Period Tracking with Face ID & App Lock for Maximum Privacy
Your cycle data is personal. Vela's Protected Mode uses Face ID to keep your period tracker locked when you're not using it.
Why Physical Device Privacy Matters
You password-protect your phone. You use Face ID to unlock it. You have a lock screen. But what happens when someone borrows your phone — or picks it up when you leave it on a table?
Most period trackers are unlocked by default once your phone is open. Anyone who picks up your phone can scroll through months of cycle data, symptom logs, and fertility predictions. That’s not hypothetical — that’s what happens every time you hand your phone to someone.
This is especially concerning for people tracking sensitive health information: fertility journeys, pregnancy attempts, hormonal symptoms, sexual activity logs. Your period data is some of the most personal information you carry.
Vela’s Protected Mode changes this.
How Vela’s Protected Mode Works
Protected Mode is a privacy gate that sits in front of your Vela app. When you enable it, the app requires Face ID, Touch ID, or your device passcode to open.
Here’s the key detail: it auto-locks after 15 seconds in the background. You don’t have to remember to lock it. You open Vela, you track, you switch to another app, and within 15 seconds, Vela locks itself. Anyone who picks up your phone sees a Face ID prompt — not your cycle data.
This works even if you have a phone without biometric authentication — device passcode still gates access.
What Protected Mode Actually Protects
Protected Mode is specifically designed to prevent casual shoulder-surfing and device-sharing exposure. When it’s on:
- Someone opening your Vela app sees a Face ID prompt before anything else
- Your cycle history, symptoms, predictions, and garden are hidden behind that lock
- The lock re-engages within 15 seconds of leaving the app
- It works independently of your phone’s lock screen — even if you leave your phone unlocked, Vela’s data is protected
This matters in common scenarios:
- You hand your phone to a friend and they scroll through your apps
- A partner borrows your phone and opens Vela out of curiosity
- Your phone is on a table and someone nearby picks it up
- You leave your phone unattended at home or work
In every one of these cases, Protected Mode means your cycle data stays private.
Setting Up Face ID / Touch ID for Your Cycle Data
Vela’s Protected Mode uses the biometric authentication built into your iPhone. Here’s how to set it up:
- Open Vela and go to Settings
- Find “Protected Mode” in the privacy or security section
- Toggle it on
- iOS will prompt you to authorize biometric authentication for Vela
Once enabled, the setting persists. You don’t have to turn it on every session — it’s always running in the background, silently protecting your data.
If you ever disable biometrics at the system level (Face ID or Touch ID), Vela will fall back to your device passcode.
Why This Isn’t Paranoid
You might think this level of privacy protection is excessive. It’s not — it’s practical.
Health data is some of the most sensitive data that exists. In the wrong context, it can be used for discrimination, blackmail, or just plain voyeurism. Period tracking data specifically has been used in legal contexts to track women’s reproductive patterns.
You wouldn’t leave your medical records on a public table. With Vela’s Protected Mode, you don’t have to leave your digital health records on an unlocked phone either.
Your cycle data is personal. Keep it that way.