Apps on our phones can help us develop the knowledge, skills and habits needed to build and sustain our physical and mental health. But how do you find useful, trustworthy apps among the enormous number available? This guide provides some starting points for finding and assessing health-related apps. Reading time ~ 8 minutes.
That mobile phone in your pocket is an incredibly powerful device 📱
It can connect you to tools for meditation, sleep, exercise, nutrition, alcohol use, stress, anxiety, mood, productivity and many other aspects of health and wellbeing. Never before have we had such ready access to health-related knowledge and tools.
The challenge is finding good tools among a sea of crappy ones.
An app might look impressive, have thousands of positive reviews and describe itself as “evidence-based,” but that doesn’t necessarily mean it is effective, safe or suitable for you.
Even good apps are not magic. Their effects are generally modest, and their usefulness depends on things like what you are trying to achieve, whether the app is a good fit for you and whether you actually use it.
Fortunately, there are catalogues that can help you narrow the field. There are also some questions you can ask before handing over your money, attention or personal information.
Start with what you want the app to do
Before searching for an app, identify the job you want it to perform.
For example, are you looking for something to help you:
- learn more about a health or mental health concern?
- practise a skill such as meditation, relaxation or challenging unhelpful thoughts?
- track something such as sleep, mood, exercise or alcohol use?
- build a healthy habit?
- manage symptoms of anxiety, depression or another condition?
- supplement work you are already doing with a health professional?
- connect with professional or peer support?
The clearer you are about what you want, the easier it becomes to assess whether an app is likely to help.
An excellent meditation app is still the wrong app if what you really need is assistance with panic attacks, alcohol use or finding professional support.
Where can I find good apps?
I recommend starting your search with a trusted catalogue rather than simply searching an app store or Googling “best app for anxiety.”
You can certainly use Google and app-store searches later, but the catalogues below provide a more manageable and credible starting point.
✅ Medicare Mental Health
Medicare Mental Health is an Australian Government service that helps people find mental health information, tools, services and support.
It includes apps, online programs, counselling services, peer-support options and other digital mental health resources. This makes it particularly useful when you are not yet sure whether an app is the best type of support for what you need.
Some services listed on Medicare Mental Health are accredited against Australia’s National Safety and Quality Digital Mental Health Standards. Look for the accreditation badge when exploring services.
✅ eMHPrac
eMHPrac provides training and resources to help health professionals use digital mental health services in their work.
Its directory includes Australian websites, apps, online treatment programs, helplines and other digital resources covering a wide range of mental health concerns.
Although eMHPrac is primarily designed for health professionals, its directory and guides can also be useful if you are searching for evidence-informed Australian resources for yourself.
It also has a useful guide to assessing the safety and quality of digital mental health apps.
✅ ReachOut
ReachOut’s Tools and Apps collection includes professionally reviewed apps and tools designed to help young people look after their health and wellbeing.
You can browse apps relating to anxiety and stress, mood, sleep, study, habits, physical health and crisis support.
Because ReachOut develops its resources with young people and mental health professionals, this catalogue is particularly relevant to university students.
✅ MindApps
MindApps is a large, searchable database of mental health apps developed by the Division of Digital Psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in the United States.
Apps are assessed across areas including:
- privacy and security
- clinical foundations
- cost and accessibility
- features and engagement
- data collection and sharing
MindApps is especially helpful when you already have a particular app in mind and want to investigate it more closely.
It is important to note that MindApps provides information rather than simply declaring particular apps “good” or “bad.” You still need to decide whether an app is appropriate for your needs. Because it is US-based, you should also check whether the app is available and fully functional in Australia.
✅ Healthify
The Healthify mental health and wellbeing app library is based in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Its reviewed apps are organised into useful categories, including anxiety, depression, breathing, mindfulness, PTSD, obsessive-compulsive disorder, eating disorders, self-harm prevention and apps for young people, men and LGBTQIA+ communities.
The reviews are written in accessible language and often provide clear information about who an app may suit, its strengths and its limitations.
Again, check Australian availability and pricing before committing.
✅ WellMob
WellMob is a digital library of social, emotional and cultural wellbeing resources made by and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Its collection can be filtered by resource type, including apps, websites, audio, videos, documents and social media.
WellMob takes a holistic approach to wellbeing that includes mind, body, relationships, community, culture, safety and healing. It is a particularly valuable starting point for finding culturally relevant and culturally responsive resources.
How do I know whether an app is any good?
A recommendation from one of the catalogues above is a useful starting point, but it isn’t a guarantee that an app will be right for you.
Here are four areas to consider.
1. Is it credible?
- Is it clear who created the app?
- Is the developer a reputable health organisation, university, government body or established company?
- Were health professionals involved in its development?
- Were people with relevant lived experience involved in its design?
- Is the app based on established health or psychological approaches?
- Has the actual app been tested in research?
- Are the developers transparent about what has and hasn’t been demonstrated?
Be careful with the phrase “evidence-based.” It can mean several different things.
