
PTSD Coach
PTSD Coach is a free self-help app created by the US Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for PTSD. It is designed to help military service members and veterans mainly, and others secondarily, manage symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder such as anger, sleep problems, suicidal thoughts, and help with relaxation and self-talk. The US Department of Veterans Affairs also offers a handful of other self-help and treatment companion apps designed to help people manage PTSD. All these apps use the same privacy policy which clearly states "no data that could be used to identify you is sent to VA or third parties." This is good. And lawmakers have questioned the VA on their app privacy review practices to make sure they are strict and protect their users, which is also good. From what we can tell, this app seems to do a good job protecting users' privacy.
O que pode acontecer se algo der errado?
This app doesn't collect personal information, and so it can't share any personal information. Yay! The US Department of Veteran Affairs has -- and follows -- strict privacy rules, which the app seems to adhere to. Again, yay! And the apps privacy policy makes clear what anonymous usage data is collected, what it is used for, and how to turn off the sharing of that data. A third yay! If we had to find one concern with this app, it's that it hasn't been updated in the Google Play store since July, 2020. Nearly two years without an update doesn't mean anything is wrong. It does show that no security updates have been done (hopefully because they haven't been needed) in a while. This is probably nothing major. We're just noting this as it's good when apps are updated when needed.
What's the worst that could happen? Well, hopefully nothing at all. If you want to make sure no one knows you are using this app, it's always good to passcode protect your phone and not use the app around anyone you wouldn't want to see you using it. Overall, this is one of the best privacy protecting apps we reviewed and that is a very good thing for an app targeted at service members who need help managing PTSD.
Dicas para se proteger
- If you would like to turn off sending this anonymous usage information, go to the Settings menu, look for "Anonymous Usage Data," and flip the switch to the "off" setting.
Pode me bisbilhotar?
Câmera
Dispositivo: Não aplicável
Aplicativo: Sim
Microfone
Dispositivo: Não aplicável
Aplicativo: Sim
Rastreia localização
Dispositivo: Não aplicável
Aplicativo: Não
O que pode ser usado para se inscrever?
Não
Celular
Não
Conta de terceiros
Não
Que dados a empresa coleta?
Pessoal
None
Relacionado ao corpo
Social
Como a empresa usa esses dados?
Como você pode controlar seus dados?
Qual é o histórico conhecido da empresa na proteção de dados dos usuários?
No known privacy or security incidents discovered in the last 3 years.
Informações de privacidade infantil
Este produto pode ser usado offline?
Informações de privacidade fáceis de entender?
PTSD Coach has an easy to read and understand privacy policy.
Links para informações de privacidade
Este produto atende aos nossos padrões mínimos de segurança?
Criptografia
Senha forte
Atualizações de segurança
Gerencia vulnerabilidades
Everyone who found a bug can report it to https://bugcrowd.com/va-vdp
Política de privacidade
It's a little hard to find, but it is there on the National Center for PTSD page run by the US Department of Veterans Affairs
Mergulhe mais fundo
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Lawmakers press VA officials on app privacyModern Healthcare
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VA mobile apps for PTSD and related problems: public health resources for veterans and those who care for themNational Center for Biotechnology Information
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Top 10 Free Mental Health Apps in 2022Psych Central
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