The Federal Trade Commission decided to intervene in the mHealth app market, and is taking action against two melanoma detection apps – MelApp and Mole Detective. Total settlements for the two apps came to just north of $20,000, but not all marketers are willing to comply with FTC’s ruling without a court order.

Both apps claim to provide an “automated analysis of moles and skin lesions for symptoms of melanoma and increase consumers’ chances of detecting melanoma in its early stages.”

Here’s what FTC had to say about the case:

Advertising for MelApp stated that it used “patent protected state-of-the-art mathematical algorithms and image-based pattern recognition technology to analyze the uploaded image [of a skin lesion],” to “provide a risk analysis of the uploaded picture being a melanoma” and “assist in the early detection of melanoma.”2 Advertising for Mole Detective stated that it “is the first and only app to calculate symptoms of melanoma right on the phone,” and that it could “analyze your mole using the dermatologist ABCDE method and give you a risk factor based on the symptoms your mole may or may not be showing,” “increase the chance of detecting skin cancer in early stages,” and “save lives through the early detection of potentially fatal melanoma,” using “shape recognition software.”

Mole Detective was launched in January 2012 by Kristi Kimball and her company, New Consumer Solutions, only to be taken over by UK-based Avrom “Avi” Lasarow and his company, L Health. Kimball and her company agreed to settle for $3,930, while Lasarow refused so the agency is pursuing litigation against him and his company.

On the other hand, MelApp is a product of Health Discovery Corporation which launched it in 2011. The company agreed to settle for $17,963.

[Via: mobihealthnews]