Apps | Demo

August 8, 2017

That STI App On Your Phone Might Not Be Giving You The Best Health Advice

(Reuters Health) – Of nearly 90 mobile phone apps focusing on sexually transmitted infections (STIs), about a third had inaccurate and incomplete information in a recent study.

This significant variation in content, quality and medical advice could lead to sexual health risks for those who search for answers online before talking to a doctor.

“Due to the stigmatized nature of STIs, apps could be a great medium for providing accurate information to those most at risk,” said lead author Jo Gibbs of the University College London Department of Infection and Population Health in the UK.

“However, there is very little guidance available for the consumer to assess the accuracy and quality of information provided by apps, and to identify and distinguish those which are likely to provide legitimate, trustworthy content,” she told Reuters Health.

In September 2014, the research team looked on Google Play and iTunes for STI and genital infection apps that featured information about testing, diagnosis and treatment. They analyzed 87 apps to see if they met the 19 principles of the Health on the Net Foundation, which require health apps to include medical qualifications, confidentiality, cited facts and contact information.

The team also compared diagnosis and treatment information in the apps to what’s offered on the UK National Health Service’s STI website.

About 29 percent of apps met more than six Health on the Net criteria, and content varied widely. About 39 percent, or 34 of 87 apps, covered one or two infections such as gonorrhea and genital warts, and 46 percent covered multiple STIs. Five apps focused on STI testing in particular.

Importantly, 13 apps were fully accurate, 46 were mostly accurate and 28 were partially accurate, the researchers report in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections.

Of the 87 apps examined, 25 contained more than one piece of potentially harmful information, for example, “certain medicinal herbs may also be beneficial in creating a strong immune response against HSV in non-infected partners,” or advice that getting treatment for genital warts will cause “a very bad time” and “will shatter your relationships.”

Apps that were available on both iOS and Android phones were more accurate than single-platform apps. In total, only one app provided completely accurate information about chlamydia, the most common STI in the UK. No apps contained documentation or citations.

August 8, 2017

Food Delivery App Donates A Meal

Doing something good is now a piece of cake.

Sharebite, an easy-to-use food delivery app, donates a free meal to a child in need with every order placed.

The app, which is only available in New York City, has partnered with City Harvest, an organization that provides food to low-income communities within New York and rescues food that would have been otherwise thrown out. When someone places an order through Sharebite, the app takes a portion of those proceeds and sends it to City Harvest.

“The larger the order, the more meals we share,” Mohsin Memon, co-founder and CEO of Sharebite told The Huffington Post. “With an average transaction of $25, we are sharing enough to donate two meals for every order.”

For the month of December, the app is upping its do-gooder game and will be donating five meals per order to kick off its “Million Meal Mission,” a campaign in which Sharebite hopes to donate a million meals to New York kids within a year.

August 8, 2017

Dear Instagram, We Hate The Stupid Algorithm

It’s dumb, it’s wrong, it’s counterproductive, it’s rude, it’s frustrating, it’s confusing, it’s downright evil. All these things and a lot more can be said about a stupid algorithm created by really smart people.

That’s just it, the Instagram executives are too smart for their own good. They think they’re helping us and their financial bottom line at the same time by having the algorithm only show us what they think we want to see.

What they failed to remember is that the number one most functionally amazing technology ever created to tell Instagram with extreme accuracy what I want to see in chronological order is the follow button!

The follow button was masterfully crafted with 100 percent accuracy to show users only what they want to see in their feed.

The other aspect that these extremely book smart—but clearly not street smart—IG executives failed to realize when deciding what posts are most relevant to show us, based on our previous engagement with accounts, is that there’s lots of accounts that we’re forced to engage with for political reasons—like if my nephew, mother-in-law or co-worker posts something, I’m obligated to “like” it.

On the flip side of that, I’m never going to like an @anacheri photo because it’s too sexy and my wife would be infuriated, and I’m never going to comment on @danbilzerian’s exploits on his page in fear of getting in trouble as well.

But it obviously doesn’t mean that i don’t wanna see Ana and Dan’s posts just because I don’t engage with them. It’s far from that! I’m on Instagram to get a rush of endorphins to feel good, so I’d much rather see their entertaining content than my cousin’s dinner salad.

But with the way the algorithm works, I may never get those endorphins because it may push those pages way down in my feed or completely ignore them, all at the algorithm’s discretion.

Note: just because I never “like” my competitors page doesn’t mean I don’t wanna see what the restaurant owner across the street is posting in real time. It’s an easy way to stay on top of their marketing and specials.

August 7, 2017

Airbnb’s New ‘Trips’ Service Helps You

We may never fall for a tourist trap again.

