Ovulyx From Vienna Turns Cycle Tracking Into a Relationship App
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There is no shortage of cycle-tracking apps, but most are built for just one person: Stefan Renzler, a developer in Vienna, wants to change that with his new app, Ovulyx, which is aimed squarely at couples. Both partners are meant to see early which phase is coming and to work out together what helps in each phase. The app is available for iPhone, Android and the web in 29 languages, in 152 countries on the App Store and 137 on Google Play.
How the App Works
The user logs how she is feeling in a diary: mood, energy, symptoms and bleeding. From those entries, Ovulyx estimates when her next period, premenstrual days and fertile window are likely to arrive. For irregular cycles, the app shows a time range instead of a fixed date, according to Mr. Renzler. Ovulyx stresses that it is not a medical device or a method of contraception, and its predictions are based on statistical methods and the user’s own data.
At the heart of the app is a shared log of experiences: Couples record what they try in a given phase, such as a hot-water bottle, a quiet evening or a walk, and rate how it went. With each cycle, the idea is that it becomes clearer what works. “Almost every couple eventually senses when things get harder, but hardly any know exactly what really helps then,” Mr. Renzler said.
The Partner View
Partners connect through an invitation code and get their own view. There they can see which phase it is and what might help. With a tap, they can send small messages such as “I was thinking of you,” and the app also offers shared appointments, reminders and to-do lists. According to Ovulyx, the person with the cycle always decides what is shared, and private notes stay private. The app is designed for all kinds of relationships and can connect more than one partner.
There are also dedicated modes for trying to conceive and for menopause, as well as data import from the Flo and MyNFP apps.
Pricing
The app can be tried free for 30 days. After that, Ovulyx Premium costs €4.99 a month or €49.99 a year, and one subscription covers the user and one partner connection. Each additional connection costs €1.99 a month. According to its press page, Ovulyx is run by a sole proprietor without outside investors. Mr. Renzler did not disclose user numbers.
The Competition
Ovulyx is not alone with the idea. Flo, the market leader, offers “Flo for Partners,” which links partners through a code and gives them articles, videos and tips about the cycle. With Clue Connect, the Berlin-based app Clue lets users share their period, fertile days and premenstrual phase with one person, though sharing requires a Clue Plus subscription. The connected person cannot see mood, energy or pain data there. Ovulyx, with its shared experience log and messages between partners, puts more emphasis on the relationship itself.
Sensitive Data, a High Bar
Cycle data is among the most sensitive information an app can collect. The Flo case shows how real the risks are: Last year, a jury in California found that Meta had secretly obtained users’ health data through the app, violating California privacy law, as Der Standard reported. With a couples app, there is the added factor that the data is deliberately shared with another person.
Ovulyx promises not to sell data and never to use health data for advertising. Ads are shown only in non-personalized form, data is stored in Western Europe under the E.U.’s General Data Protection Regulation, and users can export their data or delete their account at any time in the app. These claims have not yet been independently verified.