An app may be based on an evidence-based approach, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, without the app itself having been evaluated. Clinicians may have contributed to its development, but that does not necessarily mean it has been shown to improve outcomes.
The strongest evidence comes from appropriate research evaluating the actual app with the kinds of people it is intended to help.
Look out for developers making overly positive claims. Phrases such as “quick fix,” “guaranteed results” or “secret strategy” should make you cautious.
2. Is it safe?
Health and mental health apps can collect highly personal information, including information about your mood, thoughts, sleep, location, relationships and health behaviours.
Before using an app, check:
- Does it have a privacy policy that you can understand?
- What information does it collect?
- Why does it need that information?
- Is your information shared or sold to other organisations?
- Can you use the app without creating an account?
- Can you delete your information and account?
- Does it request permissions that seem unnecessary?
- Has the app been updated recently?
- Does it clearly explain its limitations?
- Does it tell users where to seek help if they are distressed or at risk?
The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care has a helpful checklist for choosing a digital mental health service.
A note about AI chatbots
Some health and mental health apps now include artificial intelligence chatbots.
These can feel impressively human, but a fluent or compassionate-sounding response is not necessarily an accurate or clinically appropriate one.
If an app uses AI, find out:
- whether you are clearly told when you are interacting with AI
- what happens to the information you enter
- whether conversations are stored or used to train the system
- whether humans can review your conversations
- what safety systems operate when someone mentions self-harm, suicide or abuse
- whether the app clearly describes what the chatbot can and cannot do
An AI chatbot should not be treated as a replacement for emergency assistance, professional assessment or an ongoing therapeutic relationship.
3. Is it suitable for you?
An app can be credible and well-designed but still not be the right app for you.
Consider:
- Is it designed for your specific concern or goal?
- Is it intended for people your age?
- Is its language accessible and easy to understand?
- Does it accommodate disability and accessibility needs?
- Is the content culturally appropriate?
- Is it available in Australia?
- Does it work on your device?
- Can you afford it?
- Is the advertised price the full price, or does useful access require a subscription?
- Will the subscription renew automatically?
- Can you realistically imagine using it?
App-store ratings can provide clues about usability, bugs and customer support. However, a high rating tells you very little about clinical effectiveness, privacy or safety.
Also consider how the app is funded. A free app still needs a business model. It may be government-funded, supported by a health organisation, sell subscriptions or generate income through advertising and user data.
“Free” does not necessarily mean dodgy, and “paid” does not necessarily mean good. You just want the arrangement to be transparent.
4. Does it help you in practice?
Once you’ve found an app that seems credible, safe and suitable, be prepared to experiment with it for a while.
It might be highly rated and high quality but not useful in your circumstances. It took me some experimentation before I found a meditation app I liked. You may need to try a few before finding one that becomes a staple in your life.
Approach the first week or two as a small personal experiment.
Decide:
- what you want the app to help you do
- when and how often you will use it
- what signs would suggest that it is helping
- when you will review whether to continue
At the end of the trial, ask yourself:
- Did I actually use it?
- Did it help me learn, practise or change something?
- Did I notice any benefit?
- Did it create any new stress, guilt, worry or obsessive tracking?
- Is it worth the time, attention, money and information I’m giving it?
- Should I keep it, replace it or delete it?
Don’t feel obliged to continue using an app simply because it was professionally recommended. Personal fit matters.
If you stop using an app that has collected personal information, consider deleting your account and data before uninstalling it.
Some apps supplement activities that are already healthy
Many useful apps aren’t health interventions in themselves. Instead, they add value to activities that are already likely to be healthy.
For example, Apple, Google and Samsung all provide apps that help users track exercise, sleep and other health behaviours. Companies that make wearables, such as Fitbit and Garmin, offer similar tools.
I’ve used a Fitbit in the past and found the information it provided about my sleep and physical activity was useful.
In these situations, much of the benefit comes from the app encouraging or helping you to engage in established healthy behaviours, such as regular exercise, better sleep or nutritious eating.
Remember that measurements generated by phones and wearables are often estimates rather than medical assessments. The information can be helpful without being perfectly accurate.
Know when an app isn’t enough
Apps can be useful for learning, practising skills, tracking patterns and supplementing professional care. They aren’t a replacement for every other form of support.
If your difficulties are severe, worsening, placing you or someone else at risk, or significantly affecting your daily life, consider talking with a health professional.
Flinders students can contact Health, Counselling and Disability Services for support.
You can also use Medicare Mental Health to find suitable services, or call 1800 595 212 during its operating hours.
If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 000. Lifeline is available 24 hours a day on 13 11 14.
I can’t find what I’m looking for
Are you searching for a particular health or mental health app but can’t find something suitable?
Drop me a line at gareth.furber@flinders.edu.au and I’ll see if I can help you locate an appropriate starting point.
I found a great app that I’d like to share!
We’re always interested in hearing about wellbeing-focused apps recommended by students and health professionals.
If you’ve used an app for health or wellbeing purposes and found it genuinely useful, send your recommendation (and what you found helpful about it) to me at gareth.furber@flinders.edu.au.
