My research will examine how discourses surrounding mental health apps claim legitimacy and trustworthiness, and if/how issues of inequality are addressed by app companies and research teams. Such understandings will enable me to generate ethical frameworks for user-centred development and re-development of mental health apps, aiming to reduce designs containing harmful stereotypes and biased data sets.

A critical understanding of the potential benefits and limitations of mental health apps will assist decision making in policies setting out to regulate the development and use of mental health apps. Accompanying policy briefing documents, I will create a map displaying the social networks behind mental health apps, presenting who and how benefits from these innovations.