Senior Living News

For example, residents at the Autumn View Gardens assisted living community in Creve Coeur might use the St. Louis News from KSDK app on their smartphone. But does the news organization create and control this app, or are third parties involved?

Get some answers in our brief guide below.

Who Makes the Apps You Use?

The people who make apps are known as app developers — it's a niche within the software development field. Developers create apps in a variety of relationships with businesses and consumers. Some common situations include:

• App developers work for companies and produce and support apps for that company. One example of this is Meta (the company that owns Facebook, Instagram and many other apps and platforms). It has in-house developers who build and support these products.
• App developers may contract with businesses to create apps. For example, a small business may hire a freelance app developer to create an app for its customers.
• Vendors may provide app development services. This is one of the most common situations. For example, medical clinics might work with a vendor to provide a patient portal app.

If you've used a variety of apps, you may notice that many of them look and work in similar ways. For example, mobile banking apps and fast-food ordering apps are branded for each business, but the overall structure might be similar. This is due to several factors.

First, various businesses might be working with the same base product or vendor, applying their branding to the app in question. Second, in the technical field, many developers work with open-source code. This is code for various functions or parts of software programs and apps that's shared between developers and used sort of like building blocks to create new apps.

Who Do You Contact If You Need Help With an App?

If the business sponsoring the app isn't the one that built the app, what do you do when you need support? It depends on the app in question.

Many businesses, such as banks or hospitals, will provide technical support for the users of their apps. Look in the app for an option that says "Contact us" or "Support." If you don't see such an option, call the business you believe sponsored or provided the app and ask how to get support.

However, not all businesses provide tech support for the apps they seem to provide. A weather app that seems to be provided by the local news channel or the Libby app you use to access e-books from your local public library may not be supported by those entities. You may need to contact the maker of the app for help if you need it.

Understanding Ad-Based Apps

Another common consideration when using apps is ads. Apps come in four major varieties:

• Free without ads. These are free to download and use and don't use ads to foot the bill. Typically, these are apps provided by businesses for the use of their customers, such as mobile banking apps.
• Free with ads. These apps use ad revenue to help cover their costs. This is common with free mobile games or other entertainment apps.
• Freemium apps. These apps include a free option as well as premium options you can pay for. The premium options have more features. Common examples in this category include productivity, exercise and lifestyle apps.
• Paid apps. These are apps you can only use if you buy them or pay a monthly or annual subscription.

Ad-based apps are very common. While the ads can be annoying, they don't indicate that the app is bad or dangerous. You simply have to watch the ad to keep using the app, so whether you want to keep the app depends on whether the benefit you get is worth the time you spend dealing with ads.

Is Your Data at Risk When You Use Apps?

Yes, your data can be at risk when you download and use apps. This is why it's important to only download apps from the app store on your device and to use apps from reputable companies or businesses. You can also use options such as Google Play Protect on Android devices to help protect your data.

With any app use, make sure you employ a common-sense approach. For example, when you're using the mobile banking app provided by your bank, you obviously connect to your accounts and view sensitive financial data. But when you're playing a mobile game, you should never share that type of financial data or any sensitive information via chats or other forms.