Posted on 06/05/2022 at 11:12 a.m.,
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The Mozilla Foundation, which campaigns for the Internet to remain a common good open and accessible to everyone “screened around thirty applications devoted to mental health. Results: 28 of them do not offer enough protection in relation to the privacy and data of their users.
They are called Talkspace, Better Help or Calm… These applications devoted to mental health, meditation or prayer are very popular, especially among young people. On the other hand, they are cruelly lacking in confidentiality, according to the observation drawn by the Mozilla foundation.
28 apps out of 32 insufficiently secure
To reach this conclusion, the Mozilla Foundation screened 32 applications to assess how they secure user data and how well they protect their privacy.
Result: of the 32 apps tested, 28 received the label “privacy not included” by the foundation’s experts. Worse, 25 of them did not even respect the requirement of a strong password, in order to respect the minimum security conditions.
A finding that raises questions
By noting these results, the leaders of Mozilla alert the users of this type of tools, which deal with serious subjects such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders or suicidal thoughts. For Jen Caltrider, responsible for this Mozilla guide, “the vast majority of mental health and prayer apps are exceptionally scary. They track, share, and leverage users’ innermost personal thoughts and feelings, such as moods, mental state, and biometrics.”.
Beware of teenagers and young adults
Those responsible for the Mozilla Foundation are particularly targeting young adults and adolescents, who are more concerned by the use of this type of application and unfortunately by mental health disorders as well. They therefore invite them to become aware of the way in which their data is managed.
They recall that if these tools have been useful during periods of confinement or difficulty in accessing a specialized consultation, in particular during the Covid-19 pandemic, they do not replace the advice of a competent health professional.