Table 1 Participants’ preferences for features of the app

Targeting population

Specific for the MSM group;

Take adolescent MSM into consideration;

Design for various populations, with part of the contents specific for MSM group

Attributes of the app

Be professional as well as be interesting;

Privacy, not be so apparent for others telling it is about gay or about HIV;

Authority, about who design and develop the app, and who provide information of the app;

Interactivity, interactions between the user and the app;

In accordance with psychosocial characteristics of the MSM group

Language of the app

Tone of language to be friendly;

Words used should show respect to MSM group;

Easy to understand

Access to the app

Online accesses, putting the app on a gay-dating app;

Offline accesses, peers’ recommendation, advertising at gay bars, and cooperating with local Center of Disease Control, organizations for sexual minorities, organizations for HIV prevention at colleges, and merchants friendly to gay groups

Perceived usefulness of the app

Perception of being cared for by the society;

Perception of self behavior risk, strengthen self motivation of behavior changing and improve health behavior skills;

Reduce communication cost between the user and healthcare providers