Life
How Tracking Your Sex Life Can Make It Better & 7 Apps To, Uh, Do It With
Using apps to collect data in order to improve your health is becoming increasingly common. Whether you use a FitBit to track your steps and sleep, an app to monitor your water intake, or one to track your menstrual cycle, you’re probably on to health tracking already. But have you considered using an app to track your sex life? Yup, that’s right — sex-tracking apps are here to play.
Dr. Gary Brown, a couples therapist in Los Angeles, CA, believes that sex-tracking apps can help people have better sex, both by helping people learn more about themselves and opening up a dialogue about sex. “One of the great thing about sex apps is they help remove some of the stigma that users may have about sex in general, while providing real world details about the anatomy and physiology of sex,” Dr. Brown tells Bustle.
Some people use these apps to track their fertility, while others might choose to use a sex-tracking app because they want to improve the quantity or quality of sex that they’re having. For example, if someone isn’t satisfied with the frequency of sex they’re having and their partner is someone who really responds well to data, then having a clear set of points to lay out might be helpful. But Dr. Brown warns people not to get too hung up on the “frequency” data set.
“People often ask me what is the right amount of sex,” Dr. Brown says. “The truth is that there is no right amount of sex. Frequency is much less important than the quality of your sexual experiences.”
With quality in mind, some sex trackers also include tips for increasing intimacy and community forums where you can connect with other people who are committed to working on their sex lives. In fact, there’s a wide enough rang of sex tracking apps these days that it’s worth checking out a few before committing. Another factor to consider? Their privacy policies, which absolutely vary from app to app, so make sure you read, understand, and are comfortable with those terms.
Here are seven to get you started.
1Coral
If you’re looking to not only track data about your sex life but also improve it, then check out Coral ($59.99 a year). But with contributing experts including sex education stars Dr. Ian Kerner (author of the New York Times bestselling book She Comes First) and Dr. Emily Nagoski (author of the New York Times bestselling book Come As You Are: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life), among others, you can be sure that the tips and guidance you’ll find in this app is legit.
And while some sex tracking apps can feel really gendered in their design (think "male" and "female" deodorant ads) and in what they track, Coral is designed for people of all genders. The design and colors are totally gender neutral, so you won't feel like you're being slammed with too much pink or black, and the iconography is soothing images that remind one of waves or mountains. Isn’t it nice to have some sex tracking without gender stereotypes?
2Lioness
Sex isn’t always with another person — and sex tracking doesn’t always have to be about coupled sex, either. Lioness is the world’s first biometric vibrator ($299) and app that allows people with vaginas create actual graphs of their orgasms. The included app uses sensors to track vaginal contractions and also tracks how you use the vibrator. It even tracks your core body temperature, which is fun to know. Lioness is the sex tracking app and toy for people who want to really learn how their body works. (Also graphs of orgasms are just cool.)
Lioness is available for iOS and Android with purchase of a Lioness vibrator.
3Apple Health
While Apple has previously kept so-called "adult friendly" apps out of the App Store), they did add sex tracking to their HealthKit in 2016. Their sex tracking is mostly about fertility tracking for people who are trying to get pregnant (or not). You can also log whether or not you used some kind of protection, so it theoretically could be used for STI prevention as well. Apple Health is a great option if you’re looking for something that’s probably already on your phone and your main concerns are related to fertility. (Also if you're concerned about privacy, because Apple Health is totally encrypted.) But if you want a little more comprehensive overview of your sex life, you might want to give one of the other tools on this list a try.
4Nice
For people who are all about the stats, Nice is a clean, comprehensive sex tracking app for iOS. They help you keep track of when, where, how long, with who, whether or not you used protection, custom sex activities, and a custom note. You can also track your own and your partners’ STI testing dates and results, count your orgasms, view your data either in a calendar or a “sortable and groupable list.” It even integrates with Apple's HealthKit, and they don’t collect any data on users, so you can rest assured that your sex life will stay private. The app offers in-app purchases in tiers up to $49.99.
But while Nice could theoretically be used by people of all genders, the feel of the app is definitely more stereotypically feminine, with lots of pink. If that’s something that bothers you, then this one might not be the one for you.
5Sex Keeper
While most of the apps on this list are concerned primarily with tracking frequency and/or quality, Sex Keeper is more focused on the physical aspects of sex. Quite literally: It’s the sex tracker for people who are interested in how much of a workout sex is. The app lets you when you have sex, how long it lasted, how many orgasms you had, in addition to other factors. They’re also promising Apple Watch integration, for those of you who want to check your stats mid-game. It has a buy once, own forever option at $9.99, or you can subscribe for 99 cents a month.
As for privacy, Sex Keeper doesn't collect or sell any of your data. It's available on both iOS and Android.
6Clue
Clue is a popular period tracking app that also includes sex tracking. It (correctly!) assumes that people’s sex lives are related to other parts of their reproductive health and helps users get a great overview. The focus here is really on when sex happens, whether or not contraceptives were used, and sex drive. It’s a great option for people with uteruses who are already using Clue to track their menstruation and or those who just want to add sex tracking to their overall view of their reproductive health. It offers subscription tiers up to $69.99 a year.
Clue also has a great privacy policy. The data they collect is used to help you understand your cycle, not to sell to advertisers. They also encrypt data, which protects it in the case of a security breach. Clue is available for iOS and Android.
7EiNano
Another app for tracking solo sex is EiNano, a free masturbation tracking app. The design is sleek and minimal, referencing a paper journal and calendar. It lets you track when you masturbate, whether you used toys or porn, whether you orgasmed, and a bunch of other solo-sex factors. It’s totally gender neutral, but it’s only available for Android, so sorry, iPhone users.
Whether you're keeping track of your fertility or you just wanna get those stats, bro, these sex tracking apps will help you see your sex life in a whole new way. Who said data was boring?
