Background
Methods
App identification
User-documented data characterization
Information sources
Data characteristics
Characteristic | Description | Extracted information (n) |
---|---|---|
Dietary assessment method | The dietary assessment method used by the app for collecting food consumption data | Food diary (166), No information (8), Incidental food logging (2) |
Food consumption inputsa | The type of food consumption data inputs supported | Generic input (91), Custom input (74), Labeled or packaged food products (44), Barcodes (scanned) (39), Water (30), Food images (21), Recipes (20), Restaurant dishes (19), Nutrient/Energy input (19), Diet plans (9), Voice input (4), Food log reminder (2), No information (2) |
Precompiled food database | Whether the food consumption logging is supported by selecting foods from precompiled databases | Yes (93), No (83) |
Food database compilation | The official food database the apps use for calculating nutrition and energy estimations | USDA (7) |
User compiled databasesa | The type of user compiled databases the app generates for logging references | Favorite eaten foods (29), Recently eaten foods input (15), Frequently eaten foods (14) |
Nutrient/Energy estimationa | The unit or level of detail nutrient and energy consumption is estimated | Calorie (94), Macronutrients (78), Carbohydrates (49), Protein (49), Food score (26), Micronutrients (25), No information (20) |
Portion size | Whether the app collect portion size estimations | Yes (96), No information (57), No (23) |
Method portion sizea | The methods that was used to collect portion size estimations | Standard serving sizes (59), Weight estimation (26), Volume estimation (9), Manual energy/nutrient input (5), Custom serving sizes (4) |
Location | Whether the app collects information about where the consumptions took place | No (162), Yes (14) |
Occasion | Whether the app collects information about the occasion or event of the consumptions | No (175), Yes (1) |
Contextual dataa | Data parameters the app collects about users other than food intake data | Motivation (107): Nutrition goals (59), Diet plans (38), Weight goals (32), Food preferences (29), Fitness goals (10), Fitness plan (10), Emotions (9), Health goals (7), Hydration goals (7), Stress level (5), Muscle building goals (3), Sleep goal (3), Health (108): Body weight (76), BMI (22), Medications (11), Symptoms (12), Body composition (11), Body measurements (9), Body image (8), Blood sugar (8), Blood pressure (8), Heart rate (7), BMR (7), Cholesterol (4), Physical fitness (4), Oxygen saturation (2) Physical activity (90): Exercise (59), Activity type (29), Steps (19), Activity level (14), Sleep (13) Uncategorized (34): Posts (27), Notes (22), Comments (6), Lifelogging data (3) |
Interventional influences typea | The type of interventional influences the app contains that might have an direct influence on the recorded food intake behavior | Reminders/Notifications (54), Advices (53), Social support (23), Connected users (21), Coaching (19), Challenges (17), Personal feedback (14), Rewards (6), Encouragements (6), Allowance badge (4) |
Sensors typea | The type of own external devices the app supports (exclusive devices of third party partner apps or health and fitness sensors) | Pedometer (4), Heart rate monitor (3), Accelerometer (3) |
Third party health and fitness trackersa | The third party health and fitness trackers the app connects to | Fitbit (19), UP® – Smart Coach for Health (10), Health Mate - Steps tracker & Life coach (10), Misfit (6), Garmin Connect™ Mobile (4), Record by Under Armour, connects with UA HealthBox (2), Samsung Gear (1) |
Aggregatorsa | The third party data aggregators the app connects to | HealthKit (31), GoogleFit (17), Healthgraph (5), S Health (5), Human Api (3), Validic (2), Fitnesssyncer (2), HealthVault (1) |
Characteristic | Description | Extracted information (n) |
---|---|---|
Data export | Whether the data collected by the app is exportable directly via the apps infrastructure (not via integrated aggregators) | No information (117), Yes (55), No (4) |
Access methoda | The type of data export | File download (40), Email export (9), API (5), SDK (3), No information (3), Dropboxb (3), AirDropc (1), Google Accountd (1), Google Drivee (1) |
Data formata | The format the data can be exported | PDF (18), CSV (18), Excel (9), No information (8), JSON (4), HTML (3), SQLitef data file (2) |
External data sourcesa | What type of third parties systems does the app exchange data with | Aggregators (44), Partner apps (40), Health and fitness trackers (24) |
Characteristic | Description | Extracted information (n) |
---|---|---|
Website | Whether the app can be associated with a working home/support page | Yes (140), No (36) |
Contact information | Whether the app vendor provides contact information | Yes (117), No (59) |
Terms & conditions | Whether the app provides a terms of use document | Yes (69), No (107) |
Privacy statement | Whether the app provides a privacy policy document | Yes (80), No (96) |
Ownershipa | The parties who hold the ownership of the user generated data (User content) | User (50), Vendor (1), No information (125) |
Usage license vendor | Whether the app vendor retains the right to access and exploit the user generated data (publish, distribute, publicly display) | Yes (43), No (9), No Information (124) |
Personally identifiable information collection | Whether the app collects personal identifiable information (e.g., during registration) | Yes (74), No (5), No Information (97) |
Type personally identifiable informationa | The types of personal identifiable information does the app collect | Email address (44), Name (37), Username and or password (28), Date of birth (18), Phone number (16), Registration (16), Health data (15), Address (14), Financial information (11), Gender (10), Additional data (8), Optional registration (8), Physical characteristics (7), Demographics (7), Mandatory registration (7), Image (5), Postcode (4), Location (3), No information (3), Interactions (1), Home address (1), Personal video (1), Social network handle (1), Ethnicity (1) |
Public profile | Whether the app creates a public profile of the users personal data | Yes (38), No (5), No Information (133) |
Privacy settings public profile | Whether the is user able to configure the privacy settings for his or her public profile | Yes (21), No (1), No Information (16) |
Cookies | Whether the homepage/website of the app stores cookies on a user’s computer | Yes (61), No Information (115) |
Web Beacons | Whether the homepage/website of the app stores web beacons on a user’s computer | Yes (25), No (2), No Information (149) |
PII data sharing affiliates | Whether the collected personal identifiable data will be shared with affiliated third parties (confidentiality agreements) | Yes (51), No (8), With consent (4), No information (113) |
PII data sharing non affiliates | Whether the collected personal identifiable data will be shared with unaffiliated third parties (without confidentiality agreements) | Yes (4), No (11), With consent (29), No information (132) |
Usage Analytics | Whether the homepage/website of the app uses third-parties for advertising and usage analytics | Yes (41), No (1), No Information (134) |
Data Storagea | The location where the system stores the data it collects | Device storage (78), Server storage (48), No information (81) |
Data encryption | Whether the collected data is stored or transmitted in encrypted form | Storage: No information (176) Transfer: Yes (15), No information (161) |
Data deletion | Whether the user is able to delete or ask for deletion of his or her personal identifiable information (e.g., after account termination) | Yes (33), No (1), No Information (142) |