--- title: "PERIOD. in How About Mom: 'I came to learn, not to close pop-ups'" description: "How About Mom interviewed Lisa Volkers about why she built PERIOD.: no pink pop-ups, no unsolicited pregnancy nudges and no data as a business model." url: https://myperiod.app/en/blog/period-in-how-about-mom lang: en date: 2026-08-02 publisher: PERIOD. B.V., Amsterdam --- [Back to blog](https://myperiod.app/blog) [Privacy & PERIOD.](https://myperiod.app/blog/categorie/privacy) · 5 min read # PERIOD. in How About Mom: 'I came to learn, not to close pop-ups' [Lees dit artikel in het Nederlands](https://myperiod.app/blog/period-in-how-about-mom) PERIOD. team · August 2, 2026 On 2 August 2026, Dutch parenting platform *How About Mom* published an interview with our founder Lisa Volkers in its *women supporting women* series, written by Annemarie Maalderink. The series profiles female founders building products specifically for women and mothers. ## It started with irritation The cycle app Lisa used kept steering her towards a possible pregnancy, while that was not the phase of life she was in at all. When she talked about it with friends, they all recognised it. "There are plenty of cycle apps out there. I never expected that so many other girls and women shared this frustration", she says in the piece. Together with her partner she built [PERIOD.](https://myperiod.app/) as an alternative. What started as a simple, privacy-friendly app for herself and her friends grew to thousands of users within weeks. ## Why wanting a baby is valuable information Researching the category, Lisa found that information about a possible desire to have children is commercially valuable. "That's kind of the gold", she says. "Once it's known that you want to get pregnant, they can approach you with everything baby-related. Women spend a lot of money in that period." That, she argues, is why some apps ask not only when your period started, but also about sex, symptoms and possible pregnancy. The most painful example: women who kept seeing ads for baby clothes and prams after a miscarriage. "You're grieving and still being confronted with ads for baby products. I found that very painful to read." PERIOD. works differently: we only ask what's needed to track your cycle, you can enter a different name so your account isn't tied to your identity, and your data doesn't go to advertisers. The details are in our [privacy statement](https://myperiod.app/privacy). ## No pink, no rainbows, no pop-ups The design had to be different too. "Everything was pink, with rainbows and huge amounts of information. I came to learn something, but mostly got overwhelmed by pop-ups and things I had to close", Lisa says. In PERIOD. you decide what you see: if you only want to track your period, you don't get unsolicited pregnancy content, and you're not constantly pushed towards the paid version. ## "I'm not crazy, I'm in this phase" By logging her symptoms, Lisa discovered that her headaches and mood swings kept returning at the same point in her cycle. "In 29 years I had never linked it to my period, even though it happened every month. Now you know: I'm not crazy, I'm in this phase of my cycle." That pattern recognition is built into the app: log your symptoms and see what recurs per phase. ## Free stays free The core version of PERIOD. is free and should stay that way, younger girls in particular don't always have money for a subscription, while they benefit most from understanding their bodies. When users asked whether they could donate, Lisa chose to offer something extra instead: PERIOD. plus at €3.99 a month. There's also [PERIOD. at work](https://myperiod.app/period-at-work), which lets employers give their female employees access to the plus version. Every employee gets her own code; the employer never sees personal data. ## What's next In future, Lisa wants to add features around fertility, perimenopause and menopause, deliberately taking her time. PERIOD. stays a helpful lifestyle tool and won't become a medical app. "I don't want to sell hot air. Everything we add has to genuinely help women and be well-founded." ## FAQ ### Does PERIOD. share my cycle data with advertisers? No. We don't sell or share your data with advertisers, and we only ask for what's needed to track your cycle. You can also enter a different name so your account isn't tied to your identity. ### Is PERIOD. free? Yes, the core version is free and stays free. PERIOD. plus costs €3.99 a month and adds extra features, such as more personalisation and reports for your doctor. ### Is PERIOD. a medical app? No. PERIOD. is a lifestyle tool that helps you recognise patterns in your cycle. For persistent or severe symptoms, see your doctor. ## Read the piece The full interview (in Dutch) is on [howaboutmom.nl](https://howaboutmom.nl/women-supporting-women-lisa-ontwikkelde-period-vanuit-haar-eigen-frustratie-over-cyclus-apps/). More press about PERIOD. is on our [press page](https://myperiod.app/pers). Want to try it? Download PERIOD. on the [App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/period-cycle-period-tracker/id6757947793) or [Play Store](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.myperiod.android). Want to understand your cycle better? ## Keep reading [Best period tracker app for privacy in 2026: 6 questions that decide itWhich cycle app is safest for your data? Six questions to test any app in two minutes, plus how Flo, Clue, Natural Cycles and PERIOD. compare.Read more](https://myperiod.app/blog/best-period-tracker-app-privacy-2026)[Is PERIOD. free? What the app really costs (and what it does not)Short answer: yes. Tracking your cycle, predictions and reminders cost nothing. Plus and baby are extras. Here is exactly what is what, no fine print.Read more](https://myperiod.app/en/blog/is-period-gratis-wat-kost-de-app)[Does my period app sell my data? How to check in 5 minutesShort answer: you cannot tell from the app itself, but you can from the privacy policy and the trackers. Five checks you can do yourself, on any cycle app, including ours.Read more](https://myperiod.app/en/blog/verkoopt-mijn-menstruatie-app-mijn-data-checklist)