Health apps could be doing more harm than good, warn scientists

App development likened to the 'wild west' as researchers raise concerns over one-size-fits-all targets and absence of sound science

Fitness trackers and mental health apps could be doing more harm than good because they are not based on sound science, researchers have warned, comparing some health app developers to "snake oil salesmen of the 1860s".

Greg Hager, professor of computer science at Johns Hopkins University, said that in the absence of trials or scientific grounding it was impossible to say whether apps were having the intended effect.