Review Insights · App Store
Headspace: Sleep & Meditation
Headspace Inc. · 974,023 ratings · ★ 4.8
4.8
★★★★★
974,023 ratings
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Top complaints - extracted from 74 negative reviews
Recurring phrases mined from 1-2★ reviews. The bigger the percentage, the more users have the same problem. Fix the top 2-3 in your version and you have product-market fit on day one.
1
"phone"
15 negative reviews mention this · 20% of all complaints
★★★★★ "This app will not go away!. I have tried to delete this app from my phone several times and every time it reinstalls itself. Invasive species!" - Sgtkj
2
"keeps"
14 negative reviews mention this · 19% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Update Prompt. 8.13.0 Keeps asking for an update every time I launch. Previous version worked fine this morning for two sessions. I updated the app afterward, and now it’s in a loop prompting me for an update and takes me to the app store every time. Some…" - StreakFreeze12
3
"years"
13 negative reviews mention this · 18% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Disappointed. I used to use this app some years back. They had at least some short, free meditations that you could test out, and I never needed anything more than 3-10 minutes. Locking everything behind a paywall makes it seem like yall don’t really wan…" - medium_rarius
4
"headspace"
13 negative reviews mention this · 18% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Not the same. I used this app as a means to sustain a daily meditation practice and it worked-it was simple-it just kept a little tally so you could focus daily on completing your meditation. After many years of meditating-I found myself losing my daily…" - Lorra1964
5
"free"
11 negative reviews mention this · 15% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Pointlessly Complex Setup. Supposedly had “free” access through Cigna - after wasting over an hour talking to AI “assistance” emails to gain access, I gave up. Maybe the app is great but I couldn’t get in and grew tired of being tortured with 10+ step setup process." - Dr. Baughman
6
"without"
11 negative reviews mention this · 15% of all complaints
★★★★★ "BUG!!!. I try to delete this app, but it keeps reinstalling on my phone without me prompting it" - Sheets818671
7
"itself"
10 negative reviews mention this · 14% of all complaints
★★★★★ "This app will not go away!. I have tried to delete this app from my phone several times and every time it reinstalls itself. Invasive species!" - Sgtkj
8
"help"
10 negative reviews mention this · 14% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Disappointed. I used to use this app some years back. They had at least some short, free meditations that you could test out, and I never needed anything more than 3-10 minutes. Locking everything behind a paywall makes it seem like yall don’t really wan…" - medium_rarius
9
"downloading"
10 negative reviews mention this · 14% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Annoying. I do not want this app. It keeps downloading on its own." - Chester9876
10
"delete"
9 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "This app will not go away!. I have tried to delete this app from my phone several times and every time it reinstalls itself. Invasive species!" - Sgtkj
11
"everything"
9 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Disappointed. I used to use this app some years back. They had at least some short, free meditations that you could test out, and I never needed anything more than 3-10 minutes. Locking everything behind a paywall makes it seem like yall don’t really wan…" - medium_rarius
12
"every"
8 negative reviews mention this · 11% of all complaints
★★★★★ "This app will not go away!. I have tried to delete this app from my phone several times and every time it reinstalls itself. Invasive species!" - Sgtkj
📋 All 74 negative reviews
Every 1-2★ review we fetched. Use the copy button to grab them all for your own analysis (paste into ChatGPT/Claude with a prompt like "summarize core user problems, group by theme, ignore bugs, focus on missing features").
Pointlessly Complex Setup
Supposedly had “free” access through Cigna - after wasting over an hour talking to AI “assistance” emails to gain access, I gave up. Maybe the app is great but I couldn’t get in and grew tired of being tortured with 10+ step setup process.
This app will not go away!
I have tried to delete this app from my phone several times and every time it reinstalls itself. Invasive species!
Last version
I cannot open the last version, it is telling me to update when it is already updated
New update/app crashes
Can’t open the app with this new update. Please fix!!
