Sanity & Self

Warning: *privacy not included with this product

Mental Health Apps Meditation Apps Peer Support

Sanity & Self

Moov Inc
Wi-Fi

Review date: April 25, 2023

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Mozilla researched 16 hours
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Mozilla says

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People voted: Very creepy

Sanity & Self is a wellness app targeted at women and teen girls that calls itself "your self-care sidekick." Sure thing, we all need a sidekick! The app offers guided audio sessions on topics such as confidence, self-love, breakups, anxiety and stress. Free to download, users will pay around $60 for an annual subscription to unlock all 900+ audio sessions. The app also offers things like texting and 1:1 chats with experts to help deal with life's stresses and a community page where users can share their daily thoughts and feelings.

Moov, the company behind the app, is best known for their wearable fitness trackers. How's the privacy of your self-care sidekick? Well, as far as we can tell, it's a bit worrisome... The Moov privacy policy, which seems to cover their website, their fitness wearables, and this Sanity & Self app, is pretty vague about what they do with all the personal information this app is able to collect. And Consumer Reports found the app sends data to Facebook (as most apps do when you sign in with your Facebook login, which is why we recommend never doing that!). We certainly have some concerns about this app's privacy practices. We also have a question as to why our self-care sidekick needs access to the flashlight on our phone when we download the app? That just seems...weird.

What could happen if something goes wrong?

First reviewed April 20, 2022. Review updated, April 25, 2023

Sanity & Self seems like it could no longer be supported by the app developer, even though it is still available for download in the Apple App Store. The last update to their privacy policy was January 31, 2020. And the last update to the app in the apps store was August, 2020. We don't recommend using apps that no longer are supported as they are not receiving update to manage security vulnerabilities and we can't tell how their privacy is managed. Nothing has changed over the past year for this app from our 2022 review. We still assign them our *Privacy Not Included warning label.

Read our review from 2022:

Sigh. Another mental health app with a vaguely worded privacy policy that leaves us with more questions than answers about what personal information they may be sharing with whom and for what purposes. Moov, the makers of Sanity & Self, are a fitness wearable company. Their privacy policy seems to cover everything from their website, their fitness wearables, and this mental health app.

The app's privacy policy says they can collect a whole bunch of personal information including name, contact information, location, reason for seeking a virtual coach, your occupation, information about your family, your exercise habits, your feelings, concerns and priorities, information about your relationships, and any other information you provide. And by providing that information, you are consenting to it being used by the company for things that aren't exactly made clear in their privacy policy. We assume that could include targeted advertising and marketing, but it could also include more. Moov's privacy policy does say they aren't in the business of selling your personal information, so that is good at least.

What's the worst that could happen? Well, they do collect a whole lot of personal information, including precise location information and they might share that and other personal information with who knows who for who knows why, we simply couldn't tell And we couldn't confirm they meet our Minimum Security Standards, so that information may or may not be secure. We're all for self-care here at *Privacy Not Included. We'd just hate for the world to know you listen to self-love audio sessions on repeat all day long while chatting with an expert about how you're feeling after downing that entire pint of ice cream (we've been there world, we've been there).

Tips to protect yourself

  • Opt out from receiving marketing notifications.
  • Do not provide data about others (your relationships, family, etc.) without their permission.
  • Do not log in using third-party accounts
  • Do not connect to any third party via the app, or at least make sure that a third party employs decent privacy practices
  • Do not give consent for sharing of personal data for marketing and advertisement.
  • Choose a strong password! You may use a password control tool like 1Password, KeePass etc
  • Do not use social media plug-ins.
  • Use your device privacy controls to limit access to your personal information via app (do not give access to your camera, microphone, images, location unless neccessary) - Keep your app regularly updated
  • Limit ad tracking via your device (e.g. on iPhone go to Privacy -> Advertising -> Limit ad tracking) and biggest ad networks (for Google, go to Google account and turn off ad personalization)
  • Request your data be deleted once you stop using the app. Simply deleting an app from your device usually does not erase your personal data.
  • When starting a sign-up, do not agree to tracking of your data if possible.
  • mobile

Can it snoop on me? information

Camera

Device: N/A

App: Yes

Microphone

Device: N/A

App: Yes

Tracks location

Device: N/A

App: Yes

What can be used to sign up?

What data does the company collect?

How does the company use this data?

