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Period Tracker Usage Actually Increased 20% After Dobbs

Despite viral delete calls, usage rose from 37.4% to 45.2% post-Dobbs. Only 3% stopped and 91% never used any privacy mitigation. What the research shows.

In the days after the Dobbs decision leaked in May 2022, "delete your period tracker" went viral. The assumption was that millions of women would abandon apps that stored reproductive data on servers accessible to law enforcement. That is not what happened. Usage Increased, Not Decreased The largest study on post Dobbs period tracker behavior (Neiman et al., Contraception, January 2025) surveyed approximately 23,000 women aged 18 44 across five states: Arizona, Iowa, New Jersey, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Period tracker usage rose from 37.4% to 45.2% (adjusted prevalence ratio 1.20; 95% CI 1.15 1.26). In Ohio, usage increased from 34.2% to 44%. The only measurable shift in tracking purpose was a modest decrease in tracking for the goal of becoming pregnant (aPR 0.85). Women in states with abortion restrictions became slightly less likely to use a tracker for fertility planning, but overall usage grew. A separate study (Duke/ACM CHI '24, May 2024) surveyed 183 period tracker users and found that only 3% stopped using their tracker because of the Roe overturn. 91% never used any privacy mitigation strategy. No setting changes. No app switches. No data deletion. 60% said the Dobbs decision