Abstract

Considering the growth of the older adult population and technological advancements, this age group faces challenges when interacting with mobile applications, as these applications often fail to consider age-specific characteristics during their design. Some primary studies identify older adults’ characteristics that may affect the usability of mobile applications, as well as secondary studies. However, to the best of our knowledge, no tertiary study has conducted a global analysis to identify age-related characteristics that may impact the usability of mobile applications. For this reason, our tertiary study aims to determine the characteristics of older adults that can influence the usability of mobile applications. We searched for secondary studies published between 2018 and 2024 using the Scopus, Web of Science, and IEEE Xplore databases. We identified eight secondary studies focused on these characteristics and their impact on usability, grouping them into seven categories: (i) psychomotor, (ii) cognitive, (iii) visual, (iv) auditory, (v) motivational, (vi) psychosocial, and (vii) economic. We conclude that it is necessary to adapt usability evaluation techniques to suit older adults’ needs better. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.