Introduction
Despite tremendous growth in the number of health applications (apps), little is known
about how well these apps protect their users’ health-related data. This gap in knowledge
is of particular concern for apps targeting people with dementia, whose cognitive
impairment puts them at increased risk of privacy breaches. In this article, we determine
how many dementia apps have privacy policies and how well they protect user data.
Methods
Our analysis included all iPhone apps that matched the search terms “medical + dementia”
or “health & fitness + dementia” and collected user-generated content. We evaluated
all available privacy policies for these apps based on criteria that systematically
measure how individual user data is handled.
Results
Seventy-two apps met the above search teams and collected user data. Of these, only
33 (46%) had an available privacy policy. Nineteen of the 33 with policies (58%) were
specific to the app in question, and 25 (76%) specified how individual-user as opposed
to aggregate data would be handled. Among these, there was a preponderance of missing
information, the majority acknowledged collecting individual data for internal purposes,
and most admitted to instances in which they would share user data with outside parties.
Conclusions
At present, the majority of health apps focused on dementia lack a privacy policy,
and those that do exist lack clarity. Bolstering safeguards and improving communication
about privacy protections will help facilitate consumer trust in apps, thereby enabling
more widespread and meaningful use by people with dementia and those involved in their
care.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: June 01, 2017
Accepted:
April 13,
2017
Received in revised form:
April 12,
2017
Received:
December 30,
2016
Identification
Copyright
© 2017 Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry.
