Switching baby apps: how to export and keep your data

Why the history is worth keeping

A single weight tells you little. What doctors look at is the shape of a child's growth over time, measurement after measurement on the same chart. ³ Every dated weight, length and head circumference you have is a point on that curve, and you can't recreate them later. A switch is a good moment to make sure the record survives, whatever app you use next.

Step 1: find the export

Most apps put it in one of these places:

• Settings or Account, under "Export", "Download data", "Backup" or "Privacy".
• A child's profile, sometimes with a per-child export.
• A "share" or "report" feature that produces a CSV or a spreadsheet, which is easier to reuse than a PDF.

Prefer a CSV or Excel file over a PDF or a screenshot. A spreadsheet keeps each measurement as a value with its date, so it can be imported again. A PDF has to be retyped.

If the export is a paid feature or missing, write to the company's privacy or support contact and ask for a copy of all the data in a common format. Keep a note of when you asked.

Step 2: know your rights if there is no export

Several privacy laws give you the right to see and delete what a company holds about you:

• In Washington State, the My Health My Data Act covers "consumer health data", which includes information about bodily functions, vital signs and measurements. It gives you the right to confirm whether a company collects your consumer health data, to access it, to withdraw consent and to have it deleted, and companies must respond within 45 days. ¹
• In California, the CCPA gives residents the right to know what personal information a business has collected about them and to request its deletion, also with a 45-day response time. ²

Laws differ from state to state and change over time, and not every company is covered by every law. If you are unsure, ask the company which law it follows.

Step 3: check the file before you rely on it

Open the export in a spreadsheet and look for:

• Dates: full dates on every row, not just "3 weeks". Note whether the format is month/day/year or day/month/year.
• Units: whether weight is in kilograms, grams, pounds with decimals, or pounds and ounces in separate columns; whether length is in centimetres or inches.
• Which measure is which: length (measured lying down) and height (standing) are different measurements, and head circumference is easy to mix up with length.
• Your child's details: the birth date and, for a baby born early, the weeks of pregnancy at birth. Corrected age depends on both.

Keep this original file. Save a copy in at least two places you control, for example your computer and a cloud drive.

Step 4: bring it into the new record

On childow, the importer reads any CSV or Excel file with a date column and at least one growth column. It guesses which column is which and the units, and shows you a preview before anything is saved. Values far outside the reference range for the child's age are flagged with a "check this number" step, because the usual cause is a unit slip, such as pounds typed into a kilogram column. Rows that duplicate entries already in the record are skipped.

childow keeps growth and development, not feeds, sleep or diapers, so those columns are left out. If you still want feed logging, keep a tracker for that and bring only the growth history across.

After importing, open the growth chart and check that the points sit where you expect. A sudden jump at one point usually means one row has the wrong unit.

Step 5: close the old account properly

Once the new record looks right:

1. Delete the data, not just the app. Removing an app from your phone doesn't delete the account or what's stored on the company's servers. Use the app's "delete account" option or send a deletion request. ^1,2
2. Remove other people's access if you had shared the old account with a partner or caregiver.
3. Cancel any subscription separately, through the app store or the company, so you aren't charged again.
4. Keep the confirmation email or message.

What to look for in any app you move to

Whatever you choose next, these questions are worth asking before you type in a child's data:

• Can I export everything in a common format, at any time, without paying?
• Is the data sold or shared with advertisers or data brokers? Are there third-party trackers in the app?
• When I delete my account, is the data actually deleted?
• If health information leaks, does the company commit to telling me? The FTC's Health Breach Notification Rule applies to many health apps that are not covered by HIPAA. ⁴

childow's answers are in the pledge and the privacy policy: export is free and always available, data is never sold or shared, there are no ads or trackers, and deletion removes the rows.