Yes you could use an app instead of the SpeechEasy. The benefit of the SpeechEasy is that's going to be socially acceptable to wear in all situations. Even if others see it they'll assume it's a hearing aid. So, the answer to your question really depends on what your goals are for using altered auditory feedback. Given the high rate of stuttering recurrence with altered auditory feedback the apps are probably a good initial step to see if a) altered auditory feedback is something you benefit from and can tolerate b) of the effect will be long term c) if the app would work for the situations you would want to use the speecheasy for (e.g., phone conversations). There's not a hard yes or no answer to this question.