Table 5 Summary of the Themes

Security

Privacy, judgement, stigma

Blayney et al. [10]; Bloom et al. [11]; Gilmore et al. [32]; Lindsay et al. [44]; Ragavan et al. [52]; Tarzia et al. (2017)

The option of ... being able to maybe correspond with people anonymously, especially if you’re scared of being judged or found out ... that’d be really good. (Tarzia et al., 2017: p. 205).

Accessibility

Ease and usefulness

Alhusen et al. [2]; Blayney et al. [10]; Bloom et al. [11]; Gilmore et al. [32]; Lindsay et al. [44]; Ragavan et al. [52]; Tarzia et al. (2017)

It helps you organize your mind because when you’re in the situation, you don’t really know how to feel ... there’s so much going on, you don’t really know how to categorize things. When [the app does] it for you, it just helps you put yourself in order, and have more control on your life. When something’s happening to you like that, you feel like you’re out of control and you can’t—you don’t know where to go. You don’t know what to do. You’re just so confused, so I think it helps. ([44]; p. 378).

Knowledge

Information, awareness, validation, myth debunking

Alhusen et al. [2]; Bloom et al. [11]; Gilmore et al. [32]; Lindsay et al. [44]; Ragavan et al. [52]; Tarzia et al. (2017)

I liked the concrete advice...it didn’t just say “talk to your friend”— rather “here are five different things you can say.” I feel like everyone knows you have to talk to the person but people don’t know what to say and how to say it, and that was very, very useful. ([2]; p. 274).