Glow Alternatives 2026: Fertility & Cycle Apps Compared

Why Do People Look for Glow Alternatives?

Two different groups end up here. The first read the privacy coverage: a 2020 California settlement over a consent flaw, and a 2024 bug that, per the researcher, exposed profile data for roughly 25 million users. Neither is a reason to panic, and Glow addressed both, but it's a reasonable prompt to look around.

The second group is dealing with paywall creep. Core tracking is free, but deeper insights and content increasingly sit behind Glow Premium (a yearly plan is listed at $69.99 on Glow's App Store listing, as of October 2026), and some users say the app prompts an upgrade more often than it used to. That's a subjective read, not a documented incident, but it's a common reason people mention when comparing apps.

Both are legitimate reasons to read this guide, and neither means Glow is a bad app. Its detailed logging inputs are genuinely useful for people deep in a TTC process. The question is just whether that depth, and the tradeoffs that come with it, is what you need right now.

What Privacy Problems Has Glow Had?

Here's the factual record, with dates, so you can decide for yourself what it means for you.

2020: On September 17, 2020, California's Attorney General announced a settlement with Glow, Inc. that included a $250,000 civil penalty. The settlement requires Glow to get users' affirmative consent before sharing their personal, medical, or sensitive information. A law-firm summary of the complaint describes a Partner Connect feature that automatically approved linking requests without confirmation from the person whose information would be shared. Glow made no admission of liability.

February 2024: TechCrunch reported a bug in Glow's developer API that, per the researcher who found it, exposed profile data for roughly 25 million users: names, self-reported age group, self-described location, an internal user ID, and any uploaded profile photos. TechCrunch did not report that health-tracking entries were exposed. Glow fixed the bug about a week after being notified, and a Glow representative confirmed the fix but declined to discuss it on the record.

To Glow's credit: both incidents were addressed. The 2020 settlement requires affirmative consent before sharing user data, and the 2024 API bug was patched about a week after it was reported. Whether two separate incidents four years apart changes your decision is a personal call. Read Glow's current privacy policy yourself, since this article reflects what was published as of August 2026.

When Does Staying With Glow Make Sense?

Staying is a legitimate choice, and for a lot of users it's the right one. Here's where Glow earns a real recommendation.

• You're deep in a TTC protocol. Glow's detailed inputs, temperature, cervical mucus, ovulation test results, are exactly what a structured TTC approach calls for. Fewer alternatives here match that depth.
• You value the TTC-specific community. Forums organized around conception timelines and pregnancy loss are a real differentiator, not something most general trackers offer.
• You want continuity across life stages. Moving from Glow to Glow Nurture to Glow Baby within one company's app family has real convenience if that path fits you.
• You've read the current privacy policy and you're comfortable with it. Glow has made real changes since 2020, and reasonable people land in different places on how much the two incidents matter to them.

If most of that describes you, there's nothing here that should push you off Glow. The rest of this guide is for everyone else.

The 5 Alternatives Compared

Here are five apps matched to different reasons for looking around, in no particular order of quality. Each profile covers features, strengths, honest limitations, and price.

For the Deepest Feature Set and Biggest Community: Flo

Best if you want: A widely used period tracker with a long symptom list, free pregnancy mode, and a large community.

Key Features

• Cycle tracking with AI-powered predictions
• Ovulation and fertile-window predictions
• A library of health articles, including conception topics
• Secret Chats: anonymous community discussions
• Pregnancy mode included free, with week-by-week tracking

Strengths

• A large community
• An extensive content library
• Free pregnancy mode, where Glow's continuity requires a separate app (Glow Nurture)

Limitations

• In January 2021 the FTC announced a settlement alleging Flo shared health data with third parties including Facebook and Google analytics. A related class action against Flo, Google, and Flurry has a $59.5 million settlement with preliminary approval in April 2026 and a final approval hearing on October 29, 2026. A jury separately found Meta liable in August 2025. Flo's App Store listing now lists an optional Anonymous Mode (as of October 2026)
• TTC isn't the primary design the way it is for Glow, so fertility logging is lighter
• No nutrition, habit, or sleep tracking

Who Should Choose This

• Feature depth and community size matter more to you than fertility-specific logging
• You want a free pregnancy mode
• You're comfortable with Flo's privacy history, especially since Anonymous Mode addresses the core worry

Pricing: Free (with ads), plus a paid Flo Premium subscription; check the App Store listing for current prices (as of October 2026).

