ArticleInternet interventions2019
Reviewing the data security and privacy policies of mobile apps for depression.
Article in Internet interventions, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 55 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
55 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Initial Requirements for the Prototyping of an App for a Psychosocial Rehabilitation Project: An Integrative Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Pooled it
- Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT) 2023 Update on Clinical Guidelines for Management of Major Depressive Disorder in Adults: Réseau canadien pour les traitements de l'humeur et de l'anxiété (CANMAT) 2023 : Mise à jour des lignes directrices cliniques pour la prise en charge du trouble dépressif majeur chez les adultes.Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie · 2024Guideline
- Evaluation of Digital Mental Health Technologies in the United States: Systematic Literature Review and Framework Synthesis.JMIR mental health · 2024Pooled it
- Data Management and Privacy Policy of COVID-19 Contact-Tracing Apps: Systematic Review and Content Analysis.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2022Pooled it
- Efficacy of Smartphone Apps in Patients With Depressive Disorders: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Pooled it
- Framework for the Design Engineering and Clinical Implementation and Evaluation of mHealth Apps for Sleep Disturbance: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Pooled it
- Assessment of the Fairness of Privacy Policies of Mobile Health Apps: Scale Development and Evaluation in Cancer Apps.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2020Pooled it
- Smartphone Apps for the Treatment of Mental Disorders: Systematic Review.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2020Pooled it
- Debate: Conversational AI and young people's mental health - friend or foe? - the illusion of a safe space for youth mental health.Child and adolescent mental health · 2026Article
- Quality and Privacy Policy Compliance of Mental Health Care Apps in China: Cross-Sectional Evaluation Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- mHealth Applications for Childhood Anxiety Disorders: Current Landscape, Challenges, and Future Directions.Current psychiatry reports · 2025Review
- Systematic review and meta-analysis of adverse events in clinical trials of mental health apps.NPJ digital medicine · 2024Article
- Machine Learning for Mental Health: Applications, Challenges, and the Clinician's Role.Current psychiatry reports · 2024Review
- Exploring Acceptability, Barriers, and Facilitators for Digital Health in Dermatology: Qualitative Focus Groups With Dermatologists, Nurses, and Patients.JMIR dermatology · 2024Article
- IoT Privacy Risks Revealed.Entropy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Individuals' attitudes toward digital mental health apps and implications for adoption in Portugal: web-based survey.BMC medical informatics and decision making · 2024Article
- Smartphone-Based versus Non-Invasive Automatic Oscillometric Brachial Cuff Blood Pressure Measurements: A Prospective Method Comparison Volunteer Study.Journal of personalized medicine · 2023Article
- A Proposal for a Robust Validated Weighted General Data Protection Regulation-Based Scale to Assess the Quality of Privacy Policies of Mobile Health Applications: An eDelphi Study.Methods of information in medicine · 2023Article
- Digital Health Applications in the Area of Mental Health.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2023Review
- Provision of Digital Health Technologies for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment by US Health Care Organizations.JAMA network open · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMobile apps have become popular resources for mental health support. Availability of information about developers' data security procedures for health apps, specifically those targeting mental health, has not been thoroughly investigated. If people are to use and trust these tools for their mental health, it is crucial we evaluate the transparency and quality around the data practices of these apps. The present study reviewed data security and privacy policies of mobile apps for depression.
methodsWe reviewed mobile apps retrieved from iTunes and Google Play stores in October 2017, using the term "depression", and evaluated the transparency of data handling procedures of those apps.
resultsWe identified 116 eligible mobile phone apps. Of those, 4% (5/116) received a transparency score of acceptable, 28% (32/116) questionable, and 68% (79/116) unacceptable. Only a minority of the apps (49%) had a privacy policy. The availability of policies differed significantly by platform, with apps from iTunes more likely to have a policy than from the Google Play store. Mobile apps collecting identifiable information were significantly more likely to have a privacy policy (79%) compared to those collecting only non-identifiable information (34%).
conclusionThe majority of apps reviewed were not sufficiently transparent with information regarding data security. Apps have great potential to scale mental health resources, providing resources to people unable or reluctant to access traditional face-to-face care, or as an adjunct to treatment. However, if they are to be a reasonable resource, they must be safe, secure, and responsible.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.