What Are Mental Health Apps Doing with Our Data?
Thursday, March 11, 2021
If you type “anxiety” or “depression” into an app store search bar, you will find countless options. While there are many, many different apps to handle all sorts of psychological challenges, there also are many varied ways in which these apps handle the privacy of the users.
Over the past year, the popularity of these types of apps has risen tremendously. According to a national Consumer Reports survey conducted at the end of last year, four out of 10 Americans reported experiencing depression or anxiety due to the pandemic. One way to cope with some of these issues is through a mental health app. Some of these apps connect you with a licensed therapist via video chat, while others provide guided mediations, mood-tracking diaries, therapy chatbots, and cognitive behavioral therapy exercises. And some of these apps, while not providing you with access to a therapist, may instead ask you to complete mental health symptom questionnaires. The data provided through those features might not necessarily be treated as confidential by the app developers, or by the law.