NHS Health Apps Library 'to be upgraded' after apps were found to be leaking data

Two-year pilot programme has been hampered with issues from the offset

The NHS's Health Apps Library, an app store-like website which reviews and recommends apps against a defined set of criteria, has been binned just weeks after a study revealed that many of the apps had been leaking data - but it is set to relaunch.

The library, which was launched as a pilot in 2013 and was still considered to be in the pilot stage two years on, was found to have accredited a number of smartphone health apps which did not properly secure customer data and had poor information privacy practices, according to researchers at Imperial College London.

Researchers checked 79 of the 230-plus apps available in the library and found that despite vetting from the NHS, many apps were not up to the required standard - with some ignoring privacy standards and nearly a third (29 per cent) sending the data - which included both personal and health data - without encrypting it at all. The vast majority sent personal data to an associated online service.

Some apps were withdrawn from the library altogether following complaints. But the findings were not surprising as in June, NHS England was put under scrutiny for its review criteria for the library.

The criteria were labelled "weak", and furthermore it seemed as if some of the apps failed to meet even that standard. NHS England has suggested that it does not formally accredit the apps, and merely ensures that they are clinically safe and compliant with the Data Protection Act.

A spokesperson for NHS England suggested that the organisation was working to "upgrade" the Health Apps Library.

"Building on the success of the Mental Health Apps Library, which assesses apps and digital tools against further clinical standards, we will launch a series of ‘app stores' to promote clinically validated apps in a range of other areas including diabetes, obesity prevention, maternity and early years, smoking cessation and COPD," the spokesperson said.

An upgrade suggests that the NHS has taken notice of the research and may take a different approach to the library for the relaunch.