Table 1:

Primary objective of each paper included in this review and the section(s) in which it is cited.

Primary Objective	Publication	MCTAs included in these papers
Characteristics of MCTA users in menstrual cycle research
To highlight decision points during the recruitment-enrollment process and the effect of modifications on enrollment numbers and demographics in a contraceptive efficacy study of an MCTA.	[12]	Dot
To assess MCTA use for women or girls with heavy menstrual disorders	[14]	Not named
To track premenstrual symptoms and sexually transmitted infections	[16]	Clue
To examine an acupressure intervention on dysmenorrhea	[17]	AKUD
To evaluate whether an MCTA was associated with reduced depression and dysmenorrhea	[18]	Karada-no-kimochi
To assess the efficacy of an MCTA at pregnancy prevention	[19]	Dot
To compare self-reported fertility data generated by an MCTA cohort in comparison with existing data.	[20]	Ovia
To explore variations of menstrual cycle length and ovulation day in women seeking to conceive.	[21]	Clearblue Connected Ovulation System
To clarify how MCTA data can be used to improve the ovulation prediction accuracy.	[22]	LunaLuna
To describe menstrual cycle characteristics observed with an MCTA and investigate associations of menstrual cycle characteristics with cycle length, age and body mass index	[23]	Natural Cycles
Characteristics of MCTA users in fertility research
To compare self-reported fertility data generated by an MCTA cohort in comparison with existing data.	[20]	Ovia
To evaluate the association between menstrual cycle characteristics and time to pregnancy.	[25]	Ovia
To evaluate the difference in conception rates between women trying to conceive using an MCTA-ovulation test system, versus those trying without ovulation testing.	[24]	Clearblue Connected Ovulation Test System
To predict a woman’s probability of becoming pregnant using data from an MCTA	[26]	Clue
To examine the extent to which MCTAs influence fecundability in women trying to conceive	[27]	Multiple
Characteristics of MCTA users of contraceptive apps
To retrospectively evaluate the effectiveness of a fertility awareness-based MCTA to prevent unwanted pregnancies.	[8]	Natural Cycles
To assess whether women in a variety of settings were interested in and able to use a fertility app, learn the profile of women who chose to use an app and their purpose for using it, assess what their prior experience with family planning was, and determine how satisfied they were with the app.	[29]	CycleBeads
To assess whether the CycleBeads app brings new users to family planning, to understand the experience of its users in Kenya and to determine how user experience varies by the channel through which women learned about the app.	[30]	CycleBeads
Reasons users choose or continue using a particular MCTA
To propose an approach for a period tracking app with an adaptive user interface that takes the users goal and context into account.	[31]	Multiple
To assess whether the CycleBeads app brings new users to family planning, to understand the experience of its users in Kenya and to determine how user experience varies by the channel through which women learned about the app.	[30]	CycleBeads
To investigate how people engaging in period-tracking use and experience these apps through qualitative research.	[32]	Multiple
To explore women’s uses of and relationships with MCTAs.	[33]	Multiple
To determine ovulation prediction accuracy of MCTAs and published calendar methods compared with the LH surge.	[34]	Multiple
To retrospectively evaluate the effectiveness of a fertility awareness-based MCTA to prevent unwanted pregnancies.	[8]	Natural Cycles
Among women with dysmenorrhea and premenstrual syndrome: can MCTAs selected based on users’ needs lead to changes in health-related factors?	[35]	Multiple
To identify women who currently use or intend to use an MCTA to prevent pregnancy, and explore their preferences and perceptions about MCTAs for this purpose.	[36]	Multiple
To develop an evidence-based evaluative framework to support a systematic examination of menstrual health concepts, and to evaluate MCTAs features and functions in terms of these menstrual health concepts.	[37]	Multiple
To consider why and how women track their menstrual cycles, examining their experiences to uncover design opportunities and extend the field’s understanding of personal informatics tools.	[38]	Multiple
To examine how MCTAs targeted at female reproductive health are offering novel forms and practices of knowledge production about reproductive bodies and processes.	[39]	Multiple
