App Reviews /

Insight Timer Review

Insight Timer Screenshots
Credibility

Credibility

4.67 / 5.00

Overall Score: 14/15

Consumer Ratings: 2/2
Clarity of Purpose: 2/2
Mechanism of Action: 1/1
Software Updates: 2/2
Clinical Input in Development: 1/1
Research on Development Process: 1/1
Efficacy of Other Products: 1/1
Research Independence and Review: 2/2
Research Base: 2/3

Rating Date: February 2022

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User Experince

User Experience

4.38 / 5.00

Engagement: 4.55 Functionality: 4.25 Aesthetics: 4.67 Information: 4.07 Subjective quality score: 4.56 Perceived impact score: 4.08 Rating date: March 2020 Rated by: Queensland University

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Transparency

Transparency

Unacceptable

Overall Score: Unacceptable

Does the app have a privacy policy?:Yes
Does the privacy policy describe the information storage and sharing procedures related to user entered information, OR state that user information is stored locally?:Yes
Does the privacy policy state that the app/server encrypts/de-identifies the entered data OR state that user information is stored locally?:No/Can’t Tell
Does the app provide the option of a pin entry or log-in process to view and enter user data?:Yes
Does the privacy policy state whether or not users can use the app WITHOUT entering identifiable information, OR state that user information is stored locally?:No/Can’t Tell
Does the privacy policy state whether or not users can delete entered information OR state that user information is stored locally?:No/Can’t Tell
Does the privacy policy state whether or not users can edit entered information OR state that user information is stored locally?:No/Can’t Tell

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Professional Reviews

Professional Review

Not Yet Available

Insight Timer is a meditation app that aims to help users reduce anxiety, manage stress, and improve sleep. The app holds over 100,000 free guided meditations with over 200 topics, such as Abundance, Workplace, Addiction, and many others. Users are able to filter meditations by length of sessions (ranging from 5 to 30+ minutes), meditation type, topic, staff picks, and what’s popular that week. In the Learn tab, users are also able to access live events, workshops, courses (e.g., “Stop Anxiety Through Psychological Openness”, a 5 day course for 20 min/day), and one-on-one private mentoring sessions with a teacher of their choosing for a fee. While the app can be used without creating an account, users can create an account to connect with friends, use the daily mood tracker, bookmark meditations, and track their progress (e.g., number of consecutive days spent meditating). The app is free, but users can pay a subscription fee of $59.99/year or $9.99/month for additional courses and features.

Technical Details

Available for: iPhone Requires iOS 13.0 or later; Android 5.0 and up
Developer: Insight Network Inc
Type of Treatment: Mindfulness, Psychoeducation & Information
Targeted Conditions: Stress and Anxiety, Sleep
Target Audience: Adults, Children, Adolescents
Designed to be used in conjunction with a professional? No
Languages Available: English, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese,
Russian, Spanish, Swedish
Cost: Free with in-app purchases
Get it on: Apple App Store, Google Play, Web

Research on this App

Orr et al. (2021) conducted a pilot study to evaluate the feasibility of using the Insight Timer app to improve pain in patients with neurological impairments admitted to an inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF). 20 rehab patients were enrolled in the study and instructed to use the Insight Timer app for daily 10-minute meditations. Participants were matched to control subjects by age, sex, race, length of stay, and impairment code. The results showed that the 20 rehab patients reported average pain scores of 2.54 +/- 1.92 compared to average pain score 3.26 +/- 2.35 for matched control patients who did not receive the intervention. Additionally, survey data showed that participants were “”very”” likely to continue using the app and “”completely”” enjoyed the daily meditations. (https://n.neurology.org/content/96/15_Supplement/4697.abstract)

Another study looked at how a mindfulness-based mobile application would decrease the symptoms of compassion fatigue among military clinicians. 62 women health nurse practitioners in the US Air Force were recruited in this study. Participants were told to take part in a four week project via the Insight Timer app. It was shown that 75% of the participants showed improvements in burnout and stress levels after the intervention, and in addition all participants showed improvements in their mindfulness attention. (Best, N. I. 2019. https://search.proquest.com/psycinfo/docview/2322822645/9DA467AAAEEB4657PQ/4?accountid=14509)

How we evaluate

We review apps against rating criteria developed by experts in the field. Some of those criteria are:

icon-Credibility

Credibility

We look at the research supporting the technology and the credibility of the development process.

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Transparency

We review privacy policies to see if key pieces of information about what happens with entered data are addressed.

UserExperiencePG

User Experience

We explore how fun, functional, easy-to-use, engaging, and interesting the technology is.

ProfessionalReviews

Professional Reviews

A professional in a relevant field downloads and uses the technology and writes a narrative review, highlighting pros & cons and some recommendations for use.

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