Flo is the most popular period app, over 230 million downloads. It's also the one the FTC settled with in 2021 for sharing users' health data with Facebook and Google after promising not to. If you use it, you have two good options this weekend: lock it down, or leave.
Option 1: Lock it down (5 minutes)
If you want to keep Flo, make it as private as it gets:
Turn on Anonymous Mode. Tap your avatar, then Profile, then "Switch to Anonymous Mode." This lets you use Flo without your name, email, or device ID tied to your health data.
Set a 4-digit passcode in the app so no one who picks up your phone can open it.
Don't sign in with Google. Use email and password, and decline data tracking when the app prompts you.
Turn off ad tracking on your phone. On iPhone: Settings > Privacy > Tracking (and Apple Advertising). On Android: your Google account > Data & privacy > turn off ad personalization.
Option 2: Delete your data and leave
Deleting the app does NOT erase your data. You have to delete the account:
If you want a copy, request your data export first.
Tap your avatar, then Privacy settings, then "Delete account," and follow the steps. This is permanent.
If it won't delete in the app, request it: avatar, then Help, then Contact us.
Switch to a private tracker like Euki, which keeps everything on your device (we covered it Wednesday).
Why bother
Flo collects your cycle, sex life, moods, weight, and more. It says it no longer sells data and added Anonymous Mode, but its Google Play "data safety" label still claims it shares nothing, which isn't accurate. The safest data is the data a company never gets.
Up next · Monday
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