To explore how health consumers use apps for health monitoring, their perceived benefits from use of health apps, and suggestions for improvement of health apps.	[40]	CTAs were one type of included health app
To develop an MCTA for monitoring the menstrual cycle for clinical treatment planning.	[41]	Infertility Handling
Accuracy of ovulation and fertile window prediction
To identify, describe, and evaluate mobile phone apps that purport to help users prevent unintended pregnancy	[42]	Multiple
To identify smartphone MCTAs and evaluate their accuracy, features, and functionality.	[43]	Multiple
To review and appraise Apple Store MCTAs for ovulation prediction, and other topics related to fertility or the management of infertility.	[44]	Multiple
To determine ovulation prediction accuracy of MCTAs and published calendar methods compared with the LH surge.	[34]	Multiple
To develop a new, personalised approach of estimating a woman’s most fertile days that only requires recording the first day of menses in an MCTA.	[45]	DOT
To clarify how MCTA data can be used to improve the ovulation prediction accuracy.	[22]	LunaLuna
To assess whether the CycleBeads app brings new users to family planning, to understand the experience of its users in Kenya and to determine how user experience varies by the channel through which women learned about the app.	[30]	CycleBeads
To examine the extent to which MCTAs influence fecundability in women trying to conceive	[27]	Multiple
To evaluate the difference in conception rates between women trying to conceive using an MCTA-ovulation test system, versus those trying without ovulation testing.	[24]	Clearblue Connected Ovulation Test System
To provide the first theoretical review and evaluation of BBT-based ovulation detection.	[46]	Not focused on one app, but on BBT in general
To retrospectively evaluate the effectiveness of a fertility awareness-based MCTA to prevent unwanted pregnancies.	[8]	Natural Cycles
To investigate the contraceptive efficacy of Natural Cycles through the perfect- and typical-use Pearl Index.	[9]	Natural Cycles
To evaluate the ability of a novel web and mobile application to identify a woman’s ovulation day and fertile window, in order to use it as a method of natural birth control.	[7]	Natural Cycles
To compare self-reported fertility data generated by an MCTA cohort in comparison with existing data.	[20]	Ovia
To develop a tool to evaluate and rate fertility apps specifically designed to help couples avoid pregnancy.	[48]	Multiple
To explore differences in the use of CycleProGo between those exposed to it as a part of natural family planning (NFP) instruction versus those who find it on their own.	[49]	CycleProGo
Missing data and accuracy
To compare the accuracy of fertile window identification with the contraceptive app Natural Cycles against the Rhythm Method and Standard Days Method (SDM).	[6]	Natural Cycles
To examine user tracking behaviors	[13]	Sympto Kindara
To predict a woman’s probability of becoming pregnant using data from an MCTA	[26]	Clue
To describe menstrual cycle characteristics observed with an MCTA and investigate associations of menstrual cycle characteristics with cycle length, age and body mass index (BMI).	[23]	Natural Cycles
To propose an approach for a period tracking app with an adaptive user interface that takes the users goal and context into account.	[31]	Multiple
To investigate how people engaging in period-tracking use and experience these apps through qualitative research.	[32]	Multiple
To examine how MCTAs targeted at female reproductive health are offering novel forms and practices of knowledge production about reproductive bodies and processes.	[39]	Multiple
To explore women’s uses of and relationships with MCTAs.	[33]	Multiple
To consider why and how women track their menstrual cycles, examining their experiences to uncover design opportunities and extend the field’s understanding of personal informatics tools.	[38]	Multiple
To investigate the MCTA DOT’s effectiveness, calculating perfect- and typical-use failure rates.	[51]	DOT
Quality assessments of MCTAs
To identify smartphone MCTAs and evaluate their accuracy, features, and functionality.	[43]	Multiple
To develop a tool to evaluate and rate fertility apps specifically designed to help couples avoid pregnancy.	[48]	Multiple
To develop a scoring system for rating available apps for determining the fertile window and to pilot test 12 apps currently available in both German and English	[52]	Multiple
To identify and evaluate apps intended to aid women in conception	[53]	Multiple