What HIPAA Actually Requires From an App
HIPAA compliance isn't a checkbox or a badge you buy — it's a set of administrative, physical, and technical safeguards around protected health information (PHI). For an app that means encrypting PHI in transit and at rest, controlling who can access what, logging access, and signing Business Associate Agreements with every vendor that touches the data.
We build these safeguards into the architecture rather than adding them after the fact, because the way your app stores, transmits, and logs data determines whether it can be compliant at all. We build to the requirements; your compliance program and legal counsel confirm it for your organization.
- Encryption of PHI in transit (TLS) and at rest on device and server
- Role-based access control and least-privilege data access
- Audit logging of who accessed which PHI and when
- Automatic session timeout and secure authentication
- PHI kept out of logs, analytics, crash reports, and push payloads
The Vendor and Infrastructure Side
You can't be HIPAA-compliant on infrastructure that won't sign a BAA. That rules out many default cloud services, analytics tools, and push providers unless configured on their HIPAA-eligible tiers with an agreement in place.
We help you choose HIPAA-eligible hosting and services, get BAAs signed, and configure them so PHI only flows through covered channels — including the awkward details like keeping health data out of standard crash and analytics pipelines.
- HIPAA-eligible cloud hosting configured with a signed BAA
- BAAs identified for every third-party service that could touch PHI
- Analytics and crash tools set up to exclude PHI, or replaced with compliant ones
- Secure backups and defined data-retention/disposal handling
- Breach-aware logging so incidents can be detected and reviewed
More on cross-platform apps
Frequently asked questions
Can you certify my app as HIPAA compliant?
No one can — HIPAA has no official app certification. Compliance is about your organization's safeguards and processes, not a stamp. What we do is build the app to meet HIPAA's technical requirements (encryption, access control, audit logs, BAAs) so your compliance officer and legal counsel can stand behind it. We're honest that the responsibility ultimately sits with you as the covered entity or business associate.
Does using a cloud provider like AWS make my app HIPAA compliant?
Not by itself. Providers like AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure offer HIPAA-eligible services and will sign a BAA, but only certain services qualify and only when configured correctly. Using an eligible service the wrong way, or a non-eligible one, breaks compliance. We configure the infrastructure to the covered path and make sure the BAAs are in place.
Do I need HIPAA compliance for a general wellness app?
Not always. HIPAA applies when you handle PHI on behalf of a covered entity (like a provider or health plan). A consumer wellness app that isn't tied to a covered entity may fall outside HIPAA, though other privacy laws still apply. We'll help you figure out whether HIPAA is actually in scope before you pay to build for it.