Deadline app uses health data to predict your death

Apple’s HealthKit claims to help you live a healthier lifestyle by bringing all your health and fitness data together in one place, but could this data also be used to predict your death?

An app has launched on iTunes which claims to be able to do just that. Known as Deadline, the app uses statistical information to attempt to determine your "date of expiration".

This information includes HealthKit data such as blood pressure, sleep patterns and number of steps walked, as well as vital statistics such as age, gender and height.

After entering this information the user is presented with a countdown clock, showing the number of years, months and days they have left to live.

The countdown clock responds to changing HelthKit data, so users can try to improve their life expectancy by being more active and reducing their calorie intake.

Thanks to Apple’s new notification system for iOS 8.1, the app can keep the countdown clock updated on your home screen, serving as a constant reminder of the time you have left.

"No app can really accurately determine when you will die," admits developer Gist LLC on the iTunes page, "so consider this a way to motivate yourself to be healthier, and consult a physician as necessary."

Deadline requires iOS 8 or later and is compatible with iPhone and iPod touch.

Last week Google launched its answer to Apple HealthKit, called Google Fit. The service taps into the sensors in your smartphone to monitor daily activities like steps and active minutes.

Eventually, Google Fit will also connect to third party apps and devices, including Android Wear smartwatches and fitness trackers from Nike, Runtastic and RunKeeper.