comparisons
Published by Floriva · Updated 2026-03-31 · How Floriva checks its guides
Flo vs Clue: Which Period Tracker Is Safer for Privacy
Flo: FTC action 2021, $59.5M class action 2025. Clue: GDPR-compliant, no documented violations. Both still store your cycles on subpoena-able servers.
Clue is meaningfully better than Flo on privacy history. Flo has a documented FTC enforcement action (2021) and a $59.5M class action settlement (2025). Clue is GDPR-compliant with no documented violations. But both store your data on servers. If that architectural risk matters to you, neither Flo nor Clue solves it.
Flo vs Clue: the short answer
If you are asking which app is safer for privacy, the answer is Clue. Flo carries the FTC enforcement action from 2021 and the later $59.5M settlement history tied to reproductive-health data sharing. Clue does not. That alone is enough to separate the two.
That does not make Clue private in the way many people mean it. Clue still requires an account and still keeps your cycle history on company servers. So the real answer is two-part: Clue is safer than Flo on trust history, and neither app gives you architecture-level protection from a company-side data request.
Where Flo and Clue still look the same
Both apps depend on cloud storage. Both ask you to create an account. Both keep records that the company can access and maintain. If the issue you care about is whether the company has a copy at all, Flo and Clue land in the same bucket.
GDPR helps Clue on the commercial-use side. It does not turn cloud storage into local storage. A cleaner policy framework is still a policy framework. If you want to reduce company-side exposure, you need an app that keeps the data on the device and skips the account requirement.
The Anonymous Mode Problem
Flo introduced Anonymous Mode after the FTC enforcement action. This feature limits how much of your activity is tied to your account. It requires a paid subscription, which means that at Flo's free tier, the version used by the majority of users, the privacy protections are lower.
Clue does not offer an equivalent anonymous mode. The GDPR protections are automatic, but they apply to commercial data use, not to the account linkage itself. A subpoena still lands on cloud storage regardless of how that account is configured.
Both approaches treat privacy as a feature layered on top of a cloud-based architecture. On-device trackers treat privacy as the baseline architecture.
Pricing Side by Side
Flo's free tier is ad-supported. Premium is $4.99/mo or $39.99/yr. Anonymous Mode requires premium. Clue's free tier has no ads but limits feature access. Plus is $9.99/mo or $59.99/yr. Floriva is a paid app with no free tier, with on-device storage as the default, not a paid add-on.
Definitions
- Zero-knowledge storage
- A data storage model where the service provider holds only encrypted data they cannot read. The encryption keys never leave the user's device. Even if the company is subpoenaed, they can only produce ciphertext that is useless without the user's key.
- On-device storage
- A storage model where data is saved locally to the user's phone or tablet and never transmitted to a remote server. There is no company-held copy of the data, which means no subpoena surface and no breach exposure from company servers.
Cited signals
- Flo Health paid a $59.5M combined settlement for sharing reproductive health data without user consent Reuters / FTC, September 2025
Flo vs Clue vs Floriva: Privacy Comparison
| Factor | Floriva | Flo | Clue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data location | Your device only | Flo servers | Clue servers |
| Account required | No | Yes | Yes |
| FTC enforcement history | No | Yes (2021) | No |
| Class action settlement | N/A | $59.5M (2025) | None |
| GDPR compliance | N/A (no server data) | Yes | Yes |
| Subpoenable | No | Yes | Yes |
| Anonymous Mode | Default for all users | Paid only | No |
| Monthly cost | Paid app (no free tier) | Free / $4.99 | Free / $9.99 |
Strengths and trade-offs
Floriva
Pros
- On-device storage, structurally unsubpoenable
- No account required
- Default privacy for all users, no paywall
- Flat-rate subscription, no free tier
Cons
- Smaller feature set than established apps
- No automatic cloud backup
Flo
Pros
- Strong cycle prediction, large dataset
- Comprehensive feature set
- Wide platform support
Cons
- FTC enforcement action (2021)
- $59.5M class action (2025)
- Server data, subpoenable
- Privacy features cost extra
Clue
Pros
- No documented enforcement actions
- GDPR jurisdiction
- No ad-supported model
Cons
- Server-side storage
- Account required
- GDPR is policy, not architecture
- Premium required for full features
What the experts say
Apps like Flo shared users' most intimate data with companies like Facebook and Google. Users had every reason to expect that information would remain private.
