'App users do not want to have to battle pop-ups and adverts to just to add a period date.' Why UX matters when it comes to menstrual tracking apps
Because 40% of app users aren't actually active each month
Did you know that nearly 40% of period and cycle tracking app users aren’t actively using their apps each month? This figure includes those who change apps, those who don’t regularly use the app, and those who stop using these apps entirely. So, what are the factors behind this and how could better user experience (UX) help?
Hannah Knowles, a UX researcher and founder of WorkieTicket explains…..
The popularity of menstrual tracking apps
Menstrual tracking apps are the fourth most popular app amongst adults, with 50 million+ women and people with cycles reported to be using an app to track their period.
There are a number of motivations for people to use these apps. For me personally, after 28 years, it dawned on me that I didn’t know my body and I didn’t know what my version of ‘healthy’ looked like. This was even after five pregnancies, four types of different contraceptives, three cervical screening tests (aka smear tests), two labours, and one random lactation phase.
Wanting to know if you have a ‘healthy’ cycle is just one of the reasons why you want to interact with a tracking app. The other top three are:
Contraception
To track cycle (ir)regularities
To learn about their menstrual cycle and body
Active vs inactive or infrequent app users
Yet while many people download menstrual tracking apps - there are far less active users.
Personally, I’ve found it a nightmare to find an app that I use for longer than it takes me to kill a houseplant (3 months max!). From forgetting to add my period - even with daily reminders - through to not knowing if something even counts as a period symptom, I’ve found it a struggle to remain an active user of any app.
And it seems I’m not the only one. According to Broad et al:
21% of people who use these apps only use them to track their periods.. For example, they enter the start and end date of a period and are only triggered to track symptoms when bleeding.
31% of people who use these apps use them as symptom trackers. They track more in-depth symptom changes like basal body temperature. They are looking for accurate daily life tracking.
Overall, nearly 40% of users fluctuate with tracking month on month, from changing apps to stopping app usage.
And that’s where improving the user experience (UX) comes in.
So, why is user experience (UX) in period and cycle tracking apps important in the first place?
UX puts real women’s voices at the centre of all development.
By prioritising lived experiences, healthcare brands and services can build with their users in mind from the outset. This means that we aren't leaving 40% of women out of period positive economies.
First let’s start with what most tracking apps do well:
Consistency. Something I love is that trackers have consistency between them in how they present information. It's like having my own team of menstrual experts at my fingertips, helping me to plan my life around my cycle. (Yes, I do change my life around my period. I don’t wanna be on holiday and have a period)
Community. Finding community spaces in apps also made me feel like I wasn’t crazy or alone. Just extreme PMS. Whilst other women have found that they have created a healthier personal relationship with their cycle.
But tracking apps still have a long way to go if they are just one of the numerous tools helping close the gender health gap.
Accuracy isn’t working for all. Accuracy of tracking apps is only useful if you have a perfect 28-day cycle yet only 13-16% of people with cycles fit that norm. That means at least 74% of women are being left out of the loop. From the comments section I have seen in app stores it is issues like data loss, inability to track and inability to predict ovulation that causes anxiety.
Education is often locked behind paywalls. Menstrual cycle-related education is low among the general population. From what comments suggest on app stores, the information women need and want is behind a paywall. Women are 75% more likely to invest in a digital product to support their health, but when apps don’t meet basic needs, why would we want to pay for them?
We’re not asking for much. Women want a reliable platform where they can easily enter information into an app. And one that doesn’t delete their data after every update.
Users also want access to supporting and supportive information about their period so they can draw conclusions about their cycle. They do not want to have to battle pop-ups and adverts to just to add a period date.
“App users do not want to have to battle pop-ups and adverts to just to add a period date.”
One of the biggest reasons I stopped tracking was because I got bored (I‘m easily distracted) As my knowledge grew about my cycle, I felt like I wasn’t learning anything new! One of the issues mentioned by Worsfold et al is that because apps aren’t based on medical literature, women aren't able to draw accurate insights about their cycle.
How to improve the UX of period and cycle tracking apps
So how do we create connected experiences so users don’t drop off the face of the earth? As a UX researcher, my recommendations are to:
Focus on user tasks and niche down because women aren’t going to use one app forever. Apps like Natural Cycles focus on being used for contraception, whereas Stardust is for the wellness witches and combines astrology with period tracking.
Tell users upfront the limitations of tracking apps. Trackers provide women with the ability to draw their own conclusion about their symptoms. However, they should outline more clearly that not ALL symptoms might be due to their period.
Make tracking fun and easy. If you need users to provide 2-3 months of data to give accurate predictions, then you need them to come back and keep providing symptoms even when they don’t feel it.
Target shared pain points and recognise the diversity of experiences across women’s health – this is where UX research comes in. Insights from actual users empowers FemTech brands to create meaningful solutions that address the right problems in the most impactful way.
Conclusion
Remember: UX doesn’t have to be complicated.
It can be as simple as routinely engaging with your users, audience or community and asking how you can best help them. As your app evolves, keeping your users at the centre of your growth will ensure you’re continuing to help the people you care most about.
About the author: Hannah is a UX researcher and the founder of WorkieTicket, a UX research company that is taking the red tape from taboo topics and lassoing the immense potential to truly change the way that women can access support and information for their health and wellbeing.
Resources
Moglia, Michelle L. WHNP, MS; Nguyen, Henry V. FNP, MS; Chyjek, Kathy MD; Chen, Katherine T. MD, MPH; Castaño, Paula M. MD, MPH. Evaluation of Smartphone Menstrual Cycle Tracking Applications Using an Adapted APPLICATIONS Scoring System. Obstetrics & Gynecology 127(6):p 1153-1160, June 2016. | DOI: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000001444
https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-019-7549-8
Worsfold L, Marriott L, Johnson S, Harper JC. Period tracker applications: What menstrual cycle information are they giving women? Womens Health (Lond). 2021 Jan-Dec;17:17455065211049905. doi: 10.1177/17455065211049905. PMID: 34629005; PMCID: PMC8504278.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8504278/
Levy, J., Romo-Avilés, N. “A good little tool to get to know yourself a bit better”: a qualitative study on users’ experiences of app-supported menstrual tracking in Europe. BMC Public Health 19, 1213 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-7549-8
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomp.2023.1166210/full
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1472648323006983
Uma Patel, Anna Broad, Rina Biswakarma, Joyce C. Harper,
Experiences of users of period tracking apps: which app, frequency of use, data input and output and attitudes,Reproductive BioMedicine Online,Volume 48, Issue 3 (2024)