By PulsHealth. Updated
Research reviewed .
Overview
Sexual activity in Apple Health is a saved category entry with optional information about protection use. It records a logged occurrence and its timing, rather than a fertility measurement or a detailed sexual-health history.
What information does the sample contain?
| Field | Recorded meaning | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| Code 0, notApplicable | The occurrence uses the generic category marker | Severity, frequency or type of activity |
| Start and end dates | Timing supplied by the source | A verified physiological duration |
| Protection used: true | Protection was recorded as used | Which method or how effectively it was used |
| Protection used: false | Protection was recorded as not used | Pregnancy probability or infection risk |
| Protection key absent | Protection information is unknown | That protection was not used |
The optional Boolean is HKMetadataKeySexualActivityProtectionUsed. Keep missing metadata distinct from false. The category name notApplicable means no more specific value is defined; it is not a negative occurrence.
What does the cadence mean?
Intervals between records describe saved logging history. They do not measure all activity or the time between every occurrence. A blank day is unknown, not zero. Multiple entries on a date require checking source identity, UUIDs and matching intervals before deciding whether they represent repeated activity or candidate duplicate imports.
If there are enough entries, counts by recorded day can summarize the available history. Report the number of recorded days and unknown coverage beside those counts. Do not average category codes or use numeric outlier thresholds: every valid sample has the same code.
What can related cycle entries add?
Menstrual-flow starts, mucus observations and ovulation tests can be aligned by recorded dates. Those records have their own gaps and uncertainty, and sharing a date does not make them an explicit association or yield a conception probability.
Interval duration may reflect how the source stores the entry rather than the duration of an event.
What did the example data show?
No sexual-activity records were available in the research window. Recorded frequency, interval spacing, protection metadata and date-aligned relationships could not be analyzed. No synthetic timeline replaces that missing evidence.
What are the important limits?
This is sensitive user-entered context. It does not identify a partner, record consent, encode a contraceptive method or determine infection exposure. Do not infer any of those details from neighboring measurements or missing entries. Apple says Cycle Tracking should not be used as birth control; a logged history should not be turned into contraceptive advice.
Understanding your records
Recording frequency, source and coverage affect what you can conclude from this data. Read the recording guide.