PinkyBond vs Flo for Partners: Zero-Knowledge Encryption vs $56M Privacy Settlement

Flo for Partners is a feature within Flo Premium that lets users share basic cycle information with a partner. It’s a thin sharing layer on top of Flo’s existing platform. The partner gets a simple view of her cycle phase and some basic tips.

PinkyBond is a dedicated companion app with 60+ gesture cards, AI-translated bridge messages, bidirectional mood sharing, cycle education, and connection metrics. It’s built from the ground up for partners, not bolted onto a period tracker.

In 2021, Flo Health paid $56 million to settle an FTC complaint that it had shared users’ health data with third parties including Facebook and Google without consent. Flo for Partners shares data through these same servers.

PinkyBond uses a zero-knowledge architecture. Data is encrypted on-device with AES-256-GCM before transmission. Our Convex server stores only encrypted blobs it cannot decrypt. We can’t read your partner’s data. We never could.

Flo for Partners provides a basic overview of her cycle phase with limited interpretation. There are no gesture cards, no bridge messages, no bidirectional sharing, and no real-time insights.

PinkyBond translates her cycle data into actionable context: what phase she’s in, how she might be feeling, what gestures are appropriate, and AI-drafted bridge messages she can approve. It’s the difference between data and understanding.

To switch from Flo for Partners to PinkyBond: Have your partner download PinkyBloom (free). She imports her cycle history via screenshot import. She invites you to pair via QR code. You’re up and running in minutes with better encryption, more features, and no $56M settlement in the rearview mirror.