Quick answers to the obvious questions.
Is Clue safer than Flo for period tracking?
Clue has a cleaner privacy history than Flo. The FTC took enforcement action against Flo in 2021 for sharing user health data with Facebook and Google without consent. Clue has no comparable enforcement history and operates under GDPR from Berlin, which provides stronger commercial privacy protections. Between the two, Clue is the better choice on privacy history.
Can Flo or Clue data be used against me in court?
Both Flo and Clue keep user records on company servers. That means both can be ordered to produce data if a court with jurisdiction asks for it. Flo's FTC history makes the trust question more urgent, but the technical exposure is the same for both apps. The only trackers that remove that company-side risk are the ones that never create a server copy in the first place.
What period tracker is completely private?
The most private period trackers keep readable cycle records away from company databases. Floriva keeps core records on your device and optional sync is encrypted so Floriva cannot read synced records. Euki and Drip are local-only options. For Floriva, there is no readable central cycle database for the company to produce.
Does Clue sell your period data?
Clue does not have a documented history of selling user data the way Flo does. Clue is GDPR-compliant and Berlin-based. However, Clue still requires an account and stores data server-side, which means it can be accessed via court order or government request. GDPR compliance limits commercial data sharing but does not prevent law enforcement access.
Is Flo or Clue safer for privacy?
Clue has a cleaner privacy track record than Flo. Flo faced FTC enforcement action in 2021 for sharing sensitive health data with Facebook and Google without user consent, then faced a $59.5M class action settled in September 2025. Clue's GDPR compliance provides stronger data protection in the EU context. That said, both apps require server-side storage, so neither provides architecture-level protection against subpoenas.
Which period tracker keeps data only on your phone?
Floriva keeps core cycle records on your device using encrypted local storage. No account is required for core tracking, and optional sync is encrypted so Floriva cannot read synced records. Drip (Android) and Euki also use on-device storage as their default architecture.
Questions people ask before they switch.
What exactly did Flo do that Clue did not?
The FTC found that Flo shared users' reproductive health data, including period dates, pregnancy status, and symptoms, with Facebook and Google via embedded analytics SDKs without user consent, despite Flo's privacy policy stating it would not. Clue has no documented history of comparable data sharing. Clue's GDPR compliance and no-ads business model reduce the commercial incentive to do what Flo did.
Does GDPR actually protect period tracking data?
GDPR limits what Clue can do commercially with your data, requires disclosure about data practices, gives you rights to access and delete your data, and restricts transfers to jurisdictions without adequate data protection. It does not prevent a court from ordering Clue to produce your data in response to a valid legal request. GDPR is a commercial data protection framework, not immunity from legal process.
What did Flo do wrong with user data?
The FTC found that Flo shared users' reproductive health information, including period dates, pregnancy status, and health symptoms, with Facebook, Google, and Flurry despite promising to keep this data private. The FTC took enforcement action against Flo in 2021. A class action lawsuit resulting from the same conduct settled for $59.5M in September 2025 (Reuters 2025-09-25).
Is Clue compliant with GDPR?
Yes. Clue is headquartered in Berlin and operates under GDPR. This limits how Clue can commercially use or share your data within the EU framework. However, GDPR does not prevent data from being handed over pursuant to a valid court order or law enforcement request, particularly for US-based legal proceedings.
Can period tracker data be used as evidence in court?
In states with abortion restrictions, prosecutors have sought digital evidence including period tracker data. Apps that store data on company servers can receive subpoenas. Apps that store data only on your device have less company-held data to hand over. This is the structural difference between server-based trackers (Flo, Clue) and on-device trackers (Floriva, Drip, Euki).