A new study by researchers in the UK and Denmark, published in Digital Health , provides the first publicly accessible analysis of global downloads for menstrual tracking apps. While the market for menstrual tracking apps is rapidly growing, there have been no large-scale analyses about why users download these apps, and particularly few studies on their use in the Global South. Using data from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store between April and December 2021, the study explores why users download these apps in the Global South and North.
Three apps—Clue, Flo and Period Tracker—dominated the market, with over 250 million downloads combined. Most downloads of menstrual tracking apps were concentrated in the Global North, but there were also downloads throughout the Global South, with a particularly high prevalence in South America. Of the 112 countries included, the study found that low-income countries with a higher unmet need for family planning and higher total fertility rate are associated with more downloads.
Lead author Dr. Francesco Rampazzo, Lecturer in Demography at Oxford's Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science and Department of Sociology, said, "Our findings reinforce emerging evidence that menstrual tracking apps are more popular in areas with limited access to reproductive health services and contraception. This highlights the important role these apps may potentially play in improving access to reproductive health information and services, especia.