We Need Non-Bleeding Cycle Tracking, but Clue Misses the Mark

We Need Non-Bleeding Cycle Tracking, but Clue Misses the Mark

One of the best period-tracking apps out there, Clue, recently announced a feature that should be groundbreaking for people who don't menstruate but still experience cyclical health changes. The app claims to be the only health app that tracks your cycle even when you don’t bleed. This would mean people who don't have periods due to surgery, hormonal medications, gender transition, or life stages like post-menopause can track their cycles, too.

The premise is solid and much-needed. Even when you don’t experience bleeding, your cyclical changes in mood, energy, and physical symptoms don't just disappear. These patterns matter for understanding your body, managing health conditions, and making informed decisions about your well-being. Clue deserves credit for recognizing this gap in reproductive health tracking.

But here's where the excitement deflates, and where there's a fundamental flaw throughout the period tracking industry: These apps are still glorified diaries. If you can start a new "cycle" whenever you feel like it, then your tracking is based on vibes, essentially. Here's the issue with users manually identifying their own patterns, even when the technology to detect cycles automatically already exists.

How period tracking currently works (and how it doesn't)

Traditional period tracking apps operate on a simple premise: you tell the app when your period starts, and it uses that data to predict future cycles and fertile windows. This works reasonably well for people with regular menstrual bleeding, but it completely excludes anyone who doesn't bleed—a massive population including people using hormonal birth control, those who've had hysterectomies, people on gender-affirming hormone therapy, and post-menopausal individuals.

Clue's new feature attempts to solve this by letting users manually start a new "cycle" whenever they want, based on how they're feeling. But this isn't fundamentally different from existing period apps—it's just replacing "I'm bleeding" with "I think I'm starting a new cycle." Users are still required to self-diagnose their cyclical patterns rather than having technology detect them.

The problem is that if you don't have regular periods, you often don't know when your cycles begin or end. That's precisely why you'd want tracking in the first place.

The technology is out there

What makes this particularly frustrating is that the technology to detect cyclical patterns without manual input not only exists—it's already built into the devices millions of people wear daily.

Beth Skwarecki, who has been testing wearables that offer women's health features, captures this perfectly: "I don't get regular periods but I don't know whether I have a cycle—some people on my form of contraception do and some don't. So I get excited every time I hear that a device can use body temperature to predict ovulation, or that a device looks for patterns in your body's metrics. But I haven't found a single one that even attempts to do cycle tracking without you manually flagging days that you are bleeding."

The science is straightforward: Body temperature typically rises about half a degree during the second half of your cycle compared to the first half. The day your temperature rises coincides with ovulation, and the day it drops aligns with when you'd typically have a period.

Oura, Whoop, most Garmin watches, Apple Watch, and virtually every premium smartwatch already monitor body temperature for these exact variations. And many of these wearables will identify the dates they think you are ovulating—but only if, and after, you manually flag the dates you noticed bleeding. As Beth points out, this seems like an awfully limited use of this data given the effort these platforms put into analyzing and detecting patterns in all the other data they collect. Whoop will tell you whether you sleep better on nights you're better hydrated. Oura will tell you when your body temperature and other metrics seem to suggest you're getting sick. Yet somehow, none of them apply this data to detect cyclical patterns independently.

"With all of the effort Oura (and Whoop, and other wearables) put into detecting patterns in your personal biometrics," Beth explains, "it seems like a huge omission that they don't point their algorithms at the question of 'Does this user have a cyclical monthly pattern in their temperature data?'"

Besides, temperature is just the beginning. Modern wearables track heart rate variability, sleep patterns, activity levels, and stress indicators—all metrics that can fluctuate cyclically in people with hormonal cycles, regardless of whether they menstruate.

Who this really impacts

As someone squarely in Clue's target demographic for this feature, I don't want to guess when my cycle starts—I want the app to tell me based on the symptoms I'm logging. If I knew when my cycles began and ended, I wouldn't need specialized tracking in the first place. The whole value proposition of cycle tracking apps is pattern recognition that humans might miss.

