this post was submitted on 13 Nov 2024
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submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 16 hours ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 

There are downsides with downloading their app just to input bad data, but it's a fun thought.


edit: While we're at it we might as well offer an alternative app to people.

I posted in [email protected] to collect recommendations for better apps

The post: https://lemmy.ca/post/32877620

Leading Recommendation from the comments

The leading recommendation seems to be Drip (bloodyhealth.gitlab.io)

Summarizing what people shared:

  • accessible: it is on F-droid, Google Play, & iOS App Store
  • does not allow any third-party tracking
  • the project got support from "PrototypeFund & Germany's Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the Superrr Lab and Mozilla"
  • Listed features:
    • "Your data, your choice: Everything you enter stays on your device"
    • "Not another cute, pink app: drip is designed with gender inclusivity in mind."
    • "Your body is not a black box: drip is transparent in its calculations and encourages you to think for yourself."
    • "Track what you like: Just your period, or detect your fertility using the symptothermal method."

Their Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@dripapp

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 15 hours ago (2 children)

Why in the world do we even need apps for this stuff? There is no reason to give your data to these companies at all.

Here's a crazy thought: get a journal. And write in it.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 15 hours ago

The absolute madlad

[–] [email protected] 2 points 15 hours ago
[–] [email protected] 9 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

Why are such apps popular? Do these offer something more than what a combination of reminders and notes (digital or analog) providr?

Perhaps, these apps offer some insights based on the data. But would one take the risk of listening to an app for medical advice?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 13 hours ago

Yeah, the only way anyone should have ever trusted these is if the data was stored locally only. There's no reason for it to be uploaded.

[–] [email protected] 43 points 1 day ago (3 children)

I don’t want to victim blame but if using an app is optional and it could get you in trouble with the law (regardless of how bad the law is), you should not use it.

Having said that, as a dev, please pollute data as much as possible.

Management needs to learn how valuable good data is and good data comes with proper consent (most people wouldn’t share their data if they could opt out).

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 day ago (1 children)

These apps are very helpful for people who have irregular cycles or who are family planning. I relied heavily on a similar app in high school, because my monthlies weren’t monthly. I was able to share that data with my doctors to help better understand my body.

This really indicates a need for self-hosted solutions.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (15 children)

Absolute worst case you could always keep track of it as a raw text/markdown/excel/Libre calc/whatever your preference is. You're not going to get any predictions or useful data out.

But it would at least provide a record for your doctor if need be. And as long as you encrypt the device you store it on, or the directory its stored in, it's relatively safe to do so.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

That's not great advice for people who weren't afraid of law enforcement in the past and are now feeling exposed due to data they already gave away.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 hours ago

Not to mention: a lot of people don't really understand how technology works. They just use the app without even thinking where that data goes. Like yeah, it would probably behoove those people to educate themselves on the technology they're using, but I certainly don't want them to face unjust legal repercussions just because Republicans hate anyone with a vagina.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 day ago

Period tracking is a very good tool for understanding your health. Issues may be spotted very early in some cases.

If it's required for preventative healthcare, the blame is solely on the exploitative app operators for any data safety concerns.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 23 hours ago

Calling an app that tracks menstrual cycle "Drip" is peak comedy

[–] [email protected] 6 points 19 hours ago

iOS has a first party health app that has menstrual tracking. I’m under the impression Apple takes data security seriously. If you don’t, self hosted is probably best.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I've been using it to track my poops.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

Eat more fiber for extra data

[–] [email protected] 6 points 18 hours ago

Don't worry. I give them literal shit loads of data. Even more after fajita night.

[–] [email protected] 41 points 1 day ago (2 children)

You would think it wouldn’t be this easy, but given the incredible disconnect from reality on reporting late term abortion statistics, this could scramble data.

For those who don’t know, the raw statistic of late term abortions comes down to late term terminations via a procedure used in pre 20week months to end a pregnancy. There’s little difference in logging the data. Babies can die inside, even as you’re trying to attend your own baby shower, like with that young girl who recently tried to get help from 3 Texas emergency rooms, but instead died due to the late term corpse rotting in her uterus.

