At first, the idea of using a mobile app instead of the pill might sound a little odd. How one uses a phone to prevent unwanted pregnancy could lead the imagination in all kinds of directions.

But one app has indeed just been officially approved as a method of contraception – and previous studies have shown it to be nearly as effective as the hormone-laden alternatives.

As stylist.co.uk reported in April last year, Natural Cycles is similar to standard fertility and period-tracking apps in that it allows the user to record their menstrual cycle and thus work out when they’re most fertile to plan or prevent pregnancy.

However the app also monitors body temperature, which works as an indirect measure of hormone levels. And the algorithm has proved so effective that Natural Cycles is now the world’s first app to gain official approval as a method of contraception.

Mobile app officially approved as a method of contraception