App Review: Glow

Glow offers a unique app meant “for fertility and beyond.” Not only does this app provide the necessary data to help you plan your conception and pregnancy, it also works with you to ensure you and your child-to-be stay healthy long after the baby is born.

This app is one of a family of four apps, made for use in conjunction. They complement one another and can be handy to keep track of everything from periods to health checkups. In addition to Glow, these apps include:

Nurture

Meant for pregnancy, this app helps you figure out your due date (even easier if you used Glow to help choose a conception date), track your pregnancy health, and remind yourself of pregnancy appointments. The app also provides daily insights into your baby’s development and what’s going on within your body at each stage of the pregnancy. You’ll also receive personalized health information.

Baby

Once your child has arrived, this app lets you track developmental milestones and growth throughout the first year. You’ll also find it gives you a fun way to keep track of your infant’s feedings, diaper changes, and sleep habits. On top of all that, Baby offers daily tips to help you bond with your baby and keep them healthy.

Eve

If you’re trying to get pregnant, Eve helps you stay on top of your cycle and your sex life. It works as more than just a period tracker, though, and helps you figure out how to make your sex life even better by tracking outside factors and sending you tips about your sexual health.

The Glow app is free for use, but there are in-app purchases if you want to increase its utility.

Glow: What It Does

Glow is one of the better fertility apps available and the fact that it’s separate from their period tracking app makes it even more interesting. You can easily use the two together, but Glow is specifically for getting your body ready for a baby.

First, there is a period and ovulation calendar, which requires you to input information on a daily basis so the app can accurately chart when your ovulation is most likely to occur. You need to input things like your daily basal temperature, any symptoms you have, etc. The app then uses this information to determine how close to ovulation you are, and will let you know when your most fertile days are.

Besides the period tracker and ovulation chart, you’ll also be able to track your symptoms and get tips on how to reduce PMS. Glow also provides information on all aspects of fertility and menstrual cycles, so it’s extremely simple to educate yourself and then join the community to learn from others, as well.

Pros and Cons of Glow

Not every app will work for everyone, so it’s good to consider the pros and cons before you begin.

Glow Pros:

• Has very high ratings on both Android and iPhone
• All the family apps link together
• Allows you to send relevant information to your partner
• Fairly accurate and simple enough to use once you get past the crowded interface

Glow Cons:

• Not 100% accurate because it’s based on user input data as opposed to actual testing
• Many users complain about ads popping up but there is an ad-free option if you choose to pay
• Allows tracking of many items (not all of which you may find necessary), making the app feel cluttered

What People Say About Glow

With 4.6 and 4.7 stars on main platforms, it’s obvious that Glow is doing well and widely used. But what do consumers think of how useful the app actually is?

According to A Google User, “I track my period and ovulation days as I do not use birth control for health reasons and allergies. I have been birth control free for 5 years now and have not gotten pregnant because I took the time to learn about my cycle, body, and more and this app really made it easy for me to do so.”

According to Katia, “Awesome! Exaaaactly what I was looking for. Symptom forecast is so helpful for me, for each part of the month, so I can predict my hormone-affected symptoms and act accordingly. ”

AmandaUchiha says, “I don’t know how well it works for fertility as I’m not trying to get pregnant, but this app predicts my periods better than any other app I have used!”

Alternatives to Glow

Fertility and pregnancy apps are widespread, but the big question is – do they work? Not all apps are accurate and many are less than ideal regarding which features they offer. You’ll want to make sure that the app you use has the features you need. Here are the top contenders in competition with Glow:

Clue: This app is a period and ovulation tracker and is one of the best on the market. It applies actual science and research to give you the most accurate results to plan your pregnancy or avoid it. Clue is also free, with in-app purchases.

Flo: As a period tracker, Flo is outstanding, but it also uses machine learning to constantly improve its predictions and tracking features. You’ll find it helps give you the best days for conception and it has a near perfect rating. It’s also free.

Ovia: With a specialized algorithm, Ovia does well in predicting ovulation even with irregular periods. It allows for tracking and charting things like intercourse, symptoms, and cycle length, and it also produces a fertility chart for you each month.

Despite the fact that there is definitely some competition, Glow is certainly among the top ovulation trackers and fertility apps. It offers more information and symptom tracking than most, which may mean it’s too much for some people. However, if accuracy is what you’re after, Glow has it.