Think about it: if you can arbitrarily declare a new cycle based on how you're feeling, what's stopping you from just logging "bleeding" in a regular period app and getting the same functionality? What's desperately needed—and what continues to elude every major health app—is intelligent pattern detection. An app that can analyze your logged symptoms (mood swings, energy dips, headaches, sleep changes, whatever your body does) and say, "Hey, based on your data from the past few months, it looks like you might be starting a new cycle around now."

People who don't menstruate but still experience hormonal cycles often struggle with symptoms that doctors dismiss or don't fully understand. Having data-backed evidence of cyclical patterns could validate their experiences and inform better healthcare decisions.

I do think Clue is halfway there by encouraging users to log mood, energy, and health experiences to "connect the dots" and "observe patterns." The ability to track health patterns "on your terms" without the pressure of menstrual bleeding is valuable. But it's still asking users to do the connecting and observing themselves. If my Oura or Whoop or Apple Watch is tracking all these metrics anyways, why isn't it finding patterns related to my cycle?

And frankly, if I want to analyze my own symptom patterns, I'll just use a regular note-taking app and save myself the privacy concerns.



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All the New CarPlay Features in iOS 26

All the New CarPlay Features in iOS 26

Apple didn't end up building its own car, but it did give us CarPlay. With iOS 26, CarPlay is getting a few neat enhancements, which includes improved design, an option for bigger font sizes, and useful accessibility features too. Here's everything new coming to CarPlay with Apple's upcoming update:

Widgets and live activities

A car head unit with navigation instructions on the left and Live Activities on the right.
Credit: Apple

With iOS 26, Live Activities come to CarPlay. These pop-ups allow you to keep a tab on important updates without fiddling with your phone or the head unit. Live Activities on your iPhone is useful to track deliveries, flight statuses, and much more, and while not all iOS use cases will be relevant here, some of these will also be available in CarPlay. (I think the flight status feature will be especially useful for airport pickups and drop-offs.)

You don't need to do anything to see Live Activities in CarPlay. As long as it's visible on your iPhone, it'll show up on the CarPlay dashboard, or appear as a popover on top of other apps such as your navigation app. Apple says you'll be able to disable Live Activities if you don't want to see them, and even control their appearance by setting different Focus modes.

CarPlay is also adding support for widgets, including things like calendar entries, weather, and sunrise/sunset times. You'll be able to select which widgets you see on the CarPlay dashboard by going to Settings > General > CarPlay on iPhone, selecting your vehicle, and choosing the widgets.

A new compact view for incoming calls

A car head unit showing an incoming call in a small popover near the bottom of the screen, overlaid on a navigation screen.
Credit: Apple

The redesigned CarPlay with iOS 26 now includes a compact view. For example, when you receive a phone call, it will show up as a small pop-up on the screen, instead of taking up more space. This means that other important information, such as driving directions, aren't hidden when you receive a phone call.

A few Messages upgrades

A car head unit showing Tapbacks in Messages.
Credit: Apple

With iOS 26, the Messages app in CarPlay will allow you to use Tapbacks—Apple parlance for reacting to text messages with emojis. This will let you quickly tap an emoji to respond to someone via the car's display. Messages will also let you view your iPhone's pinned conversations, which makes it easier to text people you're frequently in touch with.

Brand new icons

A car head unit showing the new Liquid Glass icons in dark mode.
Credit: Apple

Yes, Liquid Glass is coming to your car as well. The icons from iOS 26 have made their way to CarPlay. Whether you love them or hate them, you'll see this new design on your car's display.

Improved accessibility features

CarPlay with iOS 26 will also support Large Text, which increases font sizes and makes text easier to read on your car's screen. Apple is also adding Sound Recognition to CarPlay, which will notify drivers and passengers when iOS detects certain sounds. The notifications can warn you when CarPlay detects sirens, a crying baby, horns, or other important sounds.