Update Prompt
8.13.0 Keeps asking for an update every time I launch. Previous version worked fine this morning for two sessions. I updated the app afterward, and now it’s in a loop prompting me for an update and takes me to the app store every time. Someone tested in PROD or didn’t do QC checkouts. Roll it back, please. I’m like access to my therapy app again.
Upgrade
The app is not letting me back in after I hit the blue “upgrade” button. I keep going in a loop
terrible
cant even use the app and i’m to broke to pay because son has leukemia and polio and is dying and i my water is shot off and i can’t buy the subscription
Upgrade?
Just upgraded and I’m in a loop where it asks me to upgrade and doesn’t open again… fix please
BUG!!!
I try to delete this app, but it keeps reinstalling on my phone without me prompting it
Money grab
They are only exploiting the hurting financially. Difficult to work with. Cancel on you last minute.
Disappointed
I used to use this app some years back. They had at least some short, free meditations that you could test out, and I never needed anything more than 3-10 minutes. Locking everything behind a paywall makes it seem like yall don’t really want to help anyone. I’m kinda devastated that you have to pay for everything now, even the beginning meditations. I really enjoyed this app in the past. I guess I won’t be using this anymore. For those reading, there’s only a free trial. Just search on YouTube how to do breathing exercises and don’t waste your money on something as free as breathing.
Unethical app
If you delete it it just comes right back
Cyber mind f&$:
I was a long time subscriber of this app. Then I was logged out and tried to read the privacy policy to login. I’m a lawyer and I can’t make sense of it. Zero credibility. No professional ethics. No privacy.
This app PROMOTES anxiety and mental health disorders.
You ARE THE PROBLEM.
If you can’t explain in 30 seconds why I should trust you, you should not be in business. It’s that simple.
This app PROMOTES anxiety and mental health disorders.
You ARE THE PROBLEM.
If you can’t explain in 30 seconds why I should trust you, you should not be in business. It’s that simple.
Don’t make the app free if EVERYTHING is behind a paywall
I’ve been having a lot of anxiety recently and felt a guided meditation might be helpful. I download the app and am poking around, oops that meditation is behind a paywall, oh that one is too, wait literally every single thing in the app requires a subscription. Like hello? Why make the app free to download if I can’t use literally a single thing on it without paying?
Annoying
I do not want this app. It keeps downloading on its own.
App downloads itself
This app keeps downloading itself to my phone without my permission. Very weird and annoying.
Unwanted Install
There is something going on with a lot of Apple device users lately where this app is auto installing onto our devices unprompted. Even after removing it from a backup, uninstalling it, or in my case, haven’t used this app in years, it will randomly appear back on my phone. PLEASE look into this with Apple, devs. This is ridiculous and a bad look for your app.
Forced Install..???
Every time I uninstall this, it reinstalls by the time I go on my phone again.
Keeps downloading
App keeps downloading everyday even after deleting it. Not sure if it’s an apple bug or something with this app. Please get it fixed. I feel violated!!!
Customer support difficult to reach and unsatisfying
I asked the AI support agent to let me speak to a human representative four times before it finally sent me to a human. Neither the human or AI gave a direct answer to any of my questions.
Not the same
I used this app as a means to sustain a daily meditation practice and it worked-it was simple-it just kept a little tally so you could focus daily on completing your meditation.
After many years of meditating-I found myself losing my daily practice and fluidity of mindfulness-I reached again for headspace only to learn that it’s no longer a small quiet app that helps-but instead it expanded to to become a loud space with too many options to choose-there is no longer a daily tally-instead it feels like you tube..
I’m glad others find it helpful however I’m super disappointed in your “upgrades” as it removed
The quiet stillness that once felt comforting
After many years of meditating-I found myself losing my daily practice and fluidity of mindfulness-I reached again for headspace only to learn that it’s no longer a small quiet app that helps-but instead it expanded to to become a loud space with too many options to choose-there is no longer a daily tally-instead it feels like you tube..
