Period apps make big promises. Come and learn how to navigate their claims, what AI can and cannot really do when it offers predictions and insights, and how to weigh the risks and benefits of cycle tracking apps. Join us for an evening of inspiring speakers and good conversation.
Around 50 million women worldwide use apps to track their menstrual cycle, logging periods, symptoms, ovulation and fertile windows. Behind the sleek interfaces lies a black box: most users have little idea how their data is processed or how predictions are actually generated.
As wearables and AI reshape how we understand our bodies, and as shifting reproductive rights legislation makes this data more sensitive than ever, transparency, privacy and accountability in FemTech can no longer be an afterthought.
Join us for an evening that goes beyond the hype. We bring together researchers studying the role of AI in the FemTech market, the founder of a privacy-first period tracking app and a gynaecologist who built his own app. Yoni, a menstrual health social enterprise that has been breaking taboos for over a decade, hosts the evening.
Together we unpack what AI can and cannot really do when it offers predictions and insights, where the ethical dilemmas lie, and what responsible practice looks like in a booming, high-stakes industry.
Speakers
- Deniz Er Wiedhaup, CEO of Yoni and host of the evening
- Maria Carmen Punzi and Tamara Thuis, researchers and project leads, KIN Center for Digital Innovation, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
- Amber Vodegel, CEO and co-founder of 28X
- Robert de Leeuw, gynaecologist, Amsterdam UMC
Practical information
- Date: Thursday 29 October 2026
- Time: 16:30 to 18:30, walk-in from 16:00, drinks from 18:30
- Location: OZW building, room OZW-1A01, De Boelelaan 1109, 1081 HV Amsterdam
- Language: English
- Admission: free, registration required via https://luma.com/bp0s9sox (maximum 100 attendees, registration closes Monday 26 October)
- Questions: m.c.punzi@vu.nl or t.a.t.thuis@vu.nl
This event is part of the research project Responsible AI in FemTech, funded by SIDN Fonds and Digital Holland.