Periods as powerful data: User understandings of menstrual app data and information

Abstract

Digital apps for tracking menstruation are widely used. Taking a critical menstruation and critical digital health approach, this research asks how menstrual app users perceive their data. Interviews with 25 menstrual app users across Aotearoa New Zealand, were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Some participants only track their period, while others track additional symptoms. They appreciated having a choice of data to track, entering extensive amounts of data. Most participants had not given much thought to their data, viewing it as uninteresting and unproblematic. A small group were concerned by the data risks and managed this in several ways. Participants across both groups supported using data for menstrual health research. This research demonstrates a need for digital literacy and for limits on the use of menstruation information, where menstruators themselves are controlling and benefitting from their data.