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Amazon Now Has a Discounted Prime Membership for 'Young Adults'

Amazon Now Has a Discounted Prime Membership for 'Young Adults'

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.

Amazon is expanding discounted benefits to more than just students. Now, any "young adult" from 18 years of age up to 24 can get all of the perks of Prime for 50% off. The expansion of the discounted program comes a month before Amazon's biggest sale of the year, Prime Day, which is set to run from July 8 to July 11.

If you're lucky enough to be in the ages that Amazon considers a young adult, your Prime Membership will cost your choice of $7.49 per month or $69 per year. And yes, this will include all of the perks that come with a regular subscription. That's a great value for all of the perks you get. If you don't believe me, here's the math.

To get the 50% off subscription, you will first need to finish a six-month free trial (bummer, I know). Afterwards, your membership will automatically renew for $7.49 per month. Keep in mind that you can cancel your membership at any time. But before you do, remember that Prime Day starts next month, and being a member will get you better deals, free shipping, and access to "invite-only" deals. This membership also gets you some other limited-time perks, like 5% cash back on categories like beauty, apparel, electronics, and personal care (it doubles to 10% on Prime Day).

Once you turn 25, you will no longer be eligible for this discounted membership, unless you're still a student (Amazon will consider you a student for a max of four years if you pass its student verification process).



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You Can (and Should) Do Joint Peloton Workouts With Friends

You Can (and Should) Do Joint Peloton Workouts With Friends

The at-home fitness space is more or less dominated by Peloton, which probably makes you think that whether you're stretching with the company's app or riding one of its machines, like the Bike, you're working out alone. One of the major drawbacks of at-home workouts, honestly, is that you miss the collaborative, communal experience of heading to the gym—and in its absence, you can fall off your schedule or lose accountability or motivation altogether. Even though you might assume exercising with Peloton's offerings is a solo experience—and of course, it can be—the brand makes it surprisingly easy to take classes and do exercises with friends. To add some variety and accountability to your fitness routine, you really should.

How to set up on-demand classes with friends

The Peloton app makes it easy to schedule a ride, stretch, walk, run, or more with a friend. (Note: This feature is technically called "Sessions," so if you see that terminology, it just means "an on-demand class with friends.") First, you have to make sure you and the person you want to work out with are following each other's Peloton profiles. Navigate to any on-demand class in the app (and I do recommend doing this on the phone because it's much simpler than trying to finagle on the touchscreen of one of Peloton's proprietary devices, like the Tread or Row), and you will see a row of options. The first is the button to add the class to your Stack, which is like a playlist of classes you can make so all your routines, from stretching to riding to cooling down, flow into each other when you're ready to work out. The second button is a Schedule, so if you want to, say, take a particular yoga class at noon in two days, you can schedule it so you can get calendar notifications. The third button is the one we want, Invite, while the fourth button is Preload and allows you to preload a class so it doesn't buffer or suck up too much cell data while you're taking it. The fifth button is the Bookmark button, which adds a class to a list of ones you want to save to review later.

Obviously, we're targeting that third button, Invite. Tapping it first brings you to a list of members you follow. Select the one you'd like to work out with—or more; it's unlimited!—and hit Continue. On the next page, select a date and time you'd like to take the class with your chosen friend(s) and hit Continue again. You can then choose a reason for the joint workout, like a celebration, a birthday, or "just because." The final screen is a confirmation page that details the class, time, and invitees.

How to take live Peloton classes together

Any time you select a class, whether on your Bike, Tread, Row, phone, tablet, or Roku, you can find that Invite button. You don't need to pre-schedule with the calendar feature, necessarily. If a friend is available, they can hop on and join you. This is nice because it means you can also do live classes pretty easily. As you enter the class, just look for that Invite button, select the name of the person you'd like to work out with, and proceed as normal.

