Are you tired of using contraceptives like birth control and condoms? Well, unsurprisingly, there's basically an app for that — the Daysy Fertility Monitor connects to your phone and tracks your menstrual cycle, measuring your body temperature to determine if you can have sex without fear of pregnancy.
To use the monitor properly, you take your temperature with the device every morning and it will either flash red, yellow, or green. Red means you're fertile so avoid sex if you don't plan on having a baby, yellow either means that Daysy is still learning about your cycle, or based on your temperature fluctuations you probably shouldn't have sex. Green means you are infertile and totally fine to have sex — and when I say totally, that's pretty damn near true because Daysy has an effectiveness of 99.3 percent, the same rate as birth control. Daysy then syncs all your information to an iPhone app that allows you to view your data and charts and shares your information with your partner.
Gauging fertility levels is actually an age-old practice that dates back to days before the Pill, but is made significantly easier and more organized by the handy thermometer device and app and, in a society where we rely on things like condoms (which can tear, come off, not work, etc) and the Pill (which you could easily miss or take at the wrong time), Daysy is pretty revolutionary.
Daysy is a device that can be hooked up to an app but there are also some apps out there that monitor fertility by themselves. Some examples with a variety of features include:
- Glow, a period and ovulation tracker that makes fertility predictions, gives you health insights, sends you period-related reminders, and lets you keep a daily health log
- Kindara, an app that customizes fertility data for you based off ovulation and breast pain, cervical fluid, menstruation, and sex.<img src="http://lovelace-media.imgix.net/uploads/438/28d07c30-62cc-0132-42fa-0ebc4eccb42f.png?w=320"/> <img src="http://lovelace-media.imgix.net/uploads/438/28ce68c0-62cc-0132-4303-0ebc4eccb42f.png?w=320"/>
- Clue, arguably the prettiest period tracker app, which lets you keep track of period-related specifics, down to your mood swings. <img src="http://lovelace-media.imgix.net/uploads/438/28ed9b40-62ce-0132-4303-0ebc4eccb42f.png?w=320"/>
These apps can be helpful whether or not you intend to get pregnant, and even if you're not sexually active. Remember though, not using protection may be OK for pregnancy purposes but make sure you and your partner(s) get tested before having unprotected sex because even an app can't prevent an STD.
Images: Kindara.com, glowing.com/features; helloclue.com; https://www.usa.daysy.me/en-us/
