Center for Policy Analysis and Research Technology and Health Equity
May 2026
Tracked and Targeted: Reproductive Health App Surveillance and the Criminalization of Black Women Fact Sheet Daniel Ikem, Technology and AI Research Fellow
Post-Dobbs, Period-Tracking Data has Become Potential Criminal Evidence After Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned the constitutional right to abortion, the data that Black women and other people who menstruate share with period and pregnancy tracking apps is no longer private by default but potential evidence. Apps like Flo, Clue, Natural Cycles, and Ovia collect cycle dates, pregnancy status, symptom logs, and location data from millions of users. Period tracking apps have over 200 million downloads; the FemTech industry is projected to reach $140 billion by 2035. 1,2 In states that have criminalized abortion or certain pregnancy outcomes, this data can be subpoenaed, purchased from data brokers, or shared with law enforcement, often without users’ knowledge or meaningful consent. In states that have criminalized abortion, including self-managed abortion, or pregnancy outcomes such as miscarriage and stillbirth, the cycle dates, pregnancy status, symptom logs, and location data collected can be subpoenaed, purchased from data brokers, or shared with law enforcement, often without users’ knowledge or informed consent.