Vol.2 | What is Clue? The Origin of Period Tracking Apps and Femtech [Amina's Lens]
Clue
Transforming "Just Because" into Future Choices
Period dates, bleeding volume, pain, mood, physical condition.
Recording daily minor changes is not about managing your body, but about self-care that leaves options for your future self.
You can view the official Clue website introduced today here.
View Clue Official Website1｜To us who have always dismissed things as "just because"
When did we start dismissing periods and our physical condition as "just because"?
I feel a little heavy.
I'm not in a good mood today.
I'm probably just tired.
In our busy daily lives, we've unconsciously learned to put minor changes on the back burner.
2｜Clue: A Quiet Tool
Clue is a menstrual cycle and health tracking app born in Berlin, Germany.
Period dates, bleeding volume, pain, mood, physical condition. You can record daily changes with very simple operations.
Just pay a little attention to your body. It's a quiet tool for looking back at your own rhythm later.
3｜When the word didn't exist yet
The creator of this app is Ida Tin.
She is known for popularizing the term "Femtech" worldwide.
When Clue was born, women's health was not yet seen as a target for investment or technology.
While traveling the world by bicycle, she felt, "If I knew about my period and physical condition, I could plan my trips and work much more easily."
However, investors responded with:
"Is there really that much demand?"
Female × Technology — Femtech.
This term became the "translation" that communicated her ideas to the world.
4｜From Sensation to Record
What Clue changed was not its functions.
It was the distance to one's body.
- Something feels off
- It feels a little different than usual
- But I can't quite explain it
It added "recording" as an option to these vague sensations.
Clue is not for making medical judgments. However, daily records can serve as material to explain your condition when needed.
5｜The future doesn't arrive suddenly
There's a story that goes like this:
Clue collects data primarily related to periods and physical conditions from users worldwide. Of course, this is done with user consent.
Research using this big data has shown the potential to find signs in daily records that could indicate changes in physical condition or the need for medical attention.
It's about being able to pick up on changes that are an extension of everyday life without missing them.
6｜Prevention was not taught to us
There are many aspects of women's health that could, in fact, be "prevented" or "noticed sooner."
Yet, many people don't go to the gynecologist until symptoms are clear or until their daily life is affected.
This is not because we are indifferent.
I believe it's simply because the experiences to notice, the opportunities to learn, and the supportive environments were mostly not provided.
7｜The day data took me to the hospital
I have an unforgettable experience myself from using Clue.
Some time after giving birth, I continued to have irregular bleeding. At first, I thought, "It will probably settle down eventually."
But looking back at my records, both the amount and duration of bleeding were clearly different from usual.
Because the data was preserved, I was able to determine that "this is abnormal."
When I explained the situation to the doctor at the hospital while showing the app, they immediately understood.
8｜Leaving choices for your future self
There are also period management apps in Japan.
However, the discussion about how to use the "results of recording" may not yet be sufficient.
Clue stands between daily life and medical care, quietly offering clues that might lead you to think, "Maybe I should go [to the doctor]."
It's not about restricting yourself.
It's about leaving choices for your future self.
There is no single right answer.
But just having the option to choose can bring us a little peace of mind.
Next time, another global option
There are many options in the world that are not yet widely available in Japan.
fermata will continue to introduce products and services, one by one, that support understanding one's body, making personal choices, and connecting with medical care when needed.
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