Mental-health apps offer very different things: meditation audio, journals, self-help exercises, games, or peer communities. Choose a tool for a specific purpose rather than treating every app in this category as a treatment. A download listing or a high user rating does not establish clinical effectiveness.
The National Institute of Mental Health advises checking evidence, developer credentials, privacy, and access to professional help when choosing an app. These are feature descriptions, not clinical rankings. The American Psychological Association cautions against replacing qualified mental-health care with wellness apps.
In this guide
1. Calm: meditation and sleep audio
Calm offers guided meditation, sleep content, and soundscapes. Its help page describes the available free content; check which sessions require a subscription before committing. Choosing a voice or session you find comfortable is a practical preference, not evidence that an app will treat depression or an anxiety disorder.
Calm’s consumer app is distinct from the company’s other products, including Calm Health. Check the exact app name and the account or benefit you are using. See the original iOS listing or Android listing for device requirements.
2. Moodnotes: mood journaling
Moodnotes is a mood tracker and journal. The developer’s iOS listing describes recording moods and reflecting on thinking patterns, with content informed by cognitive behavioral therapy and positive psychology. Those features can organize observations you may want to discuss with a professional.
Check subscription terms, export options, and where entries are stored before recording sensitive information. A diary can help you describe changes over time; it does not diagnose the cause of those changes.
3. Anxiety Relief Apps & Hypnosis: relaxation audio
Surf City Apps describes this product as audio for relaxation and an anxiety-support listening routine. Its Google Play listing includes offline audio and warns against listening while driving or operating machinery.
A relaxation recording is different from an assessment or an individualized treatment plan. A suggested time to benefit is not a guaranteed result. Check the exact purchase and playback options, and discuss persistent or worsening symptoms with a qualified professional.
4. What’s Up?: self-help exercises
The What’s Up? listing describes a diary, habit tracking, breathing exercises, and coping tools drawing on CBT and acceptance and commitment therapy. Choose an exercise that suits your purpose rather than assuming every tool has the same evidence.
The app name can be confused with unrelated messaging products. Check the developer and exact listing. An Android listing is also linked here; availability and requirements can vary by store and device.
5. SAM: check the download pause
SAM, now presented as Self-help App for the Mind, describes mood monitoring, guided self-help, and a peer-support Social Cloud. Its official website carries a July 28, 2026 notice that downloads were paused while a hosting issue was resolved. Check that notice before trying to install it.
During a download pause, check the developer’s own notice and avoid unofficial copies from unknown download sites. Peer support and self-help exercises also have different roles from care delivered by a licensed professional.
6. MoodTools: a thought diary and symptom tracking
The MoodTools developer listing describes a thought diary, activity logging, a safety plan, educational material, and the PHQ-9 questionnaire. An Android listing is also available for checking compatibility.
The PHQ-9 was studied as a depression-severity measure. A questionnaire score in an app is not, by itself, a complete clinical diagnosis. Bring concerns about symptoms or a changing score to a qualified health professional.
7. Happify: structured wellbeing activities
Twill describes Happify as a wellbeing product with activities and programs drawing on CBT, mindfulness, and positive psychology. Its activities and games aim to build skills; they should not be read as a guarantee that every user will feel better.
Check the program offered to your account, any subscription or employer-benefit conditions, and the research supporting the particular use you have in mind. A developer’s reported user-improvement percentage is not interchangeable with a treatment success rate for an individual.
8. Mind Games: brain-challenging entertainment
The Mind Games listing describes cognitive-task games, score history, and progress graphs. The developer also says it is intended as brain-challenging entertainment and that research has not established cognitive benefits for this app.
That makes it a different category from therapy or a mental-health assessment. Play it if you enjoy the activities, while keeping game scores separate from judgments about your mental health. Check the Android listing for that edition.
9. ReliefLink: safety planning tools
Emory University’s ReliefLink listing describes mood and thought tracking, reminders, coping exercises, and a personalized safety plan. It also describes emergency-resource functions. The listing is for iPhone; check its compatibility requirements on your device.
Safety planning should fit your circumstances and professional advice. Do not assume an app’s contact list, map, or emergency button is current for every country. An app is not a continuously staffed emergency service and should not be relied on as one.
10. Bipolar Disorder Connect: a legacy community example
The Job Accommodation Network directory describes Bipolar Disorder Connect as a peer community with discussions and mood tracking. Current official download availability was not established for this guide, so it is included as a historical example rather than a current installation recommendation.
For a condition-specific community, check who operates and moderates it, how personal information is handled, and how unsafe advice is addressed. Peer discussions do not replace professional advice about diagnosis, medication, or a treatment plan.
Before sharing sensitive information
Read what an app collects, whether information is shared, and how to delete your account or export your records. Check the price after any trial. Ask a trusted clinician whether the tool fits your goal, especially if you want help with a diagnosed condition or symptoms that affect daily life.
The descriptions above use developer listings, official product information, and health-agency guidance. They do not report a comparative clinical trial or establish which app is most effective. Store availability, subscriptions, and features can change; check the exact edition before relying on a particular function.
Questions about choosing an app
Can a mental-health app replace professional care?
Wellness apps should not replace qualified care. A meditation session, peer forum, or symptom questionnaire has a different role from diagnosis and an individualized treatment plan.
Does a high app-store rating prove that an app works?
No. User ratings describe user feedback, not a controlled assessment of clinical effectiveness. Look for research relevant to the app, version, and purpose you are considering.
Why can an older app link fail?
Apps can be removed, renamed, or paused. SAM’s official site currently carries a download-pause notice. Use the identified developer’s information rather than an unknown download mirror.
Correction: An earlier version overstated treatment outcomes and linked Bipolar Disorder Connect to an unrelated app. Those claims and links have been corrected.
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