Privacy, security and usability for IoT-enabled weight loss apps

Abstract

Obesity is considered as the main health issue worldwide. The obesity rate within Saudi's citizens is rising alarmingly. The Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled mobile apps can assist obese Saudi users in losing weight via collecting sensitive personal information and then providing accurate and personalized weight loss advice. These data can be collected using embedded IoT devices in a smartphone. However, these IoT-enabled apps should be usable and able to provide data security and user privacy protection. This paper aims to continue our usability study for two Arabic weight loss IoT-enabled apps by performing a qualitative analysis for them. It discusses users' and health professionals' feedbacks, concerns and suggestions. Based on the analysis, a comprehensive usability guideline for developing a new Arabic weight loss IoT-enabled app for obese Saudi users is provided.