Abstract
ObjectiveApps promoting patient self-management may improve health outcomes. However, methods to secure stored information on mobile devices may adversely affect usability. We tested the reliability and usability of common user authentication techniques in younger and older adults.MethodologyUsability testing was conducted in two age groups, 18 to 30 years and 50 years and older. After completing a demographic questionnaire, each participant tested four authentication options in random order: four-digit personal identification number (PIN), graphical password (GRAPHICAL), Android pattern-lock (PATTERN), and a swipe-style Android fingerprint scanner (FINGERPRINT). Participants rated each option using the Systems Usability Scale (SUS).ResultsA total of 59 older and 43 younger participants completed the study. Overall, PATTERN was the fastest option (3.44s), and PIN had the fewest errors per attempt (0.02). Participants were able to login using PIN, PATTERN, and GRAPHICAL at least 98% of the time. FINGERPRINT was the slowest (26.97s), had an average of 1.46 errors per attempt, and had a successful login rate of 85%. Overall, PIN and PATTERN had higher SUS scores than FINGERPRINT and GRAPHICAL. Compared to younger participants, older participants were also less likely to find PATTERN to be tiring, annoying or time consuming and less likely to consider PIN to be time consuming. Younger participants were more likely to rate GRAPHICAL as annoying, time consuming and tiring than older participants.ConclusionsOn mobile devices, PIN and pattern-lock outperformed graphical passwords and swipe-style fingerprints. All participants took longer to authenticate using the swipe-style fingerprint compared to other options. Older participants also took two to three seconds longer to authenticate using the PIN, pattern and graphical passwords though this did not appear to affect perceived usability.
Highlights
Privacy is one of the biggest factors that bring down consumer ratings of mobile apps. [1] For mobile health apps, the main privacy concerns are around the leak of stigmatizing information such as sensitive medical diagnoses, test results and medication lists [2]
All participants took longer to authenticate using the swipe-style fingerprint compared to other options
In this multidisciplinary study of four possible authentication techniques for mobile health (mHealth) apps, we found that older adults take two to three seconds longer than younger adults to authenticate using the personal identification number (PIN), pattern and graphical password passwords and 20 seconds longer with the swipe-style fingerprint
Summary
Privacy is one of the biggest factors that bring down consumer ratings of mobile apps. [1] For mobile health (mHealth) apps, the main privacy concerns are around the leak of stigmatizing information such as sensitive medical diagnoses, test results and medication lists [2]. Privacy is one of the biggest factors that bring down consumer ratings of mobile apps. [1] For mobile health (mHealth) apps, the main privacy concerns are around the leak of stigmatizing information such as sensitive medical diagnoses, test results and medication lists [2]. Most mHealth apps used by consumers do not fall under federal or regional health privacy laws, even when the apps are used to manage a chronic illness [3]. The website was taken down two years later after researchers raised several privacy concerns, including that only one in four apps had a username-password or PIN feature—only half of which stored the credentials securely [6]. Similar concerns led to the suspension of the Happtique health app certification program between 2013 to 2016 [7]
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