A content review of COVID-19-related apps used in Vietnam

Introduction: Various digital applications (apps) have been developed as an aid to address the novel issues caused by the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Vietnam has experienced a proliferation of apps for this purpose. This review aims to evaluate all Vietnamese COVID-19 apps, analyzing their features, functionality, advantages, disadvantages, and ethical issues to inform developers, communities, and governments on the most desirable features of COVID-19 apps and the user’s opinions. Methodology: A systematic search was conducted on October 1, 2022, on PubMed, Scopus, Google, and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) News’s official website to identify COVID-19 apps available in Vietnam. The apps were evaluated through user reviews and content analysis of their specific features and drawbacks. Results: Thirty Vietnam-based COVID-19 mobile apps were identified on the Apple and Google Play Store. Their functions were recorded and analyzed using a dedicated tool for appraising mobile applications. Although useful, many specific COVID-19 features were dispersed and duplicated between the apps. The most comprehensive apps still lack important functionalities, such as vaccination information. The most serious user concerns were privacy breaches during data recording and storage, technical issues, and non-user-friendly interfaces. Conclusions: The panorama of current COVID-19 apps in Vietnam is complex and includes many apps. Their overlap in features and functions could create a dispersion of mobile users that could undermine the apps’ usefulness and effectiveness in combating the pandemic in Vietnam. An app that integrates the most useful features and addresses the main issues could facilitate user experience and usage uptake.