What is menstrual health tracking in the Fitbit app?

Tracking your cycle can empower you to better understand what’s happening in your body, help you recognize any recurring irregularities, and help you identify menstrual patterns linked to everyday activities like sleep and exercise.

For more information about tracking your cycle with the Fitbit app, see our blog post Menstrual Health Tracking May Be Key to Keeping Your Health Goals on Track. Here’s Why.

The menstrual cycle is a recurring cycle in which the lining of the uterus thickens to prepare for the possibility of pregnancy and then sheds if pregnancy does not occur (source). The shedding of the uterine lining is the bleeding phase of the cycle, also known as the period (source). Typical cycles can last from 21 to 35 days, with an average of a 28-day cycle. Typical periods last 2-8 days, with an average of 5 days (source).

Your menstrual cycle starts on the first day of your period and ends the day before your next period (source).

For more information, see our blog post Your Menstrual Cycle Explained: The Periods Facts You Never Knew You Never Knew.

Track your period in the Fitbit app to learn about your typical period length, estimated fertile window and ovulation day, and other information related to your cycle. Continue to log and verify your periods for more accurate predictions and track details about your cycle for greater insight into menstrual patterns. For instructions on how to log a period or details see How do I use the Fitbit app to track my period?

For more information about tracking your period with the Fitbit app, see our blog post Menstrual Health Tracking May Be Key to Keeping Your Health Goals on Track. Here’s Why.

Track your periods, fertile windows, ovulation days, and menstrual health symptoms. Note that you can track symptoms, such as headaches, without tracking your period.

Menopause tracking is not available at this time. For more information about menopause, see Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes! What to Expect During Perimenopause and Menopause.

For information about how to turn menstrual health tracking on or off, see How do I use the Fitbit app to track my period?

Fertility refers to the ability to conceive a biological child (source). Your fertile window is the portion of your menstrual cycle when you’re most fertile (source). While it’s possible to experience longer or shorter fertile windows, fertile windows typically span 6 days with ovulation occurring on the 6th day. Ovulation occurs when one of your ovaries releases an egg into a fallopian tube. In the Fitbit app, the fertile window spans 7 days to account for variations in the time of day that ovulation occurs (source).

For more information, see our blog post Ovulation, Fertility, and Pregnancy: What It Really Takes To Make a Baby.

Based on the information you provide about your menstrual cycle, you can see predictions of future periods and fertile windows. For more information about how to see predictions, see How do I use the Fitbit app to track my period?

The predictions for your period, fertile window, and ovulation day are estimated using an algorithm that includes the period and cycle length information you provide. If you don’t provide some of the information about your cycle, Fitbit uses a 28-day cycle and 5-day period as a starting point for estimations. Your fertile window is always shown as 7 days in the Fitbit app. For more information, see What is a fertile window and ovulation?

Period and fertile window predictions become more personalized as you log your period consistently.

You can edit the average cycle length and period length you provided during setup; however, these settings only affect your initial predictions. For more information, see How do I use the Fitbit app to track my period?

For more information about your cycle, see our blog post Your Menstrual Cycle Explained: The Periods Facts You Never Knew You Never Knew.

Fitbit uses the data you provide to estimate your predictions. Initially, your predictions take into account the average cycle and period lengths you provide during setup. Log your period consistently to receive more accurate predictions.

View your cycle trends to see patterns in your cycle length, period length, ovulation, fertile windows, and details. For more information, see How do I use the Fitbit app to track my period?

Your menstrual health data helps you track your patterns and notice variations. There are many reasons why your period may become irregular, but some common causes include hormonal birth control, pregnancy, and excessive physical activity (source). A “normal” period is whatever is normal for you and your cycle (source).

If you have any concerns about your cycle, consider talking to your doctor.

Keep in mind that use of certain types of contraception, such as extended-cycle birth control pills and intrauterine devices (IUDs), will alter your menstrual cycle (source). Talk to your health care provider about what to expect.

If you’re using birth control or otherwise have an altered cycle, you can still use the menstrual health tracking feature to track your cycle and details to help you recognize patterns. You may want to turn off predictions in the menstrual health settings and manually log your periods. For more information, see How do I use the Fitbit app to track my period?

For more information, see our blog posts Your Menstrual Cycle Explained: The Periods Facts You Never Knew You Never Knew and Pills, Patches, IUDs, and More: Get to Know Your Birth Control Options.

Add your birth control method to log the details that can affect your cycle. For more information about how birth control can affect your cycle, see our blog post Pills, Patches, IUDs, and More: Get to Know Your Birth Control Options.

You can choose to use your menstrual health data to help facilitate conversations with your doctor, providing a clearer picture of your menstrual cycle for more personalized care. At this time, you can’t directly share your menstrual health tracking data from the Fitbit app with anyone, including your partner.

Fitbit invests heavily in security measures to protect consumer privacy and keep data safe. We use a combination of technical, administrative, and physical controls to maintain the security of user data. For more information, see How can I help secure my Fitbit account and data?

Menstrual health tracking helps you learn more about your cycle and recognize trends. While the menstrual health tracking feature provides information about your estimated fertile window, always talk to your doctor for information on conceiving and pregnancy.

For more information, see our blog posts Ovulation, Fertility, and Pregnancy: What It Really Takes To Make a Baby and Do Ovulation Calculators Actually Work? Get The Facts on Fertility.

While you can’t share data directly from the Fitbit app, you can review your data with your partner or health care professional as you track your menstrual cycle information and details in the Fitbit app.

Note that menstrual health tracking is off by default for users who have identified as male in the Fitbit app. To add the menstrual health tracking tile, see How do I use the Fitbit app to track my period?

A positive ovulation predictor kit test result indicates you're likely to begin ovulating (source). For instructions, see How do I use the Fitbit app to track my period?

For more information about ovulation predictor kits, see our blog post: Using Ovulation Predictor Kits to Help You Get Pregnant? Here's What You Need to Know.

You can’t log pregnancy test results at this time. To continue using menstrual health tracking during pregnancy, we recommend turning off predictions. For more information about turning off predictions, see How do I use the Fitbit app to track my period?

Keep logging details, such as headaches or bleeding, to track your menstrual health information. For more information about logging details, see How do I use the Fitbit app to track my period? If you have any concerns, always talk to your doctor.

For more information about pregnancy and your period, see our blog post Pregnant? Congrats! Here’s What to Expect From Your Period Postpartum.

At this time, menstrual health tracking is not available in the Fitbit app for children on family accounts. For more information about Fitbit family accounts, see How do I manage my Fitbit family account?

For more information about menstrual health and your period, visit the Fitbit blog.

For more questions about menstrual health tracking in the Fitbit app, contact Customer Support.