The past month has been transformative for Flo Health, marking both the successful resolution of a significant legal challenge and the launch of groundbreaking features for perimenopause support. As Europe’s first femtech unicorn navigates from courtroom vindication to continued innovation, the company’s trajectory illustrates the resilience and vision that have made it the world’s leading women’s health platform.
The legal resolution came with notable judicial criticism of the plaintiffs’ case. A federal judge described the lack of evidence supporting allegations against Flo Health as an “insurmountable” problem, effectively validating the company’s consistent defense against claims that it improperly shared sensitive health data with Meta. The settlement reached with no admission of wrongdoing allows Flo Health to move forward while maintaining its reputation for privacy protection.
This legal vindication arrives as Flo Health simultaneously addresses one of women’s health’s most underserved areas through its new perimenopause platform. The timing is particularly significant, as it demonstrates the company’s ability to maintain its focus on innovation even while managing complex legal challenges.
The perimenopause initiative represents a natural evolution for Flo Health, which has grown from a simple period tracker into a comprehensive women’s health platform. Founded in 2015 by brothers Dmitry and Yuri Gurski, the company recognized early that women’s health technology needed to extend beyond basic cycle tracking to address the full spectrum of reproductive health experiences.
“When we started Flo, we identified a huge gap in women’s health services,” CEO Dmitry Gurski explains. “Now, we’re a leader in a global movement to make women’s health a priority everywhere.” This evolution from gap identification to market leadership reflects the company’s commitment to evidence-based innovation backed by scientific research.
The launch of “Flo for Perimenopause” includes the first scientifically validated Perimenopause Score, developed by Flo Health’s science and medical teams in collaboration with over 100 medical experts. This innovation addresses a critical healthcare gap: 54% of women report feeling inadequately informed about perimenopause, despite more than one billion women worldwide experiencing perimenopause and menopause by 2025.
The platform’s comprehensive approach includes adapted cycle tracking that acknowledges perimenopause irregularities, symptom monitoring for everything from hot flashes to mood changes, and Secret Chats for anonymous community support. The feature also includes a high-profile partnership with comedian and actress Laura Benanti, who brings authentic advocacy to help break down the stigma surrounding perimenopause.
Flo Health’s ability to maintain innovation momentum while managing legal challenges reflects the strength of its underlying business model and market position. The company achieved unicorn status in July 2024, following a $200 million Series C investment from General Atlantic, which demonstrated continued investor confidence despite ongoing litigation.
The investment positioned Flo Health as a frontrunner in the rapidly expanding femtech market, which has grown from a niche sector to a projected $60 billion industry by 2027. With nearly 70 million monthly active users and close to 5 million paid subscribers, Flo Health’s scale enables it to address women’s health challenges that would be impossible for smaller platforms to tackle.
The lawsuit originated from a 2021 class action that followed an earlier settlement between Flo Health and the Federal Trade Commission regarding data-sharing practices. However, legal proceedings revealed that the recent case failed to produce evidence supporting allegations that Flo Health improperly shared menstrual cycle data with Meta through software development kits.
The contrast between the outcomes for Flo Health and Meta in these proceedings is notable. While Flo Health settled without admitting wrongdoing, a jury verdict found that Meta had violated the California Invasion of Privacy Act for allegedly illegally mining sensitive health data. This distinction highlights the differing positions of the two companies in the data-sharing allegations.
Throughout the legal proceedings, Flo Health emphasized its privacy leadership, highlighting innovations such as Anonymous Mode, which was recognized as one of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2023. This feature decouples users’ health data from personal identifying information, addressing growing concerns about reproductive health data privacy in an era of increased scrutiny around women’s health information.
The company’s privacy commitment extends beyond individual features to encompass comprehensive data protection practices. Flo Health maintains it has never and will never sell user data, positioning itself as a privacy standard-setter in the health technology sector through what it describes as rigorous, measurable, and independently verified protection standards.
Dr. Anna Klepchukova, Chief Medical Officer of Flo Health, frames the company’s mission in broader health equity terms: “With women spending 25% more of their lives in poor health compared to men, we’re committed to changing this unacceptable status quo.” This commitment manifests in both the company’s product development and its global accessibility initiatives.
Flo Health’s Pass It On Project exemplifies this commitment, aiming to improve health literacy by providing free access to Flo Premium for up to 1 billion women in need. The initiative currently offers free access across 66 countries, including India, Indonesia, and Nigeria, with nearly 12 million women already benefiting from premium features.
The successful resolution of the legal challenges, combined with the launch of the perimenopause platform, positions Flo Health to continue its expansion into new user segments and geographic markets. The company plans to use its recent funding to enhance tech-driven health insights and pursue strategic expansion opportunities while maintaining its focus on privacy leadership.
As the #1 OB-GYN-recommended app for period and cycle tracking, serving one in four women in the US, Flo Health’s platform is uniquely positioned to drive meaningful change in women’s health outcomes. The company’s ability to navigate legal challenges while continuing to innovate demonstrates the resilience and vision that have made it a leader in the rapidly evolving femtech landscape, as privacy advocates recognized in their analysis of the case’s broader implications.
