20.500.12556/DKUM-96698 Readability and vagueness of privacy policies in mHealth applications a multi-country analysis Privacy policies are intended to inform users about how their data is collected and processed, but they are often shaped by legalmotivations that can reduce their clarity. This study analyzes English-language privacy policies frommedical and healthrelated apps in 10 Western-influenced countries to assess their readability and vagueness. From an initial dataset of 3,992 policies, 713 were selected for analysis. Readability and vague language were quantified using standard indices. The findings reveal significant regional differences in both readability and vagueness. Notably, shorter policies tended to be less readable but also less vague than longer ones. This study represents a pioneering effort, as it is the first of its kind to specifically address the issue of vagueness in mHealth applications’ privacy policies. The results of this study imply that the privacy policies are way too long and complex to read and too vague to uncover the actual data handling and processing practices. mHealth mobile apps medical apps privacy policies readability vague language healthcare legal document analysis mobilne aplikacije zdravje analiza dokumentov true false true Springer Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik https://link.springer.com/journal/10207 © The Author(s) 2026 Članek v reviji 2026-01-23 14:59:20 2026-01-23 14:59:21 2026-04-20 09:25:36 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2026 0 0 22 str. Published: 22 January 2026 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno apc 2025-01-15 2025-12-25 2026-01-22 004.7:61 265892611 10.1007/s10207-025-01203-z 1615-5270 s10207-025-01203-z.pdf s10207-025-01203-z.pdf 1 12E0212F82A8CAB27F8EC04BA51F6FFD 0a62a94308641a8d34fe0e1d55ba77273f48f63eb04cf4eab57cc657f118a492 07a3d4c7-f864-11f0-8c23-00155d00018d https://dk.um.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=202502 Fakulteta za elektrotehniko, računalništvo in informatiko 0 0 0