General Overview
Both app versions were called GEMS. The name was chosen based on user feedback. Ambivalent smokers liked the name because it did not suggest the app was smoking related, making it more confidential and more appealing than a name implying the app was focused on smoking cessation.After installing the app and setting up a user account, participants viewed a welcome screen, which explained the program’s purpose and a brief tutorial and orientation to the app’s features. Content could then be accessed ad-lib until completion of the 3-month follow-up survey, which concluded study participation. At this point, the study team remotely deactivated app access and ceased app usage tracking. Both versions of the app (SC and EC) had a similar design and identical content, except for the addition of the novel experiments in the EC version. This design meant that both groups received an active intervention and provided data useful to assessing the concept of offering an app-based intervention to people who were ambivalent about quitting, while also allowing us to assess differences that might be attributed to the additional features in the EC version. Shared and unique features of each app version are described below.