ArticleDigital health
"UPDATE: I'm pregnant!": Inferring global downloads and reasons for using menstrual tracking apps.
Article in Digital health. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Implications of digital fertility tracking for clinical care: a qualitative systematic review.Reproductive health · 2025Pooled it
- To bridge the evidence gap in women's health, look at the real world.Nature medicine · 2026Article
- Dual-Source Retrieval-Augmented Generation Chatbot for Women's Health (HerCare): Design and Multimethod Evaluation Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- Digital diagnostics, biomarkers and therapeutics in an evolving healthcare system: From promise to practice.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2026Review
- The illusion of empowerment: commercializing women's health in the digital age.Health promotion international · 2026Article
- A Foundation Model for Capturing Complexity of Menstrual Health Data.npj women's health · 2026Article
- Determinants of mobile health application utilization in Lebanon: a cross-sectional study of perceptions, barriers, and engagement.BMC public health · 2026Article
- How well do women understand their menstrual cycles? Insights from 383,085 UK based women.Reproductive health · 2026Article
- Exploring engagement patterns in a reproductive health app using the Technology Acceptance Model.Frontiers in reproductive health · 2026Article
- Identification and evaluation of barriers and facilitators to formal help-seeking for premenstrual symptoms in the UK: a mixed methods approach.Frontiers in global women's health · 2026Article
- Self-Guided Mental Health Interventions for Premenstrual Mood Symptoms.Current psychiatry reports · 2025Review
- Endometriosis: new insights and opportunities for relief of symptoms.Biology of reproduction · 2025Review
- Postfeminist Healthism: Understanding the Gendering of Healthism Using Menstrual Tracking Apps as an Example.Sociology of health & illness · 2025Article
- Digital health technologies to transform women's health innovation and inclusive research.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2025Article
- A systematic review on patient and public attitudes toward health monitoring technologies across countries.NPJ digital medicine · 2025Article
- Algorithms, allyship, and advice: A qualitative analysis of fertility tracker marketing.Digital healthArticle
- Use of Menstruation Tracking Apps Among Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Multi-Country Evidence.Nigerian medical journal : journal of the Nigeria Medical AssociationReview
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objective: The market for smartphone apps tracking menstrual cycles has expanded in recent years. These apps market themselves as empowering users to achieve their reproductive goals and maximize the chance of pregnancy. This paper presents the first open-access quantification of menstrual tracking app downloads globally, covering both the Global North and South. We also explore macro and micro-level reasons for app usage, testing national associations with downloads and analyzing user reviews. Methods: We use data on app installations, reviews, and ratings from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store to estimate global app downloads using a Bayesian model. We perform regressions to test for national predictors of use, and multilingual topic models to analyze/cluster reviews left by users to understand individual reasons for use. Results: We find that the majority of downloads are for three apps: Clue, Flo, and Period Tracker. Higher modern contraceptive prevalence and internet access are associated with more downloads, while low-income countries tend to have fewer. In low-income countries, a higher unmet need for family planning and total fertility rate are associated with more downloads. Individual reviews reveal the most common reasons for use are menstrual cycle tracking, achieving a pregnancy, community engagement, and avoiding pregnancy. Conclusion: Existing research on menstrual tracking apps is largely confined to the Global North, but our study finds the use of these apps to be as prevalent throughout the Global South. Future research needs to urgently understand the implications these apps could have in a diversity of contexts.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.