If you’ve searched “ADHD app” and aren’t sure what you’re looking at, this is for you. The same two words cover apps that make medical claims about ADHD, and to-do lists with a nice colour scheme. They aren’t the same kind of thing, and in the UK they aren’t regulated the same way.
I’m dyslexic, with a lot of ADHD traits, and I’ve never had a formal diagnosis. I’m not a doctor either. Everything below comes from the MHRA, NICE and the NHS, read on 3 November. The MHRA doesn’t name ADHD in the documents I quote. The rules are its general ones for apps.
What people mean by an ADHD app
There are two kinds, and the difference is what the app is for.
The first kind makes a medical claim: that it can diagnose, prevent, monitor, treat or relieve a condition like ADHD. Those are among the medical purposes in the MHRA’s guidance on apps as medical devices (last updated July 2023), which says: “If the app you are using has a medical purpose it is important that it is UKCA or CE marked.” One of its examples is an app that tells you “that you have a medical condition or disease or give you an individual percentage risk score of having one”.
The second kind is an everyday tool: a to-do list, a visual planner, a timer, or an app that pairs you with someone to work alongside on a video call.
Wellbeing apps are judged the same way. The MHRA’s newer guidance on digital mental health technology gives examples both ways: a product “only for well-being” has no medical purpose, and one for a “diagnosable mental health condition” does. It doesn’t say which side an ADHD planner falls on.
Are ADHD apps regulated in the UK?
The ones with a medical purpose are. When the MHRA launched its digital mental health guidance in February 2025, it said digital mental health technologies “that diagnose, prevent, or treat conditions using complex software must meet medical device standards”.
The MHRA says a medical purpose is set by “what the manufacturer states in the device’s labelling, instructions for use and any promotional materials”, and that includes the app store description. Testimonials count too: they “are considered to be implied claims by the manufacturer if they are repeated in product literature.”
It isn’t only the maker’s own words. From how a product is labelled, promoted and used, the MHRA says “an objective observer such as the MHRA or an averagely informed consumer” could “view a product as a medical device”.
A disclaimer doesn’t settle it. A general line like “this product is not a medical device” is “not acceptable if medical claims are made or implied elsewhere”.
Can an app diagnose ADHD?
Not on its own. The NHS says to start with a GP, who may refer you for an assessment with an ADHD specialist such as a psychiatrist.
NICE has looked at digital tests for ADHD. In its October 2024 guidance it says QbTest can be used “as an option to help diagnose” ADHD in people aged 6 to 17. “It should only be used with standard clinical assessment by a healthcare professional.” For adults, NICE says more research is needed on QbTest and the other digital tests it looked at.
Can an app treat ADHD?
The NHS says “ADHD can be managed in many ways, including lifestyle changes, changes at work, or medicines”, and that talking therapies such as CBT may be recommended for adults. Apps aren’t on its list. (I wrote about the changes at work in ADHD at work.)
If an app claims to diagnose, prevent, monitor, treat or relieve ADHD, it’s claiming a medical purpose, and under the MHRA’s general rules it needs a UKCA or CE mark.
How to tell which kind of ADHD app you’ve found
Four things to check, from the MHRA’s guidance.
1. Read what the app claims
The MHRA’s section on intended purpose says the claims include the app store description and the landing page. Words like diagnose, prevent, monitor, treat or relieve are a sign of a medical purpose. So is “clinically proven”, which is on the MHRA’s list of indicative phrases.
2. Look for the UKCA or CE mark
The MHRA’s advice for people using apps says the mark “should be visible on the app when you are looking at it in the app store or on the further information or ’landing’ page.”
The mark is the maker’s own declaration. When a developer applies it, the MHRA says, “they are claiming that the app is fit for the purpose it claims and it is acceptably safe to use”, and the lowest-risk class (Class I) can be self-certified. So it’s a sign the maker says it’s a medical device, not a guarantee. The MHRA still says: “Please use only medical device apps that are UKCA or CE marked.”
3. If you can’t see it, ask first
From the same advice: “If you can’t see these details or are unsure we suggest you contact the developer to ask and in the meantime that you don’t use it.” You can report a medical app with no mark to the MHRA, and problems with an app through its Yellow Card site.
4. Read the small print on your data
The same advice says to read the small print on what personal data you’ve agreed to share and how the developer might use it, including information about your health.
Everyday ADHD apps
Planners, timers and to-do lists are the everyday kind. Last week I put together a list of apps sorted by the job they do, but I haven’t checked any of them against the MHRA’s rules. An app that makes no medical claim usually isn’t a medical device, though the MHRA looks at how it’s presented and used as well as what the maker says. So read each listing.
If ADHD is getting in the way
None of this is medical advice. If ADHD is affecting your studies, work or relationships, the NHS says to make an appointment with a GP to find out what support is available.
About Ultrathink
Ultrathink is my own app, and it makes no medical claims.
I built it for myself, and it’s for anyone with a pile of links, notes, files and voice notes and nowhere to put them. Throw everything in, fast, then ask for it back in plain English. There’s a free plan at £0, and Pro is £9.99 a month.
