Multiple mental health apps riddled with high severity security flaws — data of millions put at risk, so be on your guard

• Oversecured found 1,500 vulnerabilities across 10 mental health apps with over 14 million downloads
• Exposed therapy transcripts, mood logs, medication schedules, and other sensitive data
• Therapy records can sell for $1,000+ each; many apps lacked updates, raising security risks

Some mental health apps are actually adding to the pressure by exposing users’ sensitive medical information, experts have warned.

Security researchers Oversecured recently analyzed 10 mental health mobile apps in the Android ecosystem, cumulatively downloaded more than 14 million times, finding they contained more than 1,500 vulnerabilities, of which 54 were deemed high severity.

“These apps collect and store some of the most sensitive personal data in mobile: therapy session transcripts, mood logs, medication schedules, self-harm indicators, and in some cases, information protected under HIPAA,” the researchers said in a new report.