
Headspace says their mission is to improve the health and happiness of the world. Founded by a former monk who also seems to have a love for the circus, Headspace offers guided meditation and mindfulness tips as well music from John Legend to help you fall asleep. This popular app -- the company claims over 70 million members in 190 countries around the world -- says it wants to be 'your mind's best friend," which sure does sound nice. Seems your mind's best friend also might like to collect and share your data with places like Facebook and Google though so maybe hold off on that BFF label for now.
Co się może stać, jeśli coś pójdzie nie tak?
Headspace does collect some personal data on users, including -- name, e-mail address, phone number, devine infomation, app usage data, and Facebook ID -- although seemingly not as much as some of the other mental health apps we reviewed. Still, they collect your personal and app usage information and say they can share that information with third parties like Google and Facebook to target advertising and make personalizations within the app. Unfortunately, this is pretty standard practice for apps like this in our current data economy. Still, it's not great if you care more deeply about your privacy.
Does it matter if Facebook knows when you use a meditation app, if Google knows where you use the app, or if Headspace knows you're searching for a meditation to help you prepare for a big exam? It could. What's the worst that could happen? Well, here's a blog from Headspace talking about how they are developing machine learning applications to use your data in real-time to offer "recommendations that engage our users with new relevant, personalized content that builds consistent habits in their lifelong journey." New, consistent habits could also be interpreted as keeping users using the app as much as possible. One idea they mention in this post is to use users' biometric data such as steps or heart rate to then recommend in real-time more content to get them moving or exercising. OK, that's not necessarily a bad thing. But what more could a company potentially learn about you and do with that data? Perhaps learn your emotional state? Your anxiety level? And then target more content or advertising to you when you're more vulnerable? We don't think this is currently happening with Headspace. But the title of this section is "what could happen if something goes wrong?" And it seems, now or in the future, there are many things that could go wrong with this sort of vast data collection, processing, and the personalization and ad targeting that follows.
All in all, Headspace isn't the worst meditation app we reviewed. It does collect a good amount of data though, shares some of that data with third parties for things such as targeted advertising, and seems to be looking to use more of that data to keep you on the app as much as possible. Like we said, unfortunately, this is the norm for apps in our current data economy. The question is, should it be?
Wskazówki, jak się chronić
- Check out your privacy references.
- Follow Headspace's tips to protect your account from a security breach.
- Disconnet Headspace from Facebook.
Czy może mnie podsłuchiwać?
Aparat
Urządzenie: Nie dotyczy
Aplikacja: Nie
Mikrofon
Urządzenie: Nie dotyczy
Aplikacja: Nie
Śledzi położenie
Urządzenie: Nie dotyczy
Aplikacja: Nie
Czego można użyć do rejestracji?
Tak
Telefon
Nie
Konto firmy trzeciej
Tak
Facebook, Apple, Spotify and Google can be used for a sign-up
Jakie dane zbiera ta firma?
Osobiste
Name, email, and in certain instances, telephone number
Związane z ciałem
Społecznościowe
Facebook profile information, such as name, email address, and Facebook ID, if you choose to log in to the Products through Facebook.
Jak ta firma wykorzystuje te dane?
Jak możesz kontrolować swoje dane?
Jaka jest znana historia tej firmy w zakresie ochrony danych użytkowników?
No known privacy or security incidents discovered in the last 3 years.
Informacje o prywatności dziecka
Czy ten produkt może być używany bez połączenia z siecią?
You can download content to use it offline.
Przyjazne dla użytkownika informacje o prywatności?
Odnośniki do informacji o prywatności
Czy ten produkt spełnia nasze minimalne standardy bezpieczeństwa?
Szyfrowanie
Silne hasło
Aktualizacje zabezpieczeń
Zajmuje się problemami z bezpieczeństwem
Zasady ochrony prywatności
Headspace offers personalised and real-time suggestions to guided meditation
Czy tej sztucznej inteligencji nie można ufać?
Jakie decyzje sztuczna inteligencja podejmuje o Tobie lub za Ciebie?
Personalised offers
Czy firma jest przejrzysta w kwestii działania sztucznej inteligencji?
Czy użytkownik ma kontrolę nad funkcjami sztucznej inteligencji?
Dowiedz się więcej
-
The Best Meditation AppsWirecutter
-
Choosing a mindfulness appMIT Medical
-
Headspace vs. Calm: How Do These Meditation Apps Compare?Healthline
-
Headspace's privacy reviewReallyGoodUX
-
Standard Privacy Report for Headspace: Meditation and SleepCommon Sense Privacy Program
-
AI For Meditation: How Headspace Leverages AI and ML TechnologiesAnalytics India Magazine
-
Real-Time Machine Learning at HeadspaceMedium
-
Global Mental Health Apps Market Size, Share & Industry Trends Analysis Report By Application, By Platform Type, By Regional Outlook and Forecast, 2021 - 2027Yahoo! finance
Komentarze
Masz uwagi? Podziel się nimi z nami.