FemTech: Consumer technology to support women's health

DOI: https://doi.org/10.58248/PN775

FemTech refers to consumer digital technologies that support women’s health. It is a broad category and includes apps, software, and connected devices to help women manage menstruation, fertility, pregnancy, menopause and some reproductive health conditions. Interest in FemTech has grown among UK consumers, the NHS, the Department of Health and Social Care, regulators and industry, but evidence, regulation and data governance remain areas of active debate.

Evidence and effectiveness

Some stakeholders suggest that FemTech could have the potential to address some women’s health needs, although they also note the risks and harms associated with using it.

Research into FemTech is growing, but high-quality evidence remains limited. Studies have examined products including menstrual symptom management apps, fertility and contraception technologies, wearable breast pumps, pelvic floor training tools and menopause apps.

However, researchers have highlighted potential issues with these studies, such as study populations not being representative, data being self-reported and research being funded by industry, which could make the conclusions less reliable.

Some people also use products in ways for which they were not designed or regulated, including using non-contraceptive apps to support fertility-awareness-based methods of contraception.

Evidence suggests some digital interventions can help users manage menstrual symptoms, improve menstrual health awareness and support symptom tracking. Fertility technologies that combine menstrual data with biological indicators, such as body temperature or hormone measurements, can help people more accurately estimate when they are ovulating.

Regulation of FemTech products and data

FemTech products may be classed as medical devices or wellness products, depending on their intended purpose. Products regulated as medical devices require relevant clinical evidence, risk management documentation, and safety data.

Stakeholders have raised concerns that researchers, developers, investors, healthcare professionals, and consumers can find the regulatory landscape difficult to navigate. For example, lawyers and industry stakeholders have said that it can be difficult to understand when a product should be legally classed as a medical device, as opposed to a wellness product.

Many FemTech products collect sensitive health data, including information about menstruation, fertility, pregnancy and sexual activity. Researchers have identified concerns relating to privacy, cybersecurity and third-party data sharing.

Studies found variation between the privacy practices, data deletion mechanisms and the security settings of apps and hardware. Some researchers are concerned that some FemTech products may leave users vulnerable to data leaks and hacking.

For the NHS to adopt a FemTech product, it must be assessed for clinical effectiveness and cost effectiveness, and to ensure it meets safety, accessibility and data protection standards. NHS services in some regions already provide access to selected FemTech products, but stakeholders report that is can be challenging to use FemTech in the NHS. For example, FemTech developers have said it is difficult to ensure their products are compatible with the NHS’s digital systems.

The 2026 Renewed Women’s Health Strategy published by the Department of Health and Social Care states that few FemTech products have “sufficient maturity of evidence to enable national evaluation, central funding, or supported rollout”.

The UK FemTech industry

A substantial proportion of European FemTech companies are based in the UK, but stakeholders say there are challenges in obtaining funding, generating high-quality evidence and navigating regulatory requirements.

Health inequalities, safeguarding and ethical considerations

Researchers and stakeholders have highlighted concerns that FemTech may not benefit all groups of women equally. For example, some groups may be less able to access the technology, less represented in datasets (making the products less effective for them), more vulnerable to technology-facilitated abuse or less digitally literate.

There are also ethical concerns around how FemTech companies collect and use sensitive health information, whether FemTech may lead users not to seek appropriate medical support, and how children should be able to use FemTech products.

Acknowledgements

This briefing was produced in consultation with experts and stakeholders, who are listed at the end of the briefing. The briefing was co-funded by Midlands Innovation. POST would like to thank everyone who contributed their expertise to this briefing.