course but it's marketing data.
Marketing data. We need it for marketing to people so they can spend money.
Don't you understand! Marketing data!!!
past performance may not predict future. js. mark a calendar
For christ sake, is there no open source option for such a simple task?
Edit:
2 people here could point to drip within 15 minutes of my post, and a third to the fact there are options on F-droid. So why the fuck don't women just use that?
Well i guess the ones with harmful advertising have better graphics or somemeting. Or the fact they allow advertising makes them more visible on google play. And you probably can't even get drip on iPhones.
There is! It's called drip and is a project started by a berlin-based feminist collective iirc.
Free, open-source, local data only
Also trans inclusive which has the double benefit of not being the cliché pink. :)
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So why the fuck don’t women just use that?
They probably don't know about it. If I search "period tracker" on Google Play, Drip is in about 40th place in the results. That's several screens down, past a bunch of search suggestions, and the parts where it's open source, on-device, and optionally encrypted aren't clear until I tap on it and read the description.
And you probably can’t even get drip on iPhones.
There's some irony in a comment dealing with people making decisions that are against their interests because they're insufficiently informed speculating incorrectly about something like this when it's easy to check. Drip is, in fact available for iPhone.
Yeah, discoverability is a massive issue on the Play store. If it doesn't bring Daddy Google 30% of whatever they shovel through in ad money or mtx, then you won't see it.
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Because its effort. We have to get the average person to care about their security and privacy before they will bother using these alternatives. It's much easier for them to download a popular one off an app store and have the data stick with them, than it is to download f-droid, find the right app, make sure its still supported and setup their own data backup.
People are mentioning drip, and that's on the Play Store. It's literally the same amount of effort as installing a surveillance app.
Does drip pay to have their app at the top of the list? Because that's about how far most people look
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I mean there are at least 2 apps for that in F-Droid. It's just that most people are FOSS illiterate and only if a big corpo give them shit then they trust it.
I tried to talk to my wife about data ownership, opensource, etc. but it's difficult to convey how important it is. She uses Flow. I'm trying to get her to at least try alternatives such as Drip
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I happen to be a penis owner.
So what would happen if I were to install and use such a monthly tracker app and pretend I've been having regular monthlies for a while, then suddenly I miss a couple periods, then suddenly start having periods again?
Would the cops come beating my door down claiming I had an abortion? 🤔
Fuck this dystopian mass surveillance shit!
Would the cops come beating my door down claiming I had an abortion? 🤔
I don't think that has happened starting from a period tracking app yet. There was a case involving an unencrypted messaging app used to discuss a criminalized abortion.
I think even something like Drip is not sufficient in this kind of situation. If the police can compel someone to unlock their phone and decrypt data, then being local-only won't stop them. Of course it's a lot easier to ensure that no data exists if it's local-only and something happens that might attract the interest of the police.
Nothing in this comment should be construed as legal advice.
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Drip (Android/iOS)
Yep. Info never leaves your phone.
My wife just asks me to grab her boobs and I can generally let her know several days out and be accurate to within half a day.
You need to teach me this skill. Any excuse to get frisky with my wife.
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