Locking it down: The privacy and security of mobile medication apps

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Health Informatics
• Consumer Privacy

Background:

• Medication management apps are increasingly popular among consumers.
• Concerns exist regarding the privacy and security of personal health information within these applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the privacy and security measures of free medication management applications available to Canadian consumers.
• To identify potential risks associated with the use of these apps.

Main Methods:

• A systematic search of the Canadian iTunes and Google Play stores was conducted for free medication management apps.
• Two independent reviewers assessed 184 apps for features like password protection, data storage, privacy policies, encryption, and third-party sharing.
• Cohen's Kappa statistic was used to ensure interrater reliability.

Main Results:

• A significant majority of apps (70.1%) lacked password protection.
• Nearly half of the apps (41.8%) requested personal details (name, DOB, gender), and 25% sought contact information.
• A substantial number of apps (89.1%) collected personal health information beyond medication names.
• Only 34.2% of the evaluated apps had a privacy policy.

Conclusions:

• Free medication apps generally provide inadequate authentication and privacy protections.
• Patients bear the responsibility of selectively entering data and understanding potential privacy vulnerabilities.
• Healthcare providers cannot fully endorse these apps until enhanced security measures are implemented.