Peloton Bike
Waiting for cycling Session to begin. Credit: Lindsey Ellefson

It goes without saying, but it's a lot easier to coordinate all of this by text or call rather than just sending random invitations to people. Agreeing on workout type, music genre, and time of day are pretty key components of exercising together effectively, so flag to your friends if there's a class you're interested in taking and want them to join, then use the Peloton app to make it all official.

Taking Peloton classes with friends

Once your invitee confirms their attendance, it's on both of you to show up at the specified time. It's helpful to set a calendar reminder. From the home page of the app, look for the Calendar icon in the top right. That's your schedule and you should see the class you pre-scheduled with your friend. Tap on it and hit Add to calendar, then select Google Calendar or iCal and set an alert notification.

Actually taking the class is as easy as opening the app, whether on your phone or a Peloton machine, a few minutes before the start time. From the Home screen, navigate to that Calendar button, then select My schedule in the top left. A countdown to the class you scheduled will appear along with a button that says Start class, which you can tap if you and your friend(s) are ready—or you can just wait for the countdown to finish and start right at the selected time.

I tested this out a few different ways. Once, I did a meditation class with a mutual follower and followed along on my phone. As the class went on, I could see their name under Here now and could send an in-app "high five," the same as I could to any stranger who might be taking a class at the same time as me. Next, we moved on to the Bike after pre-scheduling a class using the mobile app. There, the same thing: I could see their name on the leaderboard with me, send a high five, and see their output reflected by their name.

To be clear, there isn't much more to it than that. There's no audio or video component, meaning you can't hear or see your friend(s). At the completion of the class, there is no breakdown of your stats vs. theirs or anything like that (although you do get a "Dynamic Duo" achievement badge if it's your first joint workout). You're only doing this "together" in the sense that you're both doing it at the same time, vaguely aware of each other while focusing on your own workout.

I like it, though, because it can introduce some accountability into what might otherwise risk becoming a structureless pursuit. Even just knowing someone is expecting you to hop on your Bike at a certain time can get you to do it. That's why I love in-person classes so much and am a little weary—but still supportive of—virtual-only options.



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Threads Is Experimenting With Spoiler Alerts on Posts

Threads Is Experimenting With Spoiler Alerts on Posts

Try as I might, I can't seem to quit scrolling on social media. Most of the time, it isn't a huge problem—other than raising my anxiety or stress, as any good doomscroll will do. But what's worse than doomscrolling through bad news? Spoilers, of course.

Spoilers for movies and TV shows are probably the main thing that makes me consider ditching these apps for good. For some reason, my social media feeds think I've seen any and all popular pieces of content that exist, and the second they air, I should see every discussion and meme possible—spoilers be damned.

Luckily, this way of digital life might be changing soon, at least on Threads. On Monday, Mark Zuckerberg made a short announcement on Meta's social media site. If you view the post from Zuckerberg's main Threads page, you'll see: "Spoiler alert:" followed by a gray bar (desktop) or an animated blur effect (mobile) covering the rest of the post. Click or tap that censored space, and you'll reveal the rest: "We're testing a way for you to hide spoilers in your Threads posts."

This feature is currently in testing, so only a limited pools of users will have access to it, but I welcome it. (Not that I particularly use Threads all that much.) As you can see in the images below (via TechCrunch), once the feature rolls out, you'll be able to highlight a selection of text in a thread draft and choose a new "Mark spoiler" option that appears in the pop-up. Your selections will be hidden from others who come across your post, unless they choose to tap in and see what you wrote.

https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/threads-spoiler.png

Threads, of course, isn't the first platform to offer this type of spoiler mask. Other social media companies, like Discord, Reddit, and Mastodon, have offered ways for posters to mind spoilers for years. There's no way to enforce the feature, but it's just considerate: You never know who your post will reach, and if you care enough about a show or movie to post about it, you likely appreciate allowing people the opportunity to watch that content on their own before being spoiled.



