Purpose: Do the frequency of downloads of free diabetes smartphone droid apps change from year to year?
Methods: Using Google playstore, we found the most popular apps in 2017. For 2016 apps, we used our 2016 data 1 from the Google playstore. The 11 most popular free apps in 2016 and 2017 were compared.
Results: The change in app ranking were associated with "pay for premium features (PPF)" in 2017. The app, mySugr remains no. 1 in terms of number of downloads, due to fewest changes in PPF. Diabetes M went from no. 5 in 2016 to no. 8 in 2017, due to PPF. Glucose Buddy remained at no. 4 in the two years. Blood Glucose Tracker went from 2 to 11 in two years due to high cost PPF. Of the most popular apps in 2017, Diabetes Plus is only free on android. In 2016, only 2 are for children:Carb Counting with Lenny and mySugr Junior. As of 2017, mySugr Junior no longer exists. None of the 2017 or 2016 apps have glycemic index. All apps in 2017 require email login. 4/11 apps record height and weight in 2017. 3/11 apps do not record blood pressure in 2017. 5/6 apps were journal based vs. 12/12 apps in 2017.
Conclusion: The popularity of apps change greatly in 24 months. Patients and MDs have a common goal in seeking useful mobile apps for diabetes self-management.
G. Wu: None. V. Ngo: None.
