The Budd app was developed through a collaboration between several partners: the Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM), University of Antwerp (UA), Sensoa and VAD. In addition, men who practice chemsex were involved in the development throughout the entire process.

Within the Institute for Tropical Medicine, men who have had chemsex have been receiving medical and psychological counseling for several years. The idea to develop an app -from a need that was observed in daily practice- came from the ITM. The development was also largely taken care of by this organization.

In order to choose an effective app and to supervise the development, colleagues from the Department of Communication Sciences (UA) were called in. They worked together with the researchers of the ITM on the scientific development of the app.

Content-related support was offered by Sensoa (around aspects of sexual health) and VAD (around the effects of the different means and the specific aspects related to them). 

Furthermore, some other partners are involved in the technical development and financial support. An overview of all partners can be found here.

The process of development followed scientific processes, and during each step of development men who would eventually use the app were involved.

We hope to have developed an app that is both effective and meets the existing needs of its users. 

Want to know more? 
We wrote several articles and reports during the app development process:

• We wrote an article to highlight the importance of online and mobile interventions for chemsex
• We interviewed 20 men about their thoughts on the app

We are very happy to welcome you as a new user on Budd. Budd will support you in participating in chemsex in a safer and more conscious way.

Budd is a web application. This means that you only need a web browser (like Safari, Chrome, Firefox) to install it. So you don’t need to download the app from the App Store or Google Play.

Follow this step-by-step plan to install Budd on your phone: 

1. Open a web browser on your phone (such as Safari, Chrome, Firefox). For iPhone it is recommended to use Safari.
2. Surf to app.budd.be
3. Put the app on your home screen: 

Safari: Tap the icon with the square and arrow. Then tap the button ‘Add to home screen’. Finally tap ‘Add’. 
Chrome: Tap the icon with three dots at the top right. Tap ‘Add to home screen’. Tap ‘Add’. 
Firefox: Tap the menu button (three dots) at the bottom of the screen. Select ‘Add to home screen’. In the “Add to home screen?” window that opens, hold your finger on the tile to drag it to the home screen on your Android device, or tap “Add” to let Firefox add it.

The app will now appear on your home screen among the other apps on your phone.

Don’t have a Budd account yet? Click ‘Create account’ to register.
Already have a Budd account? Log in by filling in your email address and password.
Rather not have an account? It is possible to make (limited) use of the app without registering. You have access to the full information section of the app. If you would also like to use the other features (such as monitoring your personal participation, the diary, using the personal checklist), you can always create an account later.

There are many terms commonly used to refer to the use of drugs in a sexual context, such as Party and Play (PnP), chemfun and chemparty, among others. We chose to refer to this in the app with one universal term, namely ‘event’. 

You can always find the tutorial in the app.

A lot of steps preceded the development of Budd. We worked closely together with different stakeholders, such as app developers, scientists, civil society organizations, doctors, but especially: the potential end users. We consulted them during every stage of the development process, from brainstorming about possible features and content, design choices, language use, to effectiveness testing.

So everything you see within the app is the result of informed decisions. One of these decisions is the choice of a personal tool. We chose that it is not possible to connect with other users through Budd. Through countless conversations with potential users of the app, it became clear that privacy and anonymity are very important to the topics covered by Budd. To ensure this privacy we have chosen not to exchange account information with other users. Therefore it is even possible to use (a limited part) of the app without an account. Moreover, there are already a lot of other apps to get in touch with others. Budd wants to distinguish itself by focusing on personal awareness and reflection. 

Would you like to read more about how Budd came about? 

• Here you’ll find an article about interviews we conducted with 20 men participating in chemsex about their precautions and needs.
• Here you can find an article about the reasons why we chose to use a mobile application.

If you have a Budd account it is also possible to sign in via the website. You will then have access to your data and the features of the app in a customized web environment. This way you can also comfortably use the Budd app on your laptop, tablet and desktop computer. 

No. There is no such thing as risk-free consumption of chems. Similar looking pills can differ in ingredients and strength, for example. Also, effects are always person-dependent (weight, height, mood, environment). 

We do believe that information about substances should be accessible and available to those who decide to use them. This can enable them to make informed decisions and help them to minimize potential negative effects. 

Only when you are completely logged out is it necessary to enter a password. It is currently not possible to password protect access to the Budd app. Therefore we recommend you to lock access to your phone with a passcode, fingerprint and/or face ID. If you then leave your phone unattended during an event, no one will have access.