Smart phones are invaluable tools — you have access to all of human knowledge on a pocket-sized computer more powerful than the equipment that took men to the moon. There are apps available for everything from budgeting to dating, and so much in between. If you’re looking for apps to help you get smart about your sexual health, here are seven to get you started — or at least point you in the right direction.
Keeping track of your period is a great way to understand your sexual health, but no one wants an app on their phone that screams “‘PERIOD TRACKER!!” Clue is a comprehensive period tracker that sits discretely on your home screen and provides you with the tools to track your fertile periods and your ovulation, all from one user-friendly app. It also sends you reminders when your period is supposed to begin, so you won’t have to worry about being caught without a tampon ever again.
2. Breast Test
We all know, on some level, how important it is to do our monthly breast exams — but many of us still neglect it until we have our yearly annual exam and are reminded. Breast Test is a free app that not only reminds you to do your monthly breast exam, it includes instructions if you’re not familiar with how to check your breasts for lumps. The app is available on both iOS and Android devices, and in a variety of languages.
3. myPill Birth Control Reminder
Birth control is a great liberator, but it can be difficult to remember in the midst of our busy days. That’s where apps like myPill come in. This free app is available on iOS and Android devices and reminds you to take your birth control pills at the same time every day. Simply input a little bit of information — like how many active pills you have in your pack, when your pill cycle starts, and what time every day you would like to be reminded, and the app does the rest. Birth control pills work best when they’re taken every single day — low-dose pills and progesterone-only pills actually have to be taken at the same time every day to be the most effective — so this little app is the best way to make sure you remember to take your birth control every day.
4. L. Condoms
There’s nothing worse than being in the moment, only to find out that neither you nor your partner remembered to bring protection. L Condoms is an app that allows you to order condoms to be delivered by bike messenger anonymously. Your condoms of choice will be delivered within an hour, 24 hours a day and the messengers never even know what they’re delivering. If you’d rather go another route, L can also do shipping on condoms and tampons of the highest quality in discrete packaging. Plus, every purchase means that condoms, tampons, and sanitary pads are donated to countries where HIV is prevalent and young girls often miss school because of a lack of sanitary pads. It’s a win-win no matter what you do!
5. Ruby
If Clue is the best period tracker on the market today, Ruby is the best overall sexual health tracker. Created by the makers of the app Glow, which is designed to help people who are trying to track their fertility and become pregnant, Ruby helps people who have questions about their sexuality and sexual health. Whether you’ve got questions about birth control, sexual preferences, or flirting, Ruby has a community designed to help. It also provides period tracking and a tracker for your sexual encounters — do you feel good after sex or upset or emotional? You can track your moods as well in relation to your sexual encounters and your period.
It’s currently only available on iOS.
Have you ever had a sex related question that you are just too embarrassed or uncomfortable to ask your doctor? That’s where the My Sex Doctor app comes in. This program is available on both iOS and Android devices, and contains all of the information that your sex education class may have neglected to teach you. This app contains everything from information about puberty to a section on flirting and everything in between. It’s free — what are you waiting for?
7. Spreadsheets
Sexual health isn’t just about periods and breast exams — it’s about the act itself as well. Spreadsheets measures your sexual encounters — recording the number of thrusts, the length of your sexual encounters, and even how loud you are in the bedroom. The app tracks these factors through an accelerometer and microphone. There are even achievements that you can work toward, like having sex in the morning or keeping the action going for more than 40 minutes. All you need to do is input your mattress type — some mattresses are bouncier than others which can change your results.
Sexual health isn’t just your doctor’s responsibility — it’s up to you to learn as much as you can about your own health so you can take care of yourself on the daily. Consider downloading some sexual health apps to turn your smart phone into a useful tool and not just a social media toy.
Images via respective apps; top image via My Sex Doctor
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