The popular period-tracking app Clue is opening up its database of information to a host of researchers around the world, in an apparent effort to bolster its reputation as a science- and research-based product.
Clue, which is based in Berlin, will not only let researchers examine information about its users’ cycles, pain, emotions, and medication use — it will actually pay them a few thousand dollars. Researchers who have signed up to participate are planning to look at how seasons, exercise, and weather impact menstrual cycles, how a person’s gut function changes during the menstrual cycle, and how people feel about their experience with fertility trackers.
It’s a boon for the researchers, who will get access to data from the massive set of 11 million users, though it’s not clear all the users’ data will actually be usable or relevant. But it could be an opportunity for Clue to showcase its own utility to a scientific community still skeptical about the quality of data coming from apps.
About the Author Reprints
To submit a correction request, please visit our Contact Us page.
STAT encourages you to share your voice. We welcome your commentary, criticism, and expertise on our subscriber-only platform, STAT+ Connect