Questions and answers.

The Ladybird Club is a period tracker for girls aged 9 and up, with an optional parent side. It helps girls understand their cycle, their hormones and the patterns between their periods, feelings, sleep and everyday life. Parents can join too, to understand her a little better and make conversations a little easier.

No. The Ladybird Club isn't medical advice, a mental health app or a safeguarding service. Its articles and tips are general information, and its predictions are estimates. Now and then, what she tracks may suggest a gentle check-in could help, and a connected parent is told in general words. These notes can miss things, and nobody at The Ladybird Club watches them around the clock. If you're ever worried about her health or safety, talk to a doctor, or in an emergency call your local emergency number.

No. Every body is different and cycles change, so predictions are estimates only. Never rely on them to prevent or plan a pregnancy.

For girls, every feature is free, always. Parents can join free too. There's also an optional parent plan with extra tools for parents, and during testing it's free.

Girls aged 9 and up, and parents or guardians aged 18 and up. Each person has their own account.

Not yet. The app is on iPhone first.

Every girl adds a parent or guardian's email at sign-up. Depending on her age, we either ask that parent for permission, or let them know she's joined and tell them about the parent side.

It depends on her country's age for agreeing herself: for example 13 in the UK and the USA, 14 in Spain and Italy, 15 in France and 16 in Germany. Where a country isn't on our list, we ask for a parent's permission for every girl under 18. Below that age, her parent gets an email with a "Review and give permission" button, and then receives a code she types in to start her account.

She can read articles and try calm moments, but nothing she tracks or writes is saved until her account starts. If permission isn't given within 14 days, the sign-up is deleted. She can also cancel it herself from the waiting screen.

She can start straight away. Her parent or guardian gets an email saying she's joined, with information about the parent side.

Yes. She gets a 6-digit code to confirm it. That way, password help only ever goes to an email address she can open.

She's asked to confirm that using The Ladybird Club is now her own choice. From then on, the decision is hers, and her parent can no longer withdraw permission.

No. A parent never sees her journal, her words, or her answers for any single day. Her personal space stays private. The only words a parent can read are messages she chooses to send them, on the parent plan.

With a free parent account: her name, serious safety alerts in general words, and that she's sent them a message (but not the message).

With the parent plan, they also see:

• her patterns over time, and her usual cycle once she's tracked three cycles;
• where she is in her cycle and when her next period might come;
• a daily wellbeing score, only on days she tracked at least three things;
• how many days and cycles she's tracked;
• general levels for how regularly she tracks and how much she reads;
• every level of safety alert;
• the messages she sends them.

Patterns and totals only cover days up to the end of last week, so no single day's answers can be worked out.

Her journal, her daily answers, discharge details, her points, level, streak, badges, chosen icon or background, her birthday, or when she last checked in.

Never her words. A parent sees how serious it is (red, orange or yellow), a general category, when it was raised, and a short note with gentle ideas for starting a conversation. Alert emails and phone notifications only say there's something to look at.

Please don't tell her "the app said" or ask about what she wrote. A gentle check-in works best, so she never feels watched.

No. Alerts are found automatically on her phone, by fixed rules, and she isn't told one was sent.

If what she writes suggests someone is hurting her, including at home, her parent is not told, because we can't know whether that parent is the right person to tell. Instead, she sees a gentle note pointing her to an adult she trusts, like a teacher, a school counsellor or another family member.

Yes, always. In her profile, under connections, she can see every connected parent. She's also told each time a parent connects. A girl can have up to two connected parents.

Yes, at any time, in her profile under connections. That parent gets an email to say so. They no longer see her patterns or messages, but they still get serious safety alerts, so a parent still hears if something serious may need their support. She can reconnect any time.

Every connected parent. She can see when a message has been read and the reaction it got, but not which parent read it.

Serious safety alerts (on your dashboard, by email and as a phone notification), and a notice when she sends you a message, without the message itself. A free account covers one daughter.

Your own tools to understand her a little better:

• her patterns over time, and her usual cycle once she's tracked three cycles;
• her cycle: cycle day, usual length, and when her next period might come;
• a daily wellbeing score, and totals of days and cycles tracked;
• general levels for how regularly she tracks and reads;
• reading her messages, and sending one of six reactions back (a reaction, not a written reply);
• every level of safety alert;
• your own observations, compared with her patterns;
• guides written for parents, and pause, a calm space just for you.

The parent plan is about understanding her, never about seeing everything she records.

With a single plan, you choose one daughter for the full parent features. You can switch to another daughter at most once every 30 days, and your other daughters keep the free features. For the full features for more than one daughter, or to share your plan with a second parent, choose the family plan. A second parent can also connect with their own parent plan.

During testing, parent plans are free. When paid plans start, you'll buy, change and cancel them through Apple's App Store.

Yes. A girl can have up to two connected parents. You can invite a second parent to your family plan, or they can connect with her username and the email she signed up with. She's told each time a parent connects.

Yes, in your profile under notifications. Alerts always stay on your dashboard.

Only with a parent account. Giving permission on its own doesn't create one, so if you'd like safety alerts, create a free parent account and connect to her.

Patterns and totals update once a week, covering days up to the end of the previous week. That's how no single day's answers can be worked out.

Yes. After that, you receive nothing about her, not even serious safety alerts.

On the sign-in screen, tap "forgot my password or username" (parents: "forgot my password or email"), then "send reset link". We'll email a link that works for 30 minutes, and girls also get their username. For girls, password help only goes to an email address she has confirmed. If nothing arrives, check your spam folder, or ask a parent or guardian to email us at support@theladybirdclub.com and we'll help.

Yes, at any time. In her profile, go to account settings, then "Download a copy". She gets one file with her account details, every tracking answer, her journal, her messages and reactions, safety alerts about her, permission records, her points and badges, the calm moments and articles she's done, and her parents' notes about her. On iPhone, the Share menu opens so she can save it somewhere private. Parents can download their own information from their profile too.

In the profile, go to account settings, then "Erase My Account", and confirm with your password. Everything is deleted, and backups clear within 7 days. Deleting the app on its own doesn't delete the account, it only signs you out on that phone.

The parent who gave permission can withdraw it, which closes her account and deletes her information. They use "Manage permission" in their "Thank you for giving permission" email, and confirm with a code we email them. Once she reaches her country's age for agreeing herself, the decision is hers.

If she doesn't open the app for 12 months, her account is deleted. We send reminders at 6 months, 11 months and 48 hours before, to her and to her parents. Opening the app while signed in keeps it.

Everything of hers is cleared from the phone. If something isn't saved yet, she's told first and can choose to sign out anyway. Unsaved entries stay hidden on that phone until she signs in there again, and any safety alert still waiting is sent once the phone is back online.

Only account emails: codes to confirm her email, login and password help, notices about account changes (including when a parent connects), reminders before an unused account is deleted, and deletion confirmations. Nothing promotional, ever.

No. There's no AI chatbot, no friend lists, no social feeds and no way for strangers to contact her. Safety checks use fixed rules on her phone, not AI.

No adverts, no tracking across other apps or websites, and her data is never sold or used for advertising.

In the EU: the app's database and server are in Frankfurt, Germany, and its emails are sent from Ireland.

Yes. Her journal entries are encrypted before they're stored, and the key is kept separately. It isn't end-to-end encryption: our server can unlock them, so it can show her own journal back to her. On iPhone, what the app keeps on her phone is locked with her passcode and kept out of backups.

Our privacy policy explains what we collect and why, and our terms of use explain the rules of using the app.

Email support@theladybirdclub.com. We reply as soon as we can, and always within one month for anything about your information.