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This Massive Amazon Fire TV Is on Sale for Less Than $450 for Prime Members

This Massive Amazon Fire TV Is on Sale for Less Than $450 for Prime Members

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A massive smart TV that PC Mag called one of the best-value options on the market is currently as even better buy—provided you're an Amazon Prime member. The 75"-inch Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED is currently at a record low price of $449.99, but you'll only see that price if you're an active Prime member and logged in to your account.

For anyone looking to upgrade their screen size without overspending, this smart TV is a decent bet, offering features typically found on higher-end models, according to PC Mag's review. Its QLED display supports Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+ Adaptive for vibrant visuals, while a built-in sensor adjusts brightness based on your room’s lighting to reduce glare.

One standout feature at this price point is ambient mode, which turns your screen into a customizable digital art display and powers down when you leave the room to save energy. Gamers will appreciate the low input lag, Dolby Vision gaming, VRR, ALLM support, and four HDMI inputs, although the 60 Hz panel may fall short for serious next-gen gaming.

For those who are part of the Alexa ecosystem, the built-in Alexa mics allow you hands-free control, which is a must during those dreaded moments when someone has misplaced the remote. While some Amazon reviewers are underwhelmed by the audio quality, the Alexa Home Theater feature lets you pair Echo speakers via the Alexa app or connect a soundbar for an improved experience. However, the sometimes clunky Fire TV interface might be a dealbreaker, with some reviewers complaining about lagginess and glitching compared to the competition. 

If you’re shopping for an under $500 large-screen 4K QLED TV, the value-friendly Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED is a dependable pick. But if you’re looking for a more polished and tech-savvy option with perfection in details like internal audio or 120 Hz gaming, you may want to invest in a higher-quality model, or at least an additional soundbar or streaming stick that will let you use a different interface. 



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The Nintendo Switch OLED Is at Its Lowest Price Ever Right Now

The Nintendo Switch OLED Is at Its Lowest Price Ever Right Now

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At $249.95 on Woot, this Nintendo Switch OLED (International Model) is the lowest price we’ve seen it go for (according to price trackers), beating even the usual sale lows by $50.

Amazon’s listing still sits at $349, which makes this offer tempting, especially if you're already a Prime member, since you’ll get free standard shipping (otherwise shipping is $6). This unit doesn’t include a manufacturer’s warranty but does come with a 90-day limited warranty from Woot. It also won’t ship to Alaska, Hawaii, APOs, or PO Boxes. As for the console, it’s fully compatible with all Nintendo Switch games and accessories.

This OLED model shares the same core features as the U.S. version but includes some upgrades over the original Switch. (For more details, check out PCMag’s in-depth review of the Nintendo Switch OLED.) Its main upgrade is the larger, brighter seven-inch OLED screen, which makes handheld play look and feel noticeably better. Its vibrant colors and sharp contrast reportedly make even older games look better. Storage is doubled to 64GB; the stand on the back is actually usable now (wide, adjustable, and stable); and the speakers are surprisingly punchy for a handheld device. In docked mode, it supports wired LAN via the dock’s Ethernet port, which is helpful if your wifi isn’t the most reliable (though you’ll need to supply your own LAN cable). The bundle includes the dock, Joy-Cons, grip, wrist straps, HDMI cable, and a U.S. power adapter—so you’re not left scrambling for extras.

Still, a few trade-offs come with this price cut. You’re getting an international model without Nintendo’s standard warranty, so if long-term coverage matters to you, this may not be ideal. Also, you’ll want to manage expectations on things like internal storage—64GB fills up quickly with digital games, so an SD card is pretty much a must-have. But for most people, especially those who just want a better screen and don’t care about a warranty they may never use, this deal makes sense. That said, if you're eyeing the next big thing, the Nintendo Switch 2 is worth the upgrade—but there's no rush, says our associate tech editor.



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