We ding this product because it is not clear what are its data sharing practices, and what data is shared for advertisement, if any.

"Moov uses the Personal Data you provide in a manner that is consistent with this Privacy Policy. If you provide Personal Data for a certain reason, we may use the Personal Data in connection with the reason for which it was provided. For instance, if you contact us by email, we will use the Personal Data you provide to answer your question or resolve your problem. Also, if you provide Personal Data in order to obtain access to the Services, we will use your Personal Data to provide you with access to such services and to monitor your use of such services. Moov and its subsidiaries and affiliates (the “Related Companies”) may also use your Personal Data and other personally non-identifiable information collected through the Services to help us improve the content and functionality of the Services, to better understand our users and to improve the Services. Moov and its affiliates may use this information to contact you in the future to tell you about services we believe will be of interest to you. If we do so, each marketing communication we send you will contain instructions permitting you to "opt-out" of receiving future marketing communications. If you wish to be removed from any Moov purchase related email communication, you must cancel your Moov purchase. In addition, if at any time you wish not to receive any future marketing communications or you wish to have your name deleted from our mailing lists, please contact us at [email protected]. We may also use the Personal Data you provide for compliance purposes, including enforcing our Terms or other legal rights, or as may be required by applicable laws and regulations or requested by any judicial process or governmental agency, and for other purposes for which we provide specific notice at the time the information is collected."

"Moov is not in the business of selling your information. We consider this information to be a vital part of our relationship with you. There are, however, certain circumstances in which we may share your Personal Data with certain third parties without further notice to you"

"If you instruct us to do so, we will share certain of your information with third parties, such as Apple HealthKit. Before you instruct us to share your information with Apple HealthKit, please review Apple's privacy policy because any information that we share with the Apple HealthKit app will become subject to Apple's privacy policy. In addition, please note that other users of Apple HealthKit may be able to access your information through that service. We use information obtained through Apple HealthKit only for the purpose of providing health-related content in connection with the App. Moov does not disclose to third parties any information collected from Apple HealthKit except as otherwise explained in this Privacy Policy. We do not disclose or sell any information shared by Apple HealthKit to third-party advertisers, data brokers, or information resellers."

How can you control your data?

We ding this app since it is not clear if all users regardless of location can get their data be deleted.

Data retention details, deletion request rights and access request rights are mentioned only for California residents.

What is the company’s known track record of protecting users’ data?

Average

No known privacy or security incidents discovered in the last 3 years.

Child Privacy Information

"Moov does not knowingly collect Personal Data from children under the age of 13. If you are under the age of 13, please do not submit any Personal Data through the Services. We encourage parents and legal guardians to monitor their children’s Internet usage and to help enforce our Privacy Policy by instructing their children never to provide Personal Data on the Services without their permission. If you have reason to believe that a child under the age of 13 has provided Personal Data to Moov through the Services, please contact us, and we will endeavor to delete that information from our databases."

Can this product be used offline?

Yes

User-friendly privacy information?

No

Links to privacy information

Does this product meet our Minimum Security Standards? information

No

Encryption

Yes

Strong password

Yes

Security updates

Yes

Manages vulnerabilities

Can’t Determine

Privacy policy

Yes

Does the product use AI? information

Can’t Determine

Is this AI untrustworthy?

Can’t Determine

What kind of decisions does the AI make about you or for you?

Is the company transparent about how the AI works?

Can’t Determine

Does the user have control over the AI features?

Can’t Determine

*privacy not included

Dive Deeper

  • Mental health apps have terrible privacy protections, report finds
    The Verge
  • 'Creepy' Mental Health And Prayer Apps Are Sharing Your Personal Data
    Forbes
  • Mental health and prayer apps have some of the worst privacy protections, study claims, finding they 'track, share and capitalize' on users intimate thoughts and feelings
    Daily Mail
  • Peace of Mind...Evaluating the Privacy Practices of Mental Health Apps
    Consumer Reports
  • The Digital Standard Case Study: Mental Health Apps
    The Digital Standard
  • Mental Health Apps Aren't All As Private As You May Think
    Consumer Reports
  • Moov gets into mindfulness with launch of ‘Sanity & Self’ app for women
    TechCrunch
  • This New App Makes Self-Care Quick & Easy When You Don’t Have Time For A Face Mask
    Elite Daily
  • Self-care apps want to make us happy. So why do they make us feel so bleak?
    Mashable

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