article_snippet: One evening, I searched online for “large freckle” and found my way to a free app that claimed to be a mole evaluator that would identify at-risk moles.
article_snippet: One in five health apps claims to support a diagnosis, as with Sian’s mole app.
article_snippet: Sian later downloaded a health app that said it would be able to identify at-risk moles (file image)
article_snippet: Sian had downloaded consisted of several pages of photos of abnormal moles.
article_snippet: I remember scrolling through abnormal moles with a growing feeling of panic,’ Sian says.
article_snippet: Newer versions of mole-checking apps are more sophisticated, allowing users to photograph a mole and using mathematical formulas to check for skin cancer symptoms, such as asymmetry, irregular borders or varied colour.
article_snippet: And the fact that mole apps have been singled out in this way does not mean lead researcher and skin cancer specialist
article_snippet: So while the manufacturers of Mole Detective, an app that claims to be able to ‘help to detect skin cancer earlier’ (and is downloadable in Britain) has been fined by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission for making misleading claims in the U.S. Federal Trade Commission advertising, the app is still doing business as normal.