It may be possible to track a person’s mood using a smartphone app, then use the data to help those with depression and other mood disorders, according to researchers at the University of Illinois.

Results from a meta-analysis published in World Psychiatry in 2017 showed interventions delivered via smartphone apps effectively reduced depressive symptoms. In the study, which looked at evidence from 18 randomized controlled trials of 22 smartphone apps, researchers found that those who received smartphone app interventions had significantly lower depressive symptoms than control conditions.