Glow (app)

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Glow
DeveloperGlow Inc.
Initial release2013
Operating systemiOS
Android
TypePeriod-tracking and fertility app
Websiteglowing.com

Glow is a fertility awareness and period-tracking app. It is part of a suite of mobile apps focused on women's reproductive health and childcare, which includes Eve by Glow (a dedicated period tracker), Glow Nurture (a pregnancy tracker), and Glow Baby (a baby development tracker).[1]

The Glow company also operates an online shop that sells several fertility-related products, including ovulation test strips, pregnancy tests, and wearable breast pumps.

In 2024, Glow was reported to have approximately 25 million users across its various apps and community message boards.[2]

History

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Glow debuted in August 2013 as an iOS app. It was founded by Michael Huang and Max Levchin (one of the co-founders of PayPal and a member of the group of entrepreneurs popularly referred to as the PayPal Mafia).[3][4][5] Glow was initially launched with $6 million in Series A funding, predominantly from the firms Founders Fund and Andreesen Horowitz. In 2014, it was reported that it had raised a further $17 million in Series B funding, with its backers being joined by another venture capital firm, Formation 8.[6][7]

In 2015, Glow launched Ruby, an app dedicated to sexual health.[8] That year, Wired reported that the company had added features to their apps allowing men to monitor their fertility. Glow subsequently released an additional set of apps focused on pregnancy tracking and infant development.[9] In 2016, Glow reported that it had a total of approximately 3 million users; by 2018, this had grown to 15 million. Vox described it as one of the “big two” period and fertility tracking apps and the one that had started the “boom” in the femtech space.[10][11]

Application and features

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Initial reporting characterized Glow as an app that used data science to address fertility issues.[12] Its features include menstrual symptom logging and an ovulation predictor.

Glow also features educational articles about women's reproductive health and childcare, as well as a set of online message boards.

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Glow has received significant media attention for its privacy and security practices. In 2016, Consumer Reports identified potential exploits in the Glow app that they claimed could have exposed private user data to hackers.[13] Glow subsequently reported that it had fixed the vulnerabilities and told The Washington Post they had no evidence that user data had been compromised.[14]

In September 2020, the California Attorney General announced a settlement with Glow related to Consumer Reports’ findings, which included a $250,000 civil penalty.[15][16]

Following the US Supreme Court's 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson ruling, which legalized state-level bans on abortion, Glow (and other fertility trackers, such as Clue and Flo) came under additional scrutiny over concerns that user data on abortions could be reported to law enforcement.[17][18]

After this surge of media interest, a research team affiliated with the University of New South Wales conducted an investigation into the privacy practices of several popular fertility apps, including Glow. Their review of Glow was mixed, noting that they provided several privacy settings and de-identified sensitive data, but that user information could still be disclosed in the future if the app was sold. Glow rejected that claim, telling the Australian Associated Press that it "did not share" personal data. The company also cited several internal security measures it had implemented and its apps' offline data protection setting, which allows users to permanently delete their health-related data.[19][20]

Reception

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In 2014, Fast Company reported that 20,000 women had used Glow to conceive.[21] Later that year, The Guardian included Glow Nurture on its list of the best iPhone apps of 2014.[22] Media coverage often praised Glow's array of menstrual tracking options, although some reviews also noted that fertility apps are not birth control tools and cautioned against relying on them for that purpose.[23][24]

In 2019, Cosmopolitan singled Glow's community of users as one of its standout features.[25]

References

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  1. ^ "Glow: Apps for Women's Health and Motherhood". Glowing.com. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  2. ^ Franceschi-Bicchierai, Lorenzo (13 February 2024). "Fertility tracker Glow fixes bug that exposed users' personal data". TechCrunch. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  3. ^ Hardy, Quentin (8 August 2013). "Happy Birth Data! A New App Tracks Fertility". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  4. ^ Taylor, Colleen (8 August 2013). "Backed With $6M, Max Levchin's Glow App For Tracking Female Fertility Debuts On The App Store". TechCrunch. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  5. ^ Goode, Lauren (29 May 2013). "Max Levchin's New Plan: To Get You Pregnant (And Improve Health Care in the Process)". AllThingsD. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  6. ^ Buhr, Sarah (2 October 2014). "Glow Gets $17 Million In Series B Funding From Formation 8, Founders Fund And Andreessen Horowitz". TechCrunch. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  7. ^ Goode, Lauren (8 August 2013). "Levchin's Glow Fertility App Hits the App Store, Raises $6 Million in Funding". AllThingsD. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  8. ^ Clark, Liat (31 July 2015). "Fertility app Glow moves into sexual health with Ruby". Wired. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  9. ^ Alba, Davey (23 April 2025). "An App for Hacking Fertility Now Also Works for Men". Wired. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  10. ^ Tiffany, Kaitlyn (17 November 2018). "Period-tracking apps are not for women". Vox. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  11. ^ Perez, Sarah (25 February 2016). "Glow Debuts A New App For Tracking Baby's Milestones, Plus Plans For Premium Services". TechCrunch. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  12. ^ McCracken, Harry (8 August 2013). "Glow: An iPhone App That Aims to Get You Pregnant". Time. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  13. ^ Beilinson, Jerry. "Glow Pregnancy App Exposed Women to Privacy Threats, Consumer Reports Finds". Consumer Reports. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  14. ^ Peterson, Andrea (3 August 2016). "The Switch Watch out, ladies: Your period-tracking app could be leaking personal data". The Washington Post. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  15. ^ "Attorney General Becerra Announces Landmark Settlement Against Glow, Inc. – Fertility App Risked Exposing Millions of Women's Personal and Medical Information". State of California Department of Justice Office of the Attorney General.
  16. ^ Brookman, Justin (17 September 2020). "Consumer Reports applauds California's settlement against Glow for privacy violations that risked exposing women's sensitive health data". Consumer Reports. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  17. ^ Cole, Samantha (28 June 2022). "Here's What Period Tracking Apps Say They Do With Your Data". Vice. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  18. ^ Hunter, Tatum; Kelly, Heather (24 June 2022). "With Roe overturned, period-tracking apps raise new worries". The Washington Post. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  19. ^ Costigan, Millie (14 April 2023). "Australian research sounds the alarm on fertility apps sharing intimate data". The Senior. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  20. ^ Morgan, Cassandra (22 March 2023). "Fertility apps accused of selling off data of users". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  21. ^ Truong, Alice (17 July 2014). "Fertility App Glow Helped 20,000 Women Conceive. Now It's Launching A Pregnancy App". Fast Company. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  22. ^ Dredge, Stuart (23 December 2014). "The best iPhone apps of 2014". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  23. ^ Strauss, Elissa (13 July 2016). "The Vast Majority of Fertility Apps Are Ineffective Forms of Birth Control". Slate. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  24. ^ Bradley, Sarah; Bacharach, Elizabeth; Ashley, Martens; Spanfeller, Jamie (28 November 2023). "Best Period Tracker App: 11 Options To Get To Know Your Cycle, According To Ob-Gyns". Women's Health. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  25. ^ Hsieh, Carina (12 February 2019). "The 8 Best At-Home Fertility Tests and Apps". Cosmpolitan (republished by Yahoo Lifestyle). Retrieved 18 September 2025.
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