How to disable fertility tracking features in iOS

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Apple’s Cycle Tracking is completely optional, especially advanced features like retrospective ovulation estimates and cycle deviation detection. | Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge

When Apple first launched Cycle Tracking for periods in its Health app, the feature was fairly basic. It didn’t do much besides let you log your period — and even then, you couldn’t log factors like pregnancy or birth control. However, the company recently added advanced features that can help retroactively identify when a person ovulates and detect cycle deviations.

While these tools might be helpful, it’s understandable if you’re leery of sharing biometric information for this particular purpose in the post-Roe era. If that’s the case, you can easily disable those features.

Apple’s retrospective ovulation estimates are based on temperature data. That means you need an Apple Watch Series 8 or Ultra, which are currently the only Apple...