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Flo (app)
Flo is a health app that provides menstrual cycle and ovulation tracking as well as pregnancy tracking.[1] The application is available on iOS and Android.[2] Application's development hubs are in London, Amsterdam and Vilnius.[3][4] Flo has over 380 million downloads worldwide and over 70 million monthly active users as of November 2024.[5] In mid-2024, it reached unicorn status, and became Europe’s first femtech unicorn.[6] Company historyFlo was co-founded in 2015 by Dmitry and Yuri Gurski, in Belarus.[7] Dmitry serves as the company's CEO.[8] In 2016, the company raised $1 million in seed round funding from Flint Capital and Haxus Venture Fund.[9] In 2017, Flo received an investment of $5 million from Flint Capital and model Natalia Vodianova.[7] Vodianova also helped develop Flo's "Let’s Talk About it. Period" worldwide awareness campaign.[10] In December of that year, Flo began working with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to spread awareness about women's reproductive and sexual health issues.[11] Also in 2017, Flo launched a question and answer service within the app.[7] In 2018, Flo received an investment of $6 million from Mangrove Capital Partners, with participation from Flint Capital and Haxus, giving the company a valuation of $200 million.[12] In mid-2019, Flo received an additional investment of $7.5 million. Founders Fund was one of the main investors in the round.[13] In September 2019, Privacy International published a report regarding data sharing for a number of period-tracking apps.[14] Following a number of data-sharing controversies in the industry, Flo and four other apps implemented measures to protect user's data from third parties.[15] In early September 2021, Flo announced it closed $50M in a Series B financing, bringing the total capital raised to $65 million and company valuation to $800M.[16] VNV Global and Target Global both led the round.[17] In July 2024, Flo announced it raised more than $200M in Series C financing from General Atlantic. This investment propelled Flo's valuation beyond $1 billion.[18][19] Application and communityFlo was initially created as a period and ovulation tracking application, but later, it developed into a health partner for women. The application covers all phases of the reproductive cycle, from menstruation to preparations for conception, pregnancy, early motherhood, perimenopause and menopause.[1] Flo provides reminders of upcoming menstrual cycles and a place to record various other health symptoms such as contraceptive methods, vaginal discharge, water intake, pains, mood swings, and sexual activity.[1] A community section was added in 2017, which allows users to anonymously answer and ask questions on health issues. In 2023, Flo launched Symptom Checker in the United States, a digital tool developed by a multidisciplinary team of doctors, scientists, and engineers. It focuses on helping women by encouraging awareness and understanding of their symptoms and filtering this information to present at appropriate times. It covers several reproductive health conditions, such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Flo's Symptom Checker is not a diagnostic tool, it does not provide medical advice, and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.[20] In October 2023, Flo launched Flo for Partners, a feature that allows users to share their Flo experience with their partner, whether they're pregnant, trying to conceive or tracking their periods. It’s available to all users who are 18 and older.[21] Content on the app is reviewed by a board of over 120+ medical professionals, on behalf of Flo Health. The board advises the developers on medical-related issues, with advisors consisting of medical experts such as professional GB/GYN's and MDs. The purpose of the board is to ensure that Flo Health's content is accurate and based on scientific evidence.[22] The app also aims to increase awareness of conditions that can often be confused for period symptoms, such as Heavy Menstrual Bleeding and PCOS.[22][23] ScienceIn January 2024, Nature Portfolio Journal: Mental Health Research published Flo Health’s study on the effects of acute stress on pain perception among females during the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The study found that a decrease in pain perception co-occurs with a stressful event. Acute stress, linked to decreased pain sensitivity — known as 'stress-induced analgesia' (SIA) — has traditionally been studied in laboratory settings. This research was the first to unravel the complexities of SIA in a real world setting.[24] In May 2024, the JMIR mHealth and uHealth journal published Flo’s randomized controlled trial, showcasing the efficacy of the app in improving health literacy and helping women improve how they manage their PMS and PMDD symptoms after using Flo for three months. The study was conducted in collaboration with experts at Johns Hopkins University, the University of Virginia, and Texas Christian University. The pilot randomized controlled trials demonstrated that the use of the Flo app improves menstrual health literacy and awareness, general health and well-being, and PMS or PMDD symptom burden.