Airbnb is launching a new service called Trips that allows travelers to schedule adventures with local experts instead of bumbling around on their own, CEO Brian Chesky announced on Thursday.

The news got the Internet buzzing, as it could mean BIG things for the way we vacation in the future.

Consider this: Instead of simply hitting up the typical tourist attractions on a trip, travelers can use Airbnb Trips to book real-life experiences with locals who are willing to show them around. Travelers could sign up for a day of surfing with pros in Malibu, hunting for truffles with Tuscan locals or taking lessons from a Japanese samurai master, according to a company press release.

Trips are bookable either as one-off experiences or longer multi-day tours through Airbnb’s updated app. Half of the Trips are priced at $200 or less, according to Airbnb.

Five surfers walk along beach with surf boards.

It’s perfect for those sick and tired of relying on online reviews or chance encounters with friendly locals in order to experience a town’s true culture. The entire point of Airbnb’s new move, says Chesky, is to keep travelers away from long lines at overrated tourist destinations and give them a chance to feel what it’s really like to live in the places they visit.

“The magic is in the people, it’s all about immersing in local communities,” he said inThursday’s announcement about the product.

The feature is currently live in 12 cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, Miami, Paris and Tokyo, with plans to expand to 50 more cities by next year.

August 7, 2017

Chrome Extension ‘DoneGood’ Tells You Ethical Places To Shop

Now you can go green while spending some green.

DoneGood, which launched nationally on Nov. 28, is a new Chrome extension and app that helps users find ethical and sustainable places to shop online. Businesses the app favors include those that are green, make high-quality, long-lasting products and support their workers. The companies that work with DoneGood also offer discounts to people who use the app and extension.

To use DoneGood, all you have to do is download it for free. Once installed, shop online like you typically would by searching for a product — like buying baby gear — on Google or Amazon.

If there’s an ethical or sustainable company that makes baby products that are, say, natural or toxin-free, DoneGood will alert you.

And baby, that’s pretty much it.

May 29, 2017

Why Apple’s Push for Accuracy of Health Apps Is a Major Step in the Right Direction

It’s becoming increasingly easy to make a fitness and health tracking app these days. Don’t get me wrong — a killer mobile experience is a feat now that mobile users have surpassed those on desktop around the world. But frankly, the barrier to entry for mobile apps has been getting lower and lower over the past years. Today, we’ve arrived at an App Store chock full of healthcare apps (over 165k) — but the question remains: how many of these apps are actually legit?

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that Pokémon Go and its many alternatives don’t have a ton on the line in terms of accuracy or legitimacy. If they work and entertain, users are happy. But think about apps in the health space — fitness trackers, wellness monitors, medical diagnosis apps. If the rules and regulations for game apps are the same as those for health apps, there’s much more at stake — and much more room for serious danger to occur if these apps aren’t actually accurate.

Fortunately, in an effort to prevent this exact possibility, Apple has updated their App Store Review Guidelines, and health apps are under much more pressure to produce apps that actually work. Now, apps that have potential to cause physical harm, provide inaccurate data or information that could misdiagnose users will be under far stricter scrutiny. For many so called health and fitness wearable manufacturers, this could be bad news — but for consumers everywhere, I strongly believe that Apple’s push for greater accuracy in health apps is a big move in the right direction. It’s just the first of a series of steps required to make health technology more accurate and add value to our lives in a greater way.

May 29, 2017

6 ‘Pokemon GO’ Tips for Playing at Night Without Getting Arrested or Stabbed

Pokémon Go, the augmented reality sensation swallowing the nation, makes few real demands of players, but those it does are simple: go outside, walk around, and discover various landmarks. That’s all well and good for folks that can wander about in the daylight, but things become infinitely trickier at night.

The problem is that not everyone has the luxury of seeing the sun on the regular, thanks to the likes of work and school, which leaves hours of Ash Ketchum cosplay to the dark. No reasonable person can be expected to catch them all while limiting themselves to, if I may borrow an entirely unrelated phrase from The Lion King, everything the light touches.

Which is why every self-respecting Pokémon master needs to keep these tips in mind when throwing down at night.

Don’t Skulk

This one’s a bit broad, but that’s because it applies in nearly every situation. It’s just that it applies doubly so at night. Skulking is never a good look, and attempting to hide the fact that you’re playing Pokémon Go is fine during certain hours — but those hours end when the stars come out or light pollution prevents the stars from coming out. And you’ll look way shadier doing it at night.

Avoid Closed Parks and Stores

Locations like Central Park are incredible for burgeoning trainers, but most places have set business hours that should be respected. Having three Pokéstops right next to each other is lovely, but not being arrested for loitering outside a church late at night is lovelier. See also: the aforementioned “don’t skulk.”