More than half of UK women under 45 use apps to track their menstrual cycles, yet these tools remain largely unregulated — with the British Medical Journal warning this has direct consequences for user safety and public health.
The British Medical Journal posted a warning this week that period tracking apps (sometimes called menstrual cycle tracking or fertility apps) used by the majority of younger UK women sit outside meaningful regulatory oversight. According to the BMJ, over half of UK women aged under 45 use one of these apps — making their unregulated status a public health concern rather than a niche digital issue.
The BMJ’s post made clear the problem isn’t simply about data privacy. The lack of regulation has direct consequences for safety — meaning the health information these apps provide, and the decisions women make based on it, are not held to the same standards as other medical tools or devices.
That matters in Kent as much as anywhere. Women across the county use these apps to manage everything from contraception decisions to monitoring symptoms of conditions such as endometriosis (a condition where tissue similar to the womb lining grows outside the womb) or polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). But without regulation, there’s no guarantee the information they’re receiving is accurate or safe to act on.
The BMJ did not specify which apps are of most concern, and the researched facts contain no named platforms. So if you use a period tracking app and have questions about your cycle, symptoms, or fertility, the safest step is to speak to your GP rather than rely solely on in-app guidance.
For general health queries, NHS 111 is available online or by phone, 24 hours a day. Anyone with concerns about gynaecological symptoms should contact their GP in the first instance.
Source: @bmj_latest
Period Tracking Apps Used by Over Half of UK Women Under 45 Are Largely Unregulated, BMJ Warns Quiz
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