Natural Cycles now accepts temperature data from the Oura smart ring - The Verge
The digital birth control app Natural Cycles can now use overnight temperature data from the Oura Ring. That data would replace the need for users to take a temperature each morning.
The Oura smart ring is now compatible with Natural Cycles digital birth control, the companies announced today. The partnership lets Natural Cycles users pull in temperature information from their Oura Ring rather than manually take a temperature for the app each morning.
Natural Cycles uses daily temperature measurements and period cycle tracking information to predict the days of the month when someone is least likely to get pregnant. That daily temperature data originally came from a thermometer measurement done each morning. Last July, the company received clearance from the Food and Drug Administration to use temperature data from wearables like the Oura.
A few months after Natural Cycles received FDA clearance, Oura Ring announced that it had added a period prediction feature to its Generation 3 smart ring. Oura had been aware of Natural Cycle’s work with its product, though then-CEO Harpreet Rai told The Verge the two did not have a formal partnership.
Now, the two companies are working together on the digital birth control integration. “Partnering with Natural Cycles is a natural fit given our research has shown that skin temperature data from the Oura Ring can detect important temperature changes throughout the menstrual cycle,” said Holly Shelton, senior vice president of consumer product at Oura, in a statement.
Oura shares sleep data with Natural Cycles, which includes temperature trends, heart rate, sleep length, and sleep stages. The Natural Cycles algorithm will use heart rate information to track if someone may have consumed alcohol or had other lifestyle changes — which could skew their body temperature. Natural Cycles does not share any information back to Oura, according to the statement.
https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/2/23287187/natural-cycles-digital-birth-control-oura-temperature
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