A 15-year-old Sunshine Coast student has taken an idea born from her own experience to one of the country’s leading cyber events, putting her work in front of senior figures from around the globe.
Pacific Lutheran College student Eva Barker has recently returned from the International Women in Cyber Awards in Canberra after being nominated in the Rising Woman category for her privacy-first period and cycle app.
There, she had the opportunity to connect with leaders in defence and cyber, including the Chief of Army Lieutenant General Susan Coyle, as well as representatives from the US and UK embassies.
Called Dotti, the period, cycle, pregnancy and wellbeing companion is designed to keep users’ health data entirely on their own device rather than in a central database.
An on-device AI companion is designed to learn patterns over time, while other features allow users to track symptoms and prepare information for medical appointments.
It is an impressive achievement for the Year 10 student, whose idea stemmed from her own experience.
“The apps out there were inappropriate, confusing and honestly… ugly,” Eva said.
“I wanted to build something women of all ages would actually use.”
So she decided to create her own.
“Dotti proves that women deserve technology that respects them,” she said.
“Your cycle data is some of the most intimate information you have – and it should never be sold, shared, or used against you.”
The issue of privacy in period-tracking technology has attracted considerable international attention in recent years.
Most recently, global women’s health app Flo Health and Google agreed to pay a combined $78.6 million to settle a US class action involving allegations over the handling of Flo users’ reproductive health data, with Flo contributing $11.2 million and Google $67.4 million.
The companies deny wrongdoing and the settlement received preliminary court approval in April.
These issues are something Eva said strengthened her determination to build privacy into Dotti from the outset.
“Women are pushing back. Privacy is not a luxury, it’s the baseline,” she said. “Dotti exists because women deserve to track their health without fear.”
Pacific Lutheran College head of middle college learning Jo Belchamber said Eva had balanced the project with the demands of her Year 10 academic program and her wider involvement in college life.
“What Eva has built in her own time, without being asked, is remarkable,” she said.
“She demonstrates that young people can create meaningful change when they think critically and act with purpose,” Ms Belchamber said.
“She did not wait for permission, funding or a title. She identified a problem, taught herself what she needed to know, developed a practical solution and openly published her research so that others could learn from and scrutinise her work.”
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Eva said Dotti was committed to ensuring no girl or woman was left behind, with her website encouraging employers to support women at all stages of life by purchasing the app for staff through the Enterprise program.
A portion of every Enterprise purchase will support Share the Dignity and other not-for-profit organisations working to ensure girls who cannot afford period products still have access to them.
Visit dotti.life
