(190) Digital Contraception: Effectiveness, Data Privacy, Reproductives Rights
Authors: Choucroun D 
Published: March 2024

Introduction

We are experiencing a new profound societal transformation: the contraceptive crisis, attributed to the side-effects of hormonal contraception (since 2012) meets the rise of digital technologies. People seem to reject even the slightest risk of hormonal contraception, in favor of entrusting their intimitate data to online companies. But is the rejection of hormonal contraception really du to its iatrogenic risks? Hormonal contraception is 60 years old and its risks are not new and already known, and people don't hesitate to take far greater risks in all areas of their lives: sexual practices and encounters with strangers, sports activities, driving motor vehicles, tobacco, alcohol, etc... In view of this paradox, we will attempt to assess the advantages of digital contraception over medical contraception.

Objective

Drawing up an inventory of scientific research on digital contraception Know the real reliability of digital contraception and menstruations trackers Know the real risks for health and the other risks of these trackers Using the information obtained, be able to communicate and inform users as objectively as possible

Methods

Literature review on PubMed and Google Scholar for the last 12 months with the keywords: digital contraception, menstruations applications, period tracking applications, menstruations applications and data priv0acy.

Results

PubMed reports only six relevant studies about digital period trackers: these are concerned solely with the prospect of pregnancy or with the interest of data that might suggest a pathology such as Polycystic ovary syndrome, endometriosis or some other conditions. One study report that further research is needed to assess contents and its use. It is interesting to note that "data privacy" gives here no result, no result for "digital contraception" either. "Digital contraception" is still not a buzzword on Google Scholar" with only one relevant survey, and various research studies on period trackers report a lack of reliability in informations purporting to be scientific. What's most worrying is that the period trackers use external services for data storage with no guarantee of data protection. Literature reports that users are falsely reassured about their privacy by a non-human actor and are not aware that their data can be sold to mercantile companies. Little known consequences are also about ecology with the pollution of the data centers and about reproductive rights by monitoring periods of amenorrhea.

Conclusions

There are many blinds spots for users when it comes to menstruations trackers, and it is surprising to see people trusting commercial device, about their health, without any independent scientific guarantee. Thus, we observe a loss of trust for health care providers and we have to understand the current situation in sexual and reproductive health: May be we have to ask not why don't people use medical contraception, but why do people use medical contraception? What are the key factors of using a medical contraception? Rejection of medical authority or even gynecological violence, new gender relations, sexual satisfaction, accessibility of medical contraception must be assessed to place users at the center of the care system.

Disclosure

No.