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The prevalence of mental health app use by people suffering from mental health disorders is rapidly growing. The integration of mental health apps shows promise in increasing the accessibility and quality of treatment. However, a lack of continued engagement is one of the significant challenges of such implementation. In response, the M-health Index and Navigation Database (MIND)- derived from the American Psychiatric Association’s app evaluation framework- was created to support patient autonomy and enhance engagement. This study aimed to identify factors influencing engagement with mental health apps and explore how MIND may affect user engagement around selected apps. We conducted a longitudinal online survey over six weeks after participants were instructed to find mental health apps using MIND. The survey included demographic information, technology usage, access to healthcare, app selection information, System Usability Scale, the Digital Working Alliance Inventory, and the General Self-Efficacy Scale questions. Quantitative analysis was performed to analyze the data. A total of 321 surveys were completed (178 at the initial, 90 at the 2-week mark, and 53 at the 6-week mark). The most influential factors when choosing mental health apps included cost (76%), condition supported by the app (59%), and app features offered (51%), while privacy and clinical foundation to support app claims were among the least selected filters. The top ten apps selected by participants were analyzed for engagement. Rates of engagement among the top-ten apps decreased by 43% from the initial to week two and 22% from week two to week six on average. In the context of overall low engagement with mental health apps, implementation of mental health app databases like MIND can play an essential role in maintaining higher engagement and satisfaction. Together, this study offers early data on how educational approaches like MIND may help bolster mental health apps engagement. Author summary Mental illnesses are common and there is a need to offer increased access to care for them. The number of mental health apps continues to grow and offers a potential solution for scalable services. Although mental health apps have grown in availability, the lack of continued engagement and satisfaction among users impedes the clinical outcome and integration. Hence, we conducted a longitudinal online survey to determine the factors affecting mental health app usage. To study this, we used the M-health Index and Navigation Database (MIND), which allows users to select through filters to find apps that meet their unique needs. Our results demonstrated that cost, condition supported by app, and app features offered were the three most important factors that users consider when selecting mental health apps. The overall engagement of the top ten apps selected also declined throughout six weeks. The results suggest the potential of app navigation towards improving engagement among mental health app users by allowing consumers to find apps that may better meet their needs.