June 24, 2022 Roe v. Wade Overturned

MyMonthlyCycles and Your Data Privacy

MyMonthlyCycles has been on the internet since 2003, 20 years! We have always had a very strong privacy policy, so that you know we value and respect your privacy. Please review our Privacy Policy now (opens new window); You'll find several key points outlined here.

  • First and foremost, we do not sell or share your personal information to any third party for monetary or other compensation.

  • We run ads on our websites. It's how MyMonthlyCycles makes money. If you interact with an ad, the advertiser may make assumptions about you (i.e. just by the fact that you clicked the ad) or by info you provide.

  • Ad networks never reveal to us what ad any visitor interacts with, nor have we ever provided any visitor/member information to any advertiser or third party.

  • MyMonthlyCycles is a US based company with servers located in the State of Virginia. This played a role in Johnny Depp's trial. More below.

  • We are not an "app" and not in any app store. That means your data is not stored on one or more of your devices, and possibly backed-up in the cloud.

  • As a website, your data is stored in one place, on a server, enabling you private access to your data on any of your web-enabled devices.

  • Unlike apps, MyMonthlyCycles does not track or record your physical location.

  • We use Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS), the industry standard to securely send your data, encrypted, to and from the server.

  • If you delete any data, it becomes inaccessible instantly and permanently deleted within 5 days.

We understand that many of you are concerned about the privacy of data on period tracker apps, especially given that it turns out that other period apps sold or shared user data to third parties, including to data analytics and research companies, thereby making you their product.

And now, in light of the Roe v. Wade overturn, some articles and media outlets are suggesting you immediately delete your period tracker app(s) and data. Some of this may be scaremongering and media frenzy since, at this juncture, most are purely opinions, hypothetical and speculative: These are uncharted waters.

With Roe v. Wade's overturn, women in the US are in a unique position of the clock being turned back 50 years, while simultaneously dealing with technologies that did not exist 50 years ago. Below are some points to consider which you may want to research further, because we, like others, simply do not know what will unfold in the coming months and years:

  • Are you using an app which runs and stores data on your smart device? Did that app already violate your or other women's trust by selling or sharing data with third parties? Remember that in order for that to have occurred, even if your data resides on your device, the app maker had access to your data.

  • Is the app or website company based in the United States? If they are not, are their servers based in or outside of the United States? Please do not be misled by tracker apps that say your data "may" be safer if they are not a US company or your data is stored outside the US. While certainly a legal question, generally, the US has reciprocity with many other countries, including Canada, the UK, and EU.

  • Regardless of where your app makers are based, are its servers in the US, and, if so, which State? Is that state banning abortion, effective June 24, 2022? Did it have pre-Roe v. Wade overturn abortion bans on its law books? See: Trigger Laws in Wikipedia to check.

    As noted, MyMonthlyCycles' servers are in the state of Virginia, where abortion is currently legal. In Depp v. Heard, Johnny Depp's lawyers were able to try the case in Virginia since the servers posting Heard's Washington Post Op-Ed were based in Virginia.

    That begs the question: if your data is stored on a server in a state where abortion is not banned, could it be subpoenaed by a state where you live that bans it?

    On June 24, 2022, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, wrote: "May a state bar a resident of that state from traveling to another state to obtain an abortion? ... In my view, the answer is no based on the constitutional right to interstate travel." If this holds true, it may have important implications for the above question.

Before you permanently delete potentially years of your cycle data, which you still may use when working with your health team (or just to reflect back on), the above offers much to consider. Just because your news source says your tracker apps could be a problem doesn't make it so. It could be correct, or not. Ultimately you need to use accurate facts to decide how you move forward.

Notwithstanding all of the above, if you feel uncomfortable keeping certain tracked data, you might want to:

If, instead, you would like to close your MyMonthlyCycles account and delete all your data, use Contact Us, requesting your account be permanently cancelled. Before doing so, we recommend you print your data by running reports and/or charts located on the Charts Menu and its Sub-Menus.

Note: Most browsers can save your web reports and charts to your device's hard drive, but if you do that and your goal was to get rid of your data, you now will need to figure out how to permanently remove it, not an easy task.

If you close your account:

  1. Thank you for using and being a part MyMonthlyCycles, the first full-featured cycle tracker app in the world, launched in 2003.

  2. You don't need an account to continue using our many helpful cycle calculators, many of which never existed before we invented them! Also visit our WhenMyBaby.com for many more.

Privacy Tips

  • If you are worried about the privacy of other tracker apps you use, make sure to read their privacy policies.

  • Remember, your smartphone's GPS tracks every place you go. Turning it off or on airplane mode doesn't necessary stop your phone or an app from pinging and logging your location.

  • Most places to and from your destination have cameras, recording where you go, and when.

  • Your credit card, online shopping accounts, and email order confirmations track what products you buy and when. Cash, ladies, is Queen, until the serial numbers are tracked.

As always, to Your Cycle Health!