For researchers
Digital phenotyping as a service.
Behapp is a fully managed research platform that captures real-world behaviour (mobility, communication, phone use) passively and objectively, through participants' own smartphones. It has powered academic cohorts and international consortium projects since 2016.
Longitudinal and objective measures of behavior
One day, as Behapp sees it. Quiet dots are passive measurements; as the marker crosses the day, it draws the activities the platform can quantify.
From raw signals to digital endpoints
Raw sensor streams are normalised into analysis-ready behavioural endpoints. Examples in active use:
Mobility
Unique places visited, time at home, distance travelled, movement entropy.
Sociability
Call frequency and duration patterns, communication-app usage.
Rhythm
Daily activity structure, screen-use timing, behavioural regularity.
See the research overview for these endpoints at work in published studies.
How a study runs
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Intake: we discuss your research question, population and study design.
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Agreements: consortium or collaboration agreement and data processing agreement; DPIA support where needed.
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Configuration: your study, sites, languages, and questionnaires are set up on the platform.
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Enrollment: participants join with an 8-digit activation code; no participant accounts, no identifying registration. We recommend having installation and activation done under the supervision of a study manager; supervised onboarding results in the best data quality.
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Monitoring: the study dashboard shows live enrollment and participant data upload status per site, with study-manager oversight and lifecycle notifications.
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Delivery: analysis-ready exports of behavioural endpoints and raw measurement data, in the format agreed for your study.
What Behapp measures
Passive sensing runs quietly in the background; active questionnaires (EMA/ESM) prompt participants in the moment. Together they yield an objective, longitudinal record of daily functioning without recall bias.
| Modality | Android | iOS |
|---|---|---|
| EMA / ESM questionnaires | ✓ | ✓ |
| Location & mobility | ✓ | ✓ |
| Call events (metadata only, anonymised) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Screen on/off | ✓ | ✓ |
| Motion state (still, walking, …) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Step count | ✓ | ✓ |
| Wi-Fi environment | ✓ | — |
| App usage | ✓ | — |
| Ambient light | ✓ | — |
Behapp never records the content of calls or messages, and never listens in the background. That's by design, on every platform.
Data protection
Behapp was built for sensitive research data; protecting participants is part of the science.
- Encrypted from the phone onwards: measurements are encrypted on the device before they are sent, and stay encrypted in transit, at rest and while in use.
- Pseudonymous: the platform stores no direct identifiers; participants are known only by their study code.
- EU-based, GDPR-governed: data is processed in the European Union and stored in your study's region (EU; US for US-based studies); we support your study's data processing agreements and DPIA.
- Bound to your study: data is used only under that study's agreements. Never sold, never shared beyond contractual agreements.
Our approach to secure and sustainable digital phenotyping is peer-reviewed (J Med Internet Res, 2021). We're glad to walk your data protection officer or security team through the details during intake.
Notable projects
Behapp works with academic and medical institutions, CROs, and pharmaceutical companies. A few of the studies it has carried:
PRISM & PRISM 2
Two phases of transdiagnostic research into social dysfunction across schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease and depression, with Behapp providing the digital measures of daily social functioning in both.
NESDA
The Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety, investigating the long-term course of depression and anxiety with Behapp measuring daily social activity.
SMARD
Investigates resilience mechanisms and depression relapse risk, using Behapp to identify novel digital markers for relapse prediction.
Also: Lifelines, PSY-PGx, ROADMAP and Memorabel, all in the research overview.