pricing-breakdowns

What Does a Free Period Tracker Actually Cost? The Data

Free period trackers are paid for with data: advertising targeting, health data broker sales, analytics SDK sharing, and legal exposure. The FTC's action

"Free" is a price point. It is not a business model. Every app requires servers, developers, bandwidth, and support staff. These cost money. When an app is free to the user, the money comes from somewhere else. Understanding where it comes from determines what you're actually paying. The Three Business Models Behind Free Period Apps Model 1: Advertising Revenue From Health Informed Targeting The most common model for large free apps: the app collects behavioral data, analytics SDKs send that data to advertising networks, and those networks use it to show you (and others with similar profiles) targeted ads across the web. The period app doesn't necessarily "sell" your data in the technical sense. Instead: You use Flo's free tier and log that you're trying to conceive Flo's Facebook SDK fires an event: "user in ttc mode" to Facebook's servers Facebook adds this to your advertising profile You start seeing targeted ads for fertility supplements, OB/GYN practices, and pregnancy gear Advertisers pay Facebook for showing these ads to you Facebook retains the revenue; Flo gets services from Facebook (analytics, advertising attribution data) that help them grow the app The period app compa