Stardust, Flo, and several other well-known period trackers failed the latest privacy evaluation conducted by Mozilla.

      Euki achieved a flawless 10, while Stardust received a poor score of 2 regarding privacy.

      Spot On

      Your period tracker holds some of your most private health information. The important consideration is whether it maintains that information confidentially. Mozilla has released a recent privacy evaluation of six popular period tracking applications, ranking them from best to worst based on their methods of collecting, storing, and sharing private reproductive health data.

      One application received a perfect rating for storing information locally on your device, while another was rated lowest after it was discovered that it shared users’ health data with an analytics firm. These results surface at a critical time when concerns about privacy regarding reproductive health data are heightened, particularly following the reversal of Roe v. Wade in the US.

      Which period trackers received the highest and lowest rankings from Mozilla?

      Mozilla collaborated with researchers from Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center and the University of Illinois to assess the six applications through reviews of privacy policies and technical evaluations. Here’s their ranking:

      Euki (10/10): a nonprofit, open-source tracker that ensures all data is stored locally on your device without requiring an account.

      Clue (8/10): a clinically focused German application that allows you to manage data sharing for research, analytics, and advertising separately.

      Flo (7/10): the most data-intensive tracker featuring an AI symptom chatbot, although testing revealed it kept health information away from advertisers.

      Period Calendar (6/10): the only application in the study that supports ads, relaying device information to Google and InMobi as soon as it launches.

      Spot On (5/10): Planned Parenthood’s tracker is secure within the app but has vulnerabilities through its internal browser for provider searches.

      Stardust (2/10): an astrology-themed application found to be sharing birth dates, birth control methods, pregnancy statuses, reproductive goals, moods, and symptoms with analytics firm RudderStack.

      What led to Stardust receiving the lowest score?

      Stardust

      Despite promoting itself with the catchphrase “Your data is private. Period,” Mozilla discovered that Stardust was sharing sensitive reproductive information with the analytics company RudderStack. However, Stardust contested this finding, stating to BBC that RudderStack functions solely as a secure connection to its analytics system and does not obtain personally identifiable information.

      Conversely, Euki achieved its perfect score for a straightforward reason – there is virtually nothing to leak since your data remains on your phone. If you depend on a period tracker, Mozilla's report advises you to look beyond marketing claims and stay informed about how your data is collected, stored, and shared.

      Manisha Priyadarshini is a tech and entertainment writer with over nine years of editorial experience.

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