Application developers have incredible access to consumers. Along with that access comes the potential for greater government scrutiny. In late March, that reality was reflected in three settlements reached by the Attorney General of New York State with three mobile health application developers that made what were described as “misleading claims and irresponsible privacy practices.”
According to the New York AG, there are more than 165,000 apps available that offer both medical education and general health advice. Two of the three developers that were the subject of the AG’s actions claimed that their apps provided accurate heart rate measurements after vigorous exercise. In reality, neither developer had tested the accuracy of the apps before making the apps available. One of the apps, Runtastic, was downloaded by one million consumers.
The third app, My Baby’s Beat, advertised that it would allow any smartphone to be used as a fetal heart monitor. The developer advised consumers that they could use the app instead of a fetal heart monitor or Doppler, and yet, according to the AG, the company “never conducted, for example, a comparison to a fetal heart monitor, Doppler, or any other device that had been scientifically proven to amplify the sound of a fetal heartbeat.”
In their agreements with the AG’s office, the developers neither admitted nor denied substantial allegations, but nevertheless agreed to take remedial steps in their advertising and to protect the privacy rights of consumers.