Best period and ovulation trackers, tried and tested
There is an app for almost everything these days, and someone, somewhere, somehow keeps coming up with more that we didn’t even know we needed. Need Harry Styles to put you to sleep? Calm app coming right up! Need a period tracking app because your monthly menstruation is actually not so timely? There you go, period trackers are now a thing!
Having tried and tested a few myself, I now wouldn’t want to live without them. No more criss-crossing your ‘on’ days and confusingly counting down the days you’re going to be ‘off’. Additionally, these apps help you understand your hormones, bringing me peace of mind that when I act like a moody bitch ‘sometimes’, I can avoid the people I’d rather not act like a total loose canon around. It’s a win-win.
By tracking your period and logging all the symptoms that go along with going through one, those apps allow you to recognise patterns or irregularities that you might have otherwise missed. As a result, this could help you see whether there is something wrong with your reproductive system, if your mood is affected or bloating is persistent for example, and your doctor can figure out the reason for it far more easily by having all the data to look into.
Most apps will also show you your fertile windows, however this isn’t something any of us should rely on when it comes to either wanting to fall pregnant or not as these apps don’t replace contraception, especially if your period is irregular.
As mentioned earlier, there are quite a few apps to choose from, and one definitely does not fit all in this case. Here’s a summary of the options you have to help you pick the best option for your period
Period Tracker
A generic name, but it is exactly what it says it is, so why over complicate it? This app is one of the most simple ones to use, it shows you a full calendar that clearly marks your predicate days as well as what you have logged. You can also track your weight to see how it fluctuates over the course of each month due to period symptoms. The symptoms are broken down into categories, like head, body, cervix, belly along with emotional categories.
Clue
Clue markets itself as being able to teach you about your body, which it definitely does. You can track literally everything that goes on in your body during your cycle, like headaches or period-induced skin problems. The user interface is also simple, easy to use and easy to understand.
Flo
You’ve probably heard of this one before, and if you haven’t, someone you know will have. It’s one of the main players in the period tracker game, and that’s for a good reason. Flo lets you log your ovulation and period symptoms, like they all do, but this app also turns your data into graphs that visually show you exactly what your body is doing and when, which makes it really easy to understand (for those visual learners out there).
It also has a feature that allows you to log and track your pregnancy if you ever need to do that, so it’s a go-to all-in-one. Oh, and it’s password protected for those nosy partners or family members that want to know absolutely everything about your intimate and private life.
Ovia
This app uses its estimation of your cycle, according to what you log of course, to give you a daily ‘fertility score’ or information as to how likely you are to get pregnant that day. This is where a serious word of caution comes in: do not use this as your sole form of contraception if you are not wanting to get pregnant, it’s probably more for those who do. Bonus: Ovia allows you to export all of your logs into an Excel spreadsheet, if you’re into that sort of thing.
Cycles
For all the minimalists out there, this one’s for you. Cycles is customisable, so you can really make it feel like your app. It has simple colours, simple graphics, and because of how customisable it is you can make it look like an app that has nothing to do with periods. Discreet logging will encourage you to log more, even with those uninvited eyes glancing over your shoulder. To flip that, Cycles also gets your partner in on the tracking action: you can invite them to sync up their own device with your app, even if it’s to know what’s up with your mood swings or cravings. Emotional support? Yes please and thank you.
Eve
Last but by no means least, there’s Eve. It does all the expected things, but also has a few extra cheeky features like a daily ‘Cyclescope’, a horoscope-like forecast based on where you are in your cycle. It gives you sex tips in the blog section, like “orgasm with these game-changing strategics” or how to “make sex sexier.” Eve is for the people that understand what ‘Did you get some?’ means, when the answer options are ‘banana’, ‘banana-free’ and ‘all me’. Eve’s design is fun, frisky while also just making you feel proud, like we should all be, to have a period. Yas queens!
