What does the Headspace App do with my Data?
Hello! Welcome to today's blog where I'll be examining the privacy policies on an application on my iPhone. I'm interested in digging deep and revealing what kind of information they are collecting from me, why they collect this information, and what they do with my information. I think it's important for us (users) to see what data our favorite apps are tracking! Let's get into it.
Headspace
Headspace Logo
The app I've chosen to dive into is Headspace. I LOVE this app. I love that it helps me stop and take a deep breath during the workday, it helps me fall asleep at night, and even provides a nice morning meditation. The app is free in the Apple Store to try with a 14 day trial, and you can choose to purchase the app if you want full access to all of its features. I have purchased the app because I use it quite frequently.
Now, if I go into my account through the app, I can see the tab that I want to explore, Privacy Policy.
In-app Settings
Privacy Policy
Headspace is very clear about what data they are collecting, how they are using the data, and confidentiality and security. This is really nice to see! Here's an overview on what data they are collecting from their users:
Headspace Privacy Policy
Data Collection
Personal data including your name, email, password, telephone number
Data about your usage of the product
Data you provide in connection with your usage of the product
Facebook profile information if you choose to log into Headspace through Facebook
Device information such as OS, device type, and system performance data
Payment is collected through Apple and Google and Headspace is provided with "limited data" such as a unique, anonymous token
Family Plan - Home address if enlisted in a family plan, and names and emails of additional family members (used only to invite them to the app and can be deleted)
Invite a Buddy - Their name and email to invite them to Headspace. They track the success of the Buddy program. They new user can opt-out of Headspace using their data
Student Plan - Third party platform to access personal data to provide verification.
Healthcare Provider - National Provider Identifier in connection with your email to provide verification
Uses Made of the Data
Provide you with the App
Answer questions for information or handle complaints
Ensure that content0 provided by the App is presented in the most effective manner
Provide you with promotional communication, such as email, with option to opt-out
Allow you to participate in interactive features
Notify you about updates or changes to features and content
Understand your broad, non-specific geographic location to help us identify groups of users by general market (zip code, state, country)
Account for applicable sales tax
Inform partners about your registration and use of the product
Serve ads to you through Facebook or Google
Provide you with SMS service
To manage payments
Headspace App
Tracking Technologies
Headspace and their partners use cookies, beacons, tags, and scripts to enable a service to recognize your phone so you don't have to provide the same data several times during a task. They partner with Facebook and Google to manage their advertising on other sides and platforms. Third party partners use cookies to gather data about your activities to deliver ads to you, such as retargeting ads. You may opt out of receiving ads by adjusting your ad preferences in your Google account.
Headspace uses third party trackers to let them know when users have visited by "clicking-through" their sponsored ads. Headspace uses Google Analytics to gather data and sets cookies to estimate the number of visitors to Headspace and volume of usage. You can restrict cookie usage in your browser settings.
Mobile Analytics
Headspace uses mobile analytics software to better understand the functionality of their app on your phone. The software records how much you engage with the app, what you do within the app, performance data, and where the app was downloaded from.
Log Files
The data collected online includes IP addresses, browser type, internet service provider, referring/exit pages, OS, data and time, and clickstream data. If you receive their email newsletter, your opening of the newsletter is tracked. The clicks on links in the newsletter are also saved. These stats are used to give them an indication of the popularity of the content and help them make decisions about future content.
More Information
Are you surprised by the data collected about Headspace's users? This amount of data collection seems very typical to me, and actually, Headspace lays everything out nicely and seems to care about its users information and confidentiality.
If you want to read up on the rest of the data collection, here's their Privacy Policy page. And if you need help meditating, try out the app!
QR Code to download the Headspace app on iPhone