Download: Available on iOS and Android

For a closer look at Flo specifically against Glow, see our Flo vs Glow comparison.

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For a Strong Privacy Record With Science-Backed Content: Clue

Best if you want: Cycle tracking from a Berlin-based company covered by EU GDPR. We found no regulator action against Clue while writing this guide, but that is not a guarantee, so read its privacy policy.

Key Features

• Cycle predictions built from your own logged history
• Symptom tracking across many categories
• Science-backed content reviewed by researchers
• Ovulation and fertile-window estimates
• Pregnancy mode and deeper analysis in Clue Plus

Strengths

• Berlin-based and covered by EU GDPR privacy law
• No regulator action cited in this guide
• Cross-platform (iOS and Android)

Limitations

• Fertility-tracking inputs are lighter than Glow's, with no dedicated cervical-mucus or detailed BBT charting suite
• No TTC-specific community like Glow's forums
• Pregnancy mode and some insights require Clue Plus

Who Should Choose This

• Privacy is your main reason for looking around
• You want science-backed content over community forums
• You can live without Glow's detailed fertility-input logging

Pricing: Free, plus Clue Plus; the App Store listing shows $9.99 and $39.99 price points (as of October 2026).

Download: Available on iOS and Android

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For OPK Strip Scanning Specifically: Premom

Best if you want: A workhorse app built around scanning ovulation predictor kit (OPK) test strips and reading results automatically, rather than a general fertility ecosystem.

Key Features

• Camera-based scanning and automated reading of OPK and pregnancy test strips
• Cycle and symptom tracking alongside strip results
• Fertility score estimates based on scanned test lines

Strengths

• The strip-scanning feature is genuinely useful if you test daily and want an automated reading instead of eyeballing test-line intensity
• Core tracking is free

Limitations

• In May 2023 the FTC announced a proposed order against Premom's maker, Easy Healthcare, with a $100,000 civil penalty. The FTC alleged health data went to third parties including AppsFlyer, Google, and China-based firms. The order bars sharing health data for advertising and requires consent for other sharing
• Interface and content library are narrower than Flo's or Glow's
• No pregnancy mode built out to Glow's or Flo's depth

Who Should Choose This

• OPK strip scanning is the specific feature you're after
• You want a lighter, more focused app than Glow's fuller ecosystem
• You've read Premom's current privacy policy following its FTC order

Pricing: Free core app per premom.com, with a separate Premom Premium membership (pricing not listed there as of October 2026).

Download: Available on iOS and Android

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For FDA-Cleared Contraception, Not General Tracking: Natural Cycles

Best if you want: A fundamentally different tool. Natural Cycles isn't a general fertility or cycle tracker like the others here. It's an FDA-cleared method, based on confirming ovulation from daily temperature.

Key Features

• Daily basal body temperature logging, either manual or via a connected thermometer
• An algorithm that confirms ovulation retrospectively and estimates fertile and non-fertile days
• A "Plan Pregnancy" mode for TTC use of the same underlying method
• A separate "Prevent Pregnancy" mode with its own FDA clearance for contraception

Strengths

• It's the one app in this comparison with FDA authorization, granted in August 2018 through the FDA De Novo database (DEN170052), as a contraceptive software application
• The same underlying temperature method works for people trying to conceive, using the app's TTC mode

Limitations

• No meaningful free tier, since the method is subscription-based
• Requires daily temperature discipline for the algorithm to work as intended
• Lighter general symptom tracking than Glow, Flo, or Clue

Who Should Choose This

• You want an app with its own FDA clearance, not general logging
• You're comfortable with daily temperature tracking
• You want the same method to eventually support "prevent" mode if your goal changes, following your own healthcare provider's guidance

Pricing: No meaningful free tier. Subscription pricing shown in-app, billed annually. Check current pricing before subscribing.

