Calm, BetterHelp, Youper, Better Stop Suicide… All these applications intended to take care of our mental health would not be the last to collect the personal and in this case extremely intimate data of their users.
- One in five people is affected each year by a mental disorder, i.e. 13 million French people.
- The suicide rate in France is one of the highest in European countries of comparable development.
According to a new study conducted by Mozilla analysts and relayed by The Verge, applications intended to take care of our mental health would be after the personal data of their users.
“They follow, share and exploit thoughts”
Specifically, Mozilla analysts screened thirty-two applications, of which twenty-nine were given the warning icon “Privacy not included”.
“The vast majority of mental health and prayer apps are incredibly scary,” believes in a press release published on May 2 Jen Caltrider, at the origin of the guide “Privacy not included”. “They track, share and leverage users’ innermost thoughts and feelings, such as moods, mental state and biometrics.”
“When it comes to protecting people’s privacy and safety, mental health and prayer apps are worse than any other product category. […] examined over the last six years”, the statement continues. “They are wolves in lambs’ clothing”, summarizes Misha Rykov, co-author of the Mozilla guide.
The Worst Privacy Apps
According to Mozilla, the worst apps for privacy are BetterHelp, Youper, Better Stop Suicide, Woebot, Pray.com and Talkspace. Bearable or Calm are also considered not respectful of everyone’s privacy.
The Covid-19 health crisis has exacerbated mental health problems in many countries. Last October, 10% of French people had suicidal thoughts, an increase of 5 points compared to the level before the epidemic.