Plum is a period tracker for iPhone. It predicts your next period from the ones you log and gives you a heads-up before it starts.
Three reminders before your period
Plum reminds you three days before your predicted period, again the day before and once more on the day itself. Each one comes at 9 in the morning, your time.
Three days out it says “Period in about 3 days” and suggests stocking up on period supplies. The day before, “Your period may start tomorrow” comes with a nudge to pack a pad or tampon. On the day, it asks you to log your period when it starts, which makes the next prediction better.
You can’t change the time or the number of days. You can only switch these reminders on or off. Plum sets them up on your phone for your next two predicted periods, so they still come if you don’t open the app for a while.
What else Plum reminds you about
- Once you’ve logged that your period started, Plum reminds you at 9 in the morning on the day it expects the period to end. It asks you to log your last few days of flow, which helps it predict how long the next one lasts.
- The day before Plum expects you to ovulate, it sends “Ovulation may be close” at 9 in the morning. Plum’s predictions aren’t contraception, so don’t use this note to avoid pregnancy. Plum skips it if you’ve added a hormonal method under Birth Control. That covers the pill, patch, ring, shot, hormonal IUD and implant.
- Every evening at 8, a check-in asks you to log the day. If you logged earlier that day, it tells you which day of your cycle you’re on instead, or just thanks you if Plum doesn’t know your cycle yet.
- In the five days before your period and while it lasts, a short self-care note arrives at 3 in the afternoon, such as a tip to try ginger for cramps. Some come with a simple recipe.
What the notifications say
The evening check-in takes thirteen lines in turn, so you don’t get the same one two nights in a row. Most are about a small plum that wants today’s log. On a night you have a logging streak going, it counts your streak instead.
One night the title says “Your plum has no hands” and the line under it says “So it can’t log today for you.” Another night it’s “Your plum got a haircut” and then “It looks exactly the same. Log today anyway.”
What your lock screen shows
Plum doesn’t hide the words in its cycle reminders. If your iPhone shows notification previews on the lock screen, anyone who glances at your phone can read “Your period may end soon.” To keep that private, open iPhone Settings, then Notifications, then Plum, and set Show Previews to When Unlocked.
Birth control reminders can say less. You can write your own message for one. Plum then uses your words as the title, and the line under it only says “This is the reminder you set in Plum.”
Which reminders are on from the start
During setup, Plum asks if it can send notifications. That’s the iPhone permission, and you can tap Maybe later. One step earlier, if you add a pill, patch, ring or shot, Plum asks whether you want a reminder for it and at what time.
Plum’s own switches start out on. There are three of them, under Me, then Notification Preferences. Cycle Reminders controls the ones about your period and ovulation. Daily Check-ins controls the evening check-in, and Self-care & Fun Facts controls the afternoon notes. The help page on reminders has the full list and how to turn each one off.
Common questions
Is there a free period reminder app?
Plum is free to download, and its period reminders come with the app. So do the reminders about ovulation, logging and birth control. Plum Premium adds four more. Those are the daily tip, a note when your follicular phase starts, a note when new insights are ready, and a reminder you can set for a symptom or feeling you often log.
Will Plum remind me to take my pill?
Yes. Add your method under Me, then Birth Control, and choose a time. Plum reminds you every day for the pill and once a week on your patch change day. For the ring, it reminds you on the day you take it out, and on the day you put a new one in if you take a week off. For the shot, it reminds you a number of days before your next dose, and you pick how many. Plum switches the reminder on when you add a method, and you can turn it off there.
Does Plum tell my friends when my period starts?
No. Nobody gets a notification when your period starts. Group members do get one when someone new joins. Plum may also send you “Your periods line up” when someone in a group where you both share is due within two days of you. Your own phone works that out from the dates the group already shares.
Does Plum remind me if my period is late?
Yes, but only on a day you open the app before 6 in the evening. If your period is due or late and you haven’t logged it, Plum asks “Has your period started?” at 6. It needs the Cycle Reminders switch on.
Why didn’t my period reminder come?
Check that notifications for Plum are allowed in iPhone Settings and that the Cycle Reminders switch is on. Plum also needs at least one logged period before it can predict the next one.