Download: Available on iOS and Android

Natural Cycles' contraceptive claims are the company's own, based on its FDA De Novo grant of August 10, 2018 and published studies. None of the other apps in this guide, including Veya, are FDA-cleared for contraception, and none should be relied on for that purpose. Talk to a healthcare provider about what's right for you.

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For Cycle, Mood, Sleep, and Nutrition in One App

Best if you want: Your cycle and fertility signals tracked next to your mood, sleep, fitness, and nutrition, rather than a standalone TTC ecosystem. This one is our app, Veya, so factor that in as you read.

Key Features

• Cycle predictions and symptom tracking alongside mood, sleep, fitness, and nutrition logs
• LH test logging, so ovulation confirmation isn't limited to calendar guesses
• Correlation insights from your own data
• Wearable data pulled in automatically via Apple Health (Apple Watch, Oura, Garmin, WHOOP)
• Pregnancy mode, with data that carries across life stages

Strengths

• Fertility signals sit in the same record as everything that affects them, so patterns can show up that a fertility-only tracker doesn't have the data for
• No ads, no data selling
• 1-click logging keeps daily entry fast

Limitations

• No TTC-specific community or forums like Glow's
• Fertility-input logging (temperature, cervical mucus) is lighter than Glow's dedicated charting
• iOS only, with no Android version
• Newer app with a much smaller community than Flo or Glow

Who Should Choose This

• You kept wishing Glow could see your sleep, food, or workout data next to your cycle
• LH test logging matters more to you than deep BBT/cervical-mucus charting
• You want a generous free tier without frequent upgrade prompts

Pricing: Free (most features), Premium $9.99/month or $49.99/year for full AI insights.

Download: Available on iOS App Store

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What Should Eve by Glow Users Know?

Eve by Glow is a separate app from the same company, Glow Inc., built for a different audience. Its App Store listing calls it a period tracker and sex app and lists a community forum, with an age rating of 16+ (as of October 2026). Where Glow leans data-forward around TTC, Eve is more casual and lifestyle-oriented, with sexual wellness content alongside standard cycle tracking. Some readers looking for "Eve alternatives" specifically want that lighter, more social tone rather than Glow's fertility depth.

The same privacy history applies to Eve as it does to Glow, since they're run by the same company. The 2020 settlement and 2024 API exposure discussed above are relevant to both apps, not just the core Glow app.

If Eve's tone is what you're after, Stardust is the closest match for a design-forward, distinctive daily experience, though it leans into moon-phase content rather than sexual wellness specifically. Flo covers the same general territory with a larger content library and community. Veya doesn't try to replicate Eve's lifestyle-content angle, but covers cycle tracking alongside mood, sleep, and nutrition if that broader combination is what you actually want.

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Feature Comparison Table

Here's how Glow and the five alternatives compare on the things people switching most often ask about. A ✅ means included, ⚠️ means partial or worth double-checking, 🔒 means premium-only, and ❌ means not available.

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How Do You Move Your Data Off Glow?

If you've decided to switch, do it in this order: get your data out, set up the new app, then delete. Here's a short checklist to work through before you leave.

1. Check Settings for an export option first. Look for a "Data" or "Export" section in the app before assuming you need to contact support.
2. Email support if there's no self-serve option. Ask for a copy of your logged history, including cycle dates and any fertility-tracking entries, before you delete your account.
3. Write down your key dates in the meantime. Record your last several cycle start dates and any fertility patterns you want to keep. That's a backup you control even if a formal export takes time.
4. Set up the new app before deleting Glow. Enter your last 2 or 3 cycle start dates by hand. That gives any tracker a working baseline immediately, and most need about 2 cycles of fresh logging to calibrate fully.
5. Cancel billing separately from deleting your account. If you pay for Glow Premium through the App Store or Google Play, deleting your account in-app doesn't automatically cancel the subscription. Cancel that separately in your phone's subscription settings.