I’m glad others find it helpful however I’m super disappointed in your “upgrades” as it removed
The quiet stillness that once felt comforting
Please just stop
Just like everyone else- this app keep showing up on my phone.
Keeps downloading
I used to use this app but that was years ago. Recently I have found this app redownloaded on my phone without me personally installing it. I will delete it, come back a few days later and it is there again. This has happened a few too many times in the past week and I am honestly over it.
Invasion of privacy
I’m fed up with having to delete this app. It’s been days of deleting it sometimes twice a day. It’s ironic that this is for stress and anxiety relief when it’s the cause of annoyance.
Zombie BUG - App installs itself every night
Headspace reinstalls itself every night without prompt. Auto downloads are off and other settings are changed, but every morning this app pops back up. No other app does it. Please fix this issue
While it was a great app when I needed it years ago, it’s become like a zombie.
While it was a great app when I needed it years ago, it’s become like a zombie.
Not happy
This app makes you pay to use anything! I needed it for my anxiety, and it says “free trial” which is a no go for me. No thanks. Please include some ACTUAL FREE CONTENT.
Keeps reinstalling itself
I delete it then the next day it’s back again.
Never download this app save yourself the headache
Never download this app save yourself the headache
Unwanted multiple app installs - STOP!
This app, which I used years ago and deleted, now magically reappears on my iPhone 13 every single time I charge it. I delete it (not just remove from my home screen) and boom, it’s back the next day. I have deleted my history, turned off auto downloads, made sure it’s not on other devices. I have nothing against the app and enjoyed using it when I had it, but an auto install without the user’s permission to try to drum up new subs is poor business and frankly creepy. Get off -and stay off - my phone, Headspace!
Auto download
Why?
Bugged
I had to download this app years ago and I haven’t even thought about it until a couple days ago when it started randomly downloading to my phone out of no where? I did not search it or download it at all. I delete the app and then an hour it is right back on my phone. Not a fan. Some one please fix this
Stop Installing Yourself!!!!
App has auto installed itself on my iPhone for 3 straight days. I didn’t ask to download you. This is creepy and ensures I will never use this app or recommend it to anyone.
Keeps redownloading on my phone
App keeps redownloading itself even after deleting with no automatic updates enabled
Fix the bug
it keeps downloading on its own
Keeps installing itself
I have deleted this three days in a row and each morning it reappears. 🤷♂️
Invasion of privacy
I downloaded the app then deleted it months ago. Yesterday, it was on my phone again. I deleted it. This morning it was on my phone again. This is happening to others as well. This feels like a massive invasion of privacy.
Keeps redownloading - need to be fixed
I had an account over a year ago and deleted the app. But suddenly now it keeps redownloading. I tried to deleting it and it still comes up. Also turned off automatic downloads in iPhone settings and still no luck. It’s a bug and please fix it.
Keeps downloading on phone
I originally downloaded this app because my job encouraged us, but I uninstalled because I found no use. Now, for several days, the app keeps REDOWNLOADING ON MY PHONE!!! No matter how many times I uninstall it finds itself on my phone again. This is infuriating and an app SHOULD NOT BE DOING THAT!
Won’t stop automatically downloading on my phone
This is the 3rd time I’ve had to remove this app from my phone. For the past week it has been automatically downloading every single day. Is apple trying to say I have issues or something
???
???
Reinstalled without permission
The app keeps getting reinstalled on my phone after being deleted multiple times
App keeps downloading
I have not used headspace in years. As of yesterday I woke up to it downloaded on my iPhone. I immediately deleted it as I don’t need it taking up storage. Then again, the same thing this morning. So I took to Reddit….SO MANY PEOPLE ARE HAVING THIS APP BE AUTOMATICALLY DOWNLOADED WITHOUT OUR PERMISSION.
Auto downloads
Beware! I downloaded this app and tried it out about a year ago. Recently it auto downloads itself to my phone every single day and there is no way to stop it. So right now it causes more stress than they claim to solve.
