RESEARCHERS CLAIM THIS CONTRACEPTIVE APP IS "93%" EFFECTIVE

A contraceptive app which uses body temperature to track a woman's menstrual cycle is 93 per cent effective, a landmark study has found.

The findings, based on 22,785 women, even show Natural Cycles works slightly better than the Pill in preventing pregnancies. 

The smartphone app, which is approved in the EU as a contraceptive, predicts the days of the month when a woman is most fertile.

On these, which are called red days, it advises couples use a condom to reduce the risk of an accidental pregnancy.

Since its inception in 2014, its manufacturers have claimed it to have a 93 per cent effectiveness rate. However, the trials were based on much smaller groups.

The findings, based on 22,785 women, even showed Natural Cycles works slightly better than the Pill in preventing pregnancies

Professor Kristina Gemzell Danielsson, based at the Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, was behind the results - which are the largest of its kind.

She said: 'Since more and more women are choosing natural contraception as an option, we welcome that there is a certified app with solid clinical evidence.'

'It shows the app is effective' 

Dr James Trussell, based at Princeton University, New Jersey, also welcomed the research published in the journal Contraception.

He said: 'This is the first study to provide typical and perfect-use estimates of effectiveness of an app and shows the app is effective.'