A shot in the dark: the impact of online visibility on the search for an effective sleep app.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Dictated by consumer ratings and concealed algorithms, high levels of online visibility are granted to certain sleep apps on mainstream modes of app selection. Yet, it remains unclear to what extent these highly visible apps are evidence-based. The objectives of this review were to identify and describe the apps with the greatest online visibility when searching for a sleep app and to assess the claimed and actual research associated with them.

METHODS: A keyword search was conducted in Google Play and Google search. Titles of the most visible apps were retrieved. App descriptions were examined to identify research claims made about app effectiveness on sleep and other health-related outcomes. A follow-up search on PubMed and Google Scholar was conducted to verify claims.

RESULTS: The keyword search identified 53 highly visible apps. Examination of app store descriptions found that no reference to research was made for the majority of apps (n = 45, 84.9%). Published research studies were available for just three apps, with most studies evaluating app impact on non-sleep related outcomes. There was some evidence to attesting to the effectiveness of two apps in improving sleep.

CONCLUSIONS: This review demonstrates how, when carrying out a typical search for a sleep app, information about the evidence base for the majority of highly visible apps is not available. Results highlight the need for the improvement of mainstream modes of app selection in terms of better consumer-app specificity and increased transparency regarding the access to information about the evidence base for apps.