Disgusting genAI trash
Used to use this years ago when it was still music for sleep written with care by actual human creatives. The original device I used the app on broke and I hadn’t cancelled the sub because I kept telling myself “I’ll get back into it at some point, I need to meditate again”. I come back to see they’ve embraced AI in an abhorrent way. I cannot believe the laziness to not put in real effort by dumping all the work to a machine, the callous disregard for human emotion, and exploitation of vulnerable people with a chat bot that could very well do more harm than good, as all it is at the end of the day is a predictive text model, and not any sort of existence that could remotely be capable of understanding and empathizing with an actual person’s struggles and reliably give genuine help.
App is buggy preventing me from using it.
I will complete a session, but it won’t show as completed and thus prevent me from going to the next session. Support was no help either.
Free trial experienced server error causing me to be unable to use.
I wanted to give headspace another try after years of going without it so I downloaded it and was offered a 14 day trial. I opted for the trial and an error occurred, my App Store showed the subscription (trial) but the app left everything locked. I opened a ticket in their “support chat” and the response was of course 24 hours later and of no help, simply asked me to tell them the issue… again. Then when I did, no reply no assistance nothing. Forget it, you’ve caused me more stress not less. Now I have to keep track and ensure I don’t get charged for a subscription I never even got to trial.
Now with AI to encourage suicide
AI is on trial throughout US for encouraging and instructing vulnerable people to commit suicide.
Imagine my surprise to get a notification that AI bots are available to “assist” me.
I guess if you need help on selecting a poison to off yourself, HEADSPACE is for you!
Imagine my surprise to get a notification that AI bots are available to “assist” me.
I guess if you need help on selecting a poison to off yourself, HEADSPACE is for you!
Most annoying app ever!
Worst app for anyone actually seeking mental health! No live chat with agent and no transparency in pairing you with therapist, who I have met two that showed absolute zero empathy, and changing to a new one would take them forever to make happen! Do not waste your time, money, and most importantly, any emotion and energy here!!!
Would Not Recommend
I signed up for the free trial with Headspace as I was looking for an app with daily meditations. During the trial period, I cancelled the subscription so as not to be charged the yearly fee since I found another app I liked better for free. Once the trial ended, I was automatically charged $69.99. Headspace was very difficult to work with regarding this unauthorized charge- they refused to refund the money because the charge was made after the free trial. This was obvious since the only way to be charged is after the free trial ends. I went back and forth with them through email and they consistently responded with “Looking forward to resolving your inquiry” but making absolutely no effort to actually resolve it. For an app that is supposed to support and provide mental health and stress relief, it did the complete opposite for me. I was charged without my approval, was not refunded, and was not communicated with properly I would NOT recommend this app to anyone!
Devolved into AI Slop
I've loved Headspace for years, but the app has become filled with AI Slop. More and more meditations aren't even by humans anymore, but are lead by a soulless AI voice. There's nothing more cognitively dissonant than listening to an AI walk you through breathing exercises and talk about mindfulness. It gives me the ick and I can't tell what's recorded and what's AI anymore. My trust is broken beyond repair.
Can’t sign in DO NOT USE
Ive tried to sign in and my username is showing as Null null. When I tried contacting their support their LLM routed my support request to headspace care their premium service and the response was your email associated with your account isn’t associated with a premium account and at this point has ghosted me from a response. I can’t get into the app itself to make it a premium account because I’m hard locked out. Do not expect any support they have outsourced it to AI mostly.
Idiotic Coding
I signed for a 1 yr sub, so obviously I was intensely interested. Started with the Sleep sessions. Finished the first. Tried to move on to 2d. Couldn’t, despite visual confirmation I’d completed all steps in Session 1. I signed up to learn how to alleviate stress, not become your sitting duck for unnecessary irritants per abject failure to code intelligently. Canceled sub. Moved on to Insight Timer.
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Sentiment summary
97%
Positive (4-5★)
2%
Neutral (3★)
1%
Negative (1-2★)