The team behind the menstrual health and tracking app Clue has announced that they will not disclose users’ data to American authorities. This statement comes in light of concerns that during Trump’s second presidency, abortion bans following the overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2022 may worsen, leading states to increase menstrual surveillance to restrict access to terminations further.
Recently, the Virginia Governor blocked a bill that would have prohibited law enforcement from enforcing search warrants for menstrual data stored in tracking apps on mobile phones or other devices. Other states have tried to pass similar bills requiring medical facilities to report reasons for abortions and other personal information. In a powerful statement, Clue’s CEO Rhiannon White said, “Clue was created to give you the ability to build your own cycle health record and gain invaluable insights.
Our health data must serve us and never be used against us or for anyone else’s agenda. We take the responsibility of protecting it extremely seriously.”
Founded in 2012, Clue allows 10 million people in over 190 countries to track their menstrual cycle.
Menstrual data privacy assurance
According to the Mozilla Foundation, Clue does not store or share users’ data without explicit permission. As of 2022, there were 55 million users of Clue and Flo, another period-tracking app, in the U.S. Clue stated that the majority of its 10 million active monthly users are in the U.S.
Trump has stated he would not sign a federal abortion ban, leaving abortion access to individual states. However, his administration could limit abortion access through the rescinding of the abortion medication mifepristone’s licensing and the enforcement of the 1873 Comstock Act which prohibits mailing materials meant to induce abortion.
The Guttmacher Institute has reported that implementing the Comstock Act could effectively ban access to abortion nationwide. Additionally, Trump’s administration could stop enforcing the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act’s requirement that hospitals provide emergency abortion care. In anticipation of new restrictions, women across the nation have been stockpiling abortion pills and emergency contraception.
Providers such as Aid Access and the telehealth service Wisp have seen significant increases in demand. Period-tracker app Flo has also taken steps to protect users’ data with features like “Anonymous Mode,” which allows access without information being traced back to users.
