Who Fia is for
Fia is a wellness app for periods, pelvic floor practice and the stages of life around them, made by SideSwipe Labs. It’s for people 16 and over, and isn’t directed at children under 13. It’s not a medical device or birth control.
When someone sets Fia up, it asks their age on a ruler that starts at 16. Where a law asks for it, and Apple says it applies to them, Fia also asks Apple for their age range. If either says they’re under 18, Fia uses its settings for under-18s. Fia never changes the age they gave. In Brazil’s App Store, Fia asks Apple for the age range once, and your teen, or you, can decline.
What changes for 16- and 17-year-olds
- Private notifications, from the start. Every reminder says only that there is one, so nothing on the Lock Screen says what it’s about.
- No partner sharing. Sharing a cycle with someone, or following someone else’s, is for adults. Under 18, Fia doesn’t offer it.
- No adult parts. The private log, intimacy sessions, adult goals and trying for a baby are hidden.
- Nothing that rewards logging. Today’s answers stay plain: Fia announces no patterns found in their logs, and there are no cycle summaries or share cards.
What stays on their iPhone
Fia has no account, no ads and no analytics, and doesn’t use location. What your teen logs stays on their iPhone, protected by its passcode, and goes to their own iCloud only if they turn on sync. SideSwipe Labs has no server that holds it and never receives it, so we can’t show it to anyone, a parent included. The privacy policy has the details.
Two settings help on a shared or borrowed phone:
- Lock Fia with Face ID, in Privacy, asks for Face ID or Touch ID each time Fia opens.
- Discreet Mode opens Fia on a plain screen named Wellness, and uses plain words on widgets, the Lock Screen and in notifications.
Screen Time and Family Sharing
Fia has no parental controls of its own. Apple’s work with Fia as with any app, and you set them up through Family Sharing:
- Screen Time sets how long and when your teen can use apps, Fia included, and which content and settings they can change. Apple explains it in Use Screen Time to manage your child’s iPhone or iPad.
- Family Sharing lets you manage Screen Time from your own device, and approve purchases with Ask to Buy, Fia Plus included. Apple explains it in How to set up Family Sharing.
A parent’s OK for an update
Some laws, such as Texas’s, ask that a parent agrees before someone under 18 gets a significant update to an app. Where Apple says such a law applies to your teen:
- After the update, Fia shows your teen a page that says what changed, and that it needs a parent’s OK.
- Apple sends you the question in Messages, through Family Sharing, or you can answer in person on their iPhone.
- Until you say yes, the new parts wait. For Fia 1.1, they’re new reminders, backing up to a file, and bringing in history from other apps. Everything else in Fia keeps working, safety information included. Your teen can ask again from Profile, under A parent’s OK.
- Your answer goes through Apple to their iPhone. SideSwipe Labs never receives it, or your teen’s age.
Questions
Write to us at fia@sideswipelabs.com. We read every email.