Investigating User Perceptions of Epilepsy-Related Seizure Triggers in Mobile Apps: An Analysis of User Reviews

Individuals with reflex epilepsy may have seizures caused by stimuli including flashing lights, colors, motion, and patterns. Many studies have investigated seizure-inducing content in multimedia, but studies addressing seizure triggers in mobile apps are still scarce. Hence, we examined user reviews aiming to identify and describe seizure triggers in mobile apps based on user’s reported experiences. Our findings reveal significant patterns of how apps can unintentionally harm users with epilepsy, highlighting the need for improved design practices and more comprehensive accessibility guidelines, which are mainly focused on flashy content and animation. More specifically, we present evidences indicating that users do experience seizures triggered by mobile app interaction, which are not solely limited to multimedia interaction. Most seizure triggers are associated with flashy content and less frequently by color schemes, motion, transitions, glitches, and bugs. In addition, videos and advertisements are the most seizure-inducing content reported by users.