
24 Nov All Hormonology apps are retiring in 2023
BY GABRIELLE LICHTERMAN
- All Hormonology apps–including the Hormone Horoscope Lite, Hormone Horoscope Pro and Female Forecaster–will be retired by January 15, 2023. They will be replaced by my paperback tracking journals and books, including my Hormonology Menstrual Cycle Tracker Journal and 28 Days, and my forthcoming Hormonology for Couples.
OCTOBER 21, 2022—If you have not downloaded my Hormonology apps, which include the Hormone Horoscope Lite & Pro, Hormone Horoscope Teen Lite & Pro, Hormone Horoscope Classic and Female Forecaster, but plan to do so, please download them now.
By January 15, 2023, I will be permanently retiring all Hormonology apps.
Any Hormonology apps that you currently have on your device will not be deleted by me. However, there will be no support provided for them. And if you switch to a new device, you won’t be able to download the app again after January 15, 2023.
So, please back up all diary entries and screenshot all your app’s Cycle Calendars so you can keep those records. The app will not be available to download again if you change devices, lose your device or you encounter a technical problem.
Why my Hormonology apps are being retired
Retiring my Hormone Horoscope and Female Forecaster apps was not an easy decision. But, I know it’s the right choice.
One reason that is that I simply don’t have the funds to keep them around any longer. The requirements for iOS and Android apps have changed significantly since my apps were first introduced in 2013. As a result, I would need to develop the apps all over again to comply with the new requirements. (And then eventually I’d have to redevelop them yet again once those requirements changed once more.) Since I don’t accept advertising or sell user data, I’ve had to cover the cost of app development myself, which is extraordinarily high–and it’s only become more expensive over the years.
But, there is an additional important reason why I feel now is the right time to retire my apps: I want users to transition to paper menstrual cycle tracking to ensure privacy. By now, you’ve probably have heard the many news reports about how many menstrual cycle tracking apps have been selling and sharing user data. My Hormonology apps have always been 100% private. In fact, my apps were built with no capability to access user information at all. But, I feel that keeping my apps around lulls folks into feeling secure that other tracking apps are just as private.
It’s difficult for me not to feel some sense of responsibility for playing a part in popularizing digital menstrual cycle tracking. After all, my apps were among the first generation of menstrual cycle tracking apps ever created, so I played a part in helping to encourage millions of women to use mobile applications to record various facets of their menstrual cycles.
But, I admit that I was naively unaware that unscrupulous developers would see cycle-related data as a way to cash in. As a result, they followed the menstrual cycle tracking app model I helped create, but then added back doors to access data to or sell users’ cycle-related information to Facebook, advertisers, marketing companies, pharmaceutical companies and, quite honestly, likely a lot of other people who should not have anyone’s personal health details.
Sadly, reproductive freedoms in the United States (where I live) and around the world are becoming more and more restricted. This means that your menstrual cycle-related information could potentially get you arrested or worse depending on where you live and who ends up being given your data.
Switch to paper for privacy
As someone who is a privacy advocate and has also had 100% private menstrual cycle tracking apps for nearly 10 years, I feel it’s my duty to keep warning users of other menstrual cycle tracker apps about these privacy breaches. And I feel it’s my responsibility to encourage you to embrace menstrual cycle tracking a way that keeps your data private.
This is why I encourage everyone to switch to old-fashioned paper journals. To help do this, in 2020, I released my first paperback tracker, Hormonology Menstrual Cycle Tracker Journal. The goal was to mimic the ease and practicality of a menstrual cycle tracker app by providing pre-set categories so you can rate virtually every facet of your cycle–from mood and energy to blood flow and basal temperature. You can also add your own categories to track. But, because it’s a paperback journal, it ensures that only you see it unless you personally share it with others.
I also created the Hormonology Day-by-Day Menstrual Cycle Guided Journal. This workbook helps you create your own path to wellness customized to your cycle.
Or, alternatively, just pick up a notebook! You can keep track of your mood, energy, sleep quality and more simply by jotting it down every day.
Did you download my Hormonology apps for the helpful hormone information? You can pair my cycle tracking journal or your notebook with my book, 28 Days: What Your Cycle Reveals About Your Love Life, Moods and Potential to get all the hormone information you want every day of your cycle.
What’s next?
If you’ve put off downloading my Hormonology apps, but want to get them now, you can find still them in the App Store or Google Play by visiting my app page. But, they will be gone on or before January 15, 2023. So, you might want to act fast.
Thank you for all your support of my Hormonology apps over the many years they’ve been available. I will be moving all of my future Hormonology offerings to books, journals, my website and videos. So, please stay posted for the exciting news about what’s coming next!
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