Be honest with yourself about what you'll miss. You lose Glow's detailed fertility-input history, which no app here replicates exactly. You lose the TTC community if you used it. And your new app starts with a thin history, so predictions take a couple of cycles to settle in. None of that is a reason to stay if you want to go. It's just better to know before you delete than after.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best alternatives to Glow?

It depends on why you're looking. Flo has a wide feature set and a large community, plus free pregnancy mode. Clue is Berlin-based, covered by GDPR, and publishes science-backed content. Premom is built around scanning ovulation test strips specifically. Natural Cycles is FDA-cleared as birth control and works differently, as a contraceptive method rather than a general tracker. Veya tracks TTC-relevant data like LH tests alongside mood, sleep, and nutrition. None of these fully replicate Glow's detailed fertility-input logging or its TTC-specific community, since those are Glow's core design choices.

Is Glow safe to use after its data exposure?

Glow has two documented privacy incidents. In September 2020, California's Attorney General announced a settlement with Glow that included a $250,000 civil penalty and an affirmative-consent requirement, after allegations about a Partner Connect linking flaw. In February 2024, a security researcher found a bug in Glow's developer API that, per his account reported by TechCrunch, exposed profile data (names, age ranges, location, photos) for roughly 25 million users, not health-tracking entries. Glow fixed the bug about a week after being notified. Both incidents were addressed, and whether that history is a dealbreaker for you is a personal call. Read Glow's current privacy policy before deciding.

What's a good alternative to Eve by Glow?

Eve by Glow is the more casual, lifestyle-oriented sibling app from Glow Inc., with sexual wellness content alongside cycle tracking. If you liked Eve's tone but want to look elsewhere, Stardust has a similarly distinct, design-forward feel with moon-phase content. Flo covers general cycle tracking with a larger content library. Veya is worth a look if you want cycle tracking folded into mood, sleep, and nutrition rather than a lifestyle-content angle. None of these copy Eve's specific format exactly, since that's Eve's own design choice.

Does Glow have a lot of paywalled features?

Core cycle and fertility tracking are free in Glow, but deeper insights and some content sit behind Glow Premium, with a yearly plan listed at $69.99 on Glow's App Store listing as of October 2026. Some users switching away from Glow cite paywall creep, meaning features that used to feel more available now prompt an upgrade, as a reason for looking around. Pricing and what's included can shift, so check the current breakdown in the app before deciding.

Can any of these apps be used as birth control instead of Glow?

Glow is not marketed or cleared as a contraceptive method, and neither are Flo, Clue, Premom, or Veya. Natural Cycles is the one app in this comparison that is FDA-cleared as a contraceptive device, based on confirming ovulation retrospectively from daily temperature. If contraception is part of what you need from an app, that distinction matters, and it's worth talking to a healthcare provider about what method is right for you.

How do I export my data from Glow before switching?

Glow doesn't publish a one-tap export button in every version of the app, so the most reliable path is checking Settings for a data export or data request option, and if you don't see one, emailing Glow's support team directly to request a copy of your logged history before deleting your account. Write down your last several cycle dates and any fertility-tracking patterns in the meantime as a backup you control.

Final Thoughts

Glow does a genuinely thorough job of fertility-specific logging, and its 2020 and 2024 fixes were real, credit-worthy responses to real problems. If detailed inputs and a TTC community are why you're there and you've read the current privacy policy, staying is a fine answer.

If you're moving, match the app to your actual reason. Want the deepest feature set and free pregnancy mode? Flo. Want the strongest mainstream privacy record? Clue is the natural landing spot. Want automated OPK strip reading specifically? Premom does that one thing well. Need FDA-cleared contraception rather than general tracking? Natural Cycles is a different category entirely, worth discussing with a healthcare provider. And if your reason for restlessness was wanting fertility signals connected to sleep, mood, and food, that's the gap Veya was built for.

Still deciding? Pick one and log for 2 cycles. That's enough to know if it fits, and you can always switch back.