  Hundreds of popular mobile apps today market their ties to mindfulness. What
activities do these apps support and what benefits do they claim? How do
mindfulness teachers, as domain experts, view these apps? We first conduct an
exploratory review of 370 mindfulness-related apps on Google Play, finding that
mindfulness is presented primarily as a tool for relaxation and stress
reduction. We then interviewed 15 U.S. mindfulness teachers from the
therapeutic, Buddhist, and Yogic traditions about their perspectives on these
apps. Teachers expressed concern that apps that introduce mindfulness only as a
tool for relaxation neglect its full potential. We draw upon the experiences of
these teachers to suggest design implications for linking mindfulness with
further contemplative practices like the cultivation of compassion. Our
findings speak to the importance of coherence in design: that the metaphors and
mechanisms of a technology align with the underlying principles it follows.
