About Us

Polkadot was designed, created and developed by Amy Randall as part of an undergraduate dissertation project for the University of Suffolk in the UK.

The key objective of this project is to produce a simple, unbiased and private menstrual cycle tracking service, platformed within a safe environment where there are no explicit or implicit assumptions surrounding the user’s motivations for use.

Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade in the United States in 2022, there have been increased concerns surrounding how the data collected by menstrual tracking applications may be requested by prosecutors in order to build a case against individuals seeking abortions in states where it is illegal (Kelly and Habib, 2023).

In the UK, a 2023 poll commissioned by the Information Commissioner’s Office showed that a third of women polled used apps to track their periods and fertility and that transparency and security were of greater concern than cost and ease of use when selecting an app (ICO, 2023).

The project also showed that 54% of the people that use tracking apps believe that they have noticed an increase in online advertising for products or services relating to babies or fertility (ICO, 2023).

In addition to these security concerns, there have been discussions regarding the language and visualisation used by period tracking services. Some users have found that the commonly feminine aesthetics and naming conventions of menstruation apps alongside push notification practices may act as a deterrent to those who desire menstrual privacy, in particular for users that do not identify as female (Fox and Epstein, 2020).

This project aims to address these concerns by researching, designing and building a menstrual cycle tracking product that may be used without the need to download an application to the user’s personal device and in conjunction with a virtual private network (VPN).

The product will be developed using an ‘accessibility-forward’ approach where user accessibility will be at the forefront of the design process. Care will be taken to identify and avoid barriers that may prevent users from engaging with the full range of product features including the adherence to commonly adopted accessibility practices.

The application should be free from biased language and design features, incorporating inclusive elements to represent the broad spectrum of potential users.