Vela vs Natural Cycles
Vela stores your cycle data on your iPhone and needs no account. Natural Cycles requires an account with an active subscription and stores your data on its servers, mostly in the EEA.
| Vela | Natural Cycles | |
|---|---|---|
| Where your logs live | Your iPhone | Natural Cycles' servers, mostly in the EEA |
| Account | Not required | Required, with an active subscription |
| End-to-end encrypted sync | Yes. We cannot read it. | No. Go Anonymous separates your identity from your data, and it is off by default. |
| Regulatory or research findings | None | Mozilla gave it no privacy warning in 2022. A 2018 UK ASA ruling concerned an ad that called it highly accurate contraception. |
Choose Vela if
- You want your logs to stay on your phone
- You do not want to create an account
- You would rather pay once than subscribe
Choose Natural Cycles if
- You want an FDA-cleared app for birth control
- You need Android today. Vela for Android is coming soon.
Sources: Natural Cycles: How is my data stored? , Natural Cycles: Getting started , Natural Cycles: Go Anonymous , FDA De Novo DEN170052, 2018 , UK ASA ruling, August 2018 , Mozilla, August 2022 . Checked October 2026.