[25] In May 2024, Scientific reports published a study conducted by Flo and Dr. Pal Lubna, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Yale School of Medicine, which chronicled menstrual patterns across the reproductive lifespan with real-world data. The study found that from age 45 onwards, women experience a dramatic increase in cycle length and variability. This study was the largest study of its kind, drawing insights from 19 million women and one of the few menstrual cycle studies to include women aged 45+.[26] CultureFlo Health has invested in researching taboos and cultural differences for women. In 2019, Flo announced they had completed a survey of 200,000 women globally, as a wider study into period poverty. The study found a number of common problems, such as 34% of those surveyed believing that period poverty is only an issue in developing countries.[27] Flo collaborated with the United Nations Population Fund's (UNFPA) sexual and reproductive health agency in a project to assist women with disabilities. As a UNFPA partner, Flo took part in the Nairobi Summit for International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and committed to advancing women's reproductive health.[28][non-primary source needed] Similar partnerships were agreed with European Board and College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (EBCOG) to develop educational materials and also contribute to awareness about women's health.[29] Privacy and security issuesIn February 2019, it was alleged in reports that Flo had been sending users' health data to Facebook[30] without users' informed consent,[31] and in violation of Facebook's developer policies.[32] In response to the allegations of private data misuse, a complaint was filed against Flo Health, Inc by the FTC.[33] Flo responded that it never sold any data point to Facebook as well as never used data from Facebook Analytics for advertisements. Flo nevertheless deleted Facebook SDK from app, filed the request to delete all user data from Facebook Analytics and released an app update.[32][34] The FTC complaint ultimately led to Flo and the FTC reaching a settlement.[35] This resolution was reached not as an admission of wrongdoing on Flo's part but as a means to avoid prolonged legal proceedings and associated costs, thereby enabling closure on the matter. The agreement obliged Flo to undertake an independent privacy audit. In March 2022, Flo successfully completed it. Independent auditors did not identify any material gaps or weaknesses in Flo's privacy practices and found that Flo's own practices were consistent with its publicly stated Privacy Policy.[32][34] Since then, Flo has reinforced its privacy and security measures and underwent further third-party independent audits. It obtained international standards in privacy and security, including security ISO 27001 and Privacy ISO 27701 certifications. Flo was independently tested against various security and privacy controls in the ISO framework. In 2023, Flo Health established a Privacy and Security Advisory Board composed of experts across various fields focused on privacy and security practices, particularly in the femtech industry.[33][35][36] In March 2024, the Supreme Court of British Columbia certified a class action against Flo for allegedly sharing intimate data with Facebook and other third parties without user knowledge.[37] Anonymous ModeIn September, 2022, as a response to Roe v. Wade being overturned, Flo sped up the release of a feature called “Anonymous Mode”. This mode allows users to access the app without any personal identifiers such as name, email address, and technical identifiers from being associated with their health data.[38][39] Flo has partnered with Cloudflare, the same company that Apple worked with for the iCloud Private Relay, to integrate an Oblivious HTTP system, App Relay Gateway, which ensures that no single party processing user data for Anonymous Mode accounts has complete information on both who the user is and what they are trying to access.[40][41] The feature has received positive feedback and was praised by Andrew Crawford, Senior Policy Counsel at the center for Democracy & Technology.[42] In 2023, Flo Health open-sourced the technology behind its Anonymous Mode feature. The company also added post-quantum cryptography, safeguarding sensitive health information from potential security risks posed by quantum computers. RecognitionFlo was named to Bloomberg’s Top 25 UK Startups to Watch for 2024.[43] Flo was named Newsweek’s Most Loved Workplaces 2024.[44] Flo was named Google Play’s 2024 “Best Everyday Essential Award” in Brazil, Germany, France, and Mexico. Flo was named Company of the Year 2024 by Femtech World.[45] Flo's Anonymous Mode feature was recognized on both Fast Company's World Changing Ideas 2023[46] and TIME's Best Inventions List 2023.[47] Flo's Anonymous Mode won International Association of Privacy Professionals’ (“IAPP”) Legal Innovation Awards 2022.[36] In 2022, Flo was named as a Webby Honoree for Mobile apps that promote personal health, well-being, and fitness.[48] Flo is a CES 2019 Innovation Awards Honouree in the Software and Mobile Applications category.[49] References
External linksInformation related to Flo (app) |