The procedure used to expel a stillbirth in the late term is an abortion. That is what pregnancy termination by procedure is: abortion. But the context of corpse removal is lost on political alarmists who don’t bother to do their own research on how/when the procedure is used in late term pregnancy, in favor of uneducated hysteria and the demonizing of women.

My point is, given how resolutely people have not delved into the context of this data regarding stillbirths, messing with menstrual trackers can and probably will work, provided you don’t limit yourself to Flo.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 day ago

I signed up for the app and there are so many dark patterns used in the signup process it's insulting.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I'm so sorry ladies, but you had me until the Ts & Cs. This app is a privacy nightmare. I would put all of this energy into finding or crowd funding a better alternative.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

I’ll second this. I was going to participate in the fake data, but then I read what this app does; no one should install this at all.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

I accepted the terms, signed away all of my privacy, and completed a whole questionnaire regarding my goals for using the app, my level of knowledge about my menstrual cycle, regularity of my periods, symptoms I experience before and during my periods, and other conditions I have which impact my sexual health.

Only after the app had harvested all of that from me did it reveal that a subscription is required, and the only way to trial it is to commit to payment when the 14–day trial period ends. Like all "free" trials, I can "cancel any time", and like all "free" trials, it's my job to remember to cancel it before it automatically charges my card, so fuck you very much and uninstall.

Having already agreed to my sexual health data being sent to "people you can trust because we just want the best outcome for you we promise", I would have actually been fine going the whole way and trialling it if there were no strings attached, because it did seem to be a lot more about sexual health generally than just tracking periods.

When it asked for my goals, I included "better orgasms" and "sexual intimacy". It asked for my current level of sexual activity and something about my masturbation habits.

When it asked about my other conditions, it provided options for PCOS and Endometriosis. I was genuinely curious at this point. I was basically entering the responses my wife would give, and right now we're strategizing ways to alleviate PCOS–related pain. Data driven insights may have been genuinely useful. Could have persuaded us to subscribe, at least for a couple of months, had the trial showed promise. Guess we'll never know.

[–] [email protected] 157 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (6 children)

it's quite silly imo. unlikely to accomplish much or anything at all. teaching people about free software like drip is way more likely to actually help people. it's free, open source, and completely local.

edit: they even have a mastodon!

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Because moving people off Facebook messenger and over to Signal or WIRE instead has been so very effective.

You are right. We here know it. But we are a teeny tiny percentage compared to 340million.

Remember, inertia is a major driving force of humanity.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 22 hours ago

eh, I'd argue this is very different than signal. for signal to work everyone needs to use it. if you want to use drip you don't need to make your friends use it too. it's as simple as installing it from the play store and using it like any other app.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 19 hours ago

Really hard to help people who refuse to help themselves.

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[–] [email protected] 25 points 1 day ago (6 children)

I have a reminder app that randomizes reminders for a medical issue I'm dealing with.

Sounds like I'll be dealing with two medical issues that app will require now.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 day ago

Done. If only I could script it...

[–] [email protected] 160 points 1 day ago (3 children)

So I just installed this right now after seeing this, and man this app has a lengthy initial startup process with dark patterns and everything. Now apparently I'm ovulating in two days. 🤭

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 day ago

I'm "abnormal" 🫨

So it's not normal to have a 55 day cycle? Oh snap!

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[–] [email protected] 98 points 1 day ago (3 children)

So I fucking hate that this is where my brain went, but my kneejerk reaction to this was: "If I do this, could it be used as evidence to charge my wife with the death of a nonexistent fetus?"

I live in the cousin-fuckingly-deep south where women are incubators and a long list of stereotypes. I could definitely see it argued in court - successfully - that an app like that was only used on my phone to try to conceal my wife's data, and the data points to one of the ways we've criminalized pregnancy.

...and that's thinking about what could happen here and now. Once Trump has had his way with our country, we'd probably just get deported to one of daddy Putin's gulags or some shit.

I really fucking hate it here.

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 day ago (1 children)

There was an IT Crowd episode on the Manstrual Cycle

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