Review Insights · App Store
Pillow: Sleep Tracker
Neybox Digital Ltd. · 95,442 ratings · ★ 4.4
4.4
★★★★★
95,442 ratings
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Top complaints - extracted from 50 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
"sleep"
19 negative reviews mention this · 38% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Doesn’t track Correclty. Unless you sleep in your Apple Watch, this app will NOT track sleep correctly. So far, I hate this app and am going back to my trusty Sleep Cycle app that I’ve used for years." - SGNiite
2
"free"
17 negative reviews mention this · 34% of all complaints
★★★★★ "No free option?. After setting up the app, I cannot do anything anymore since I am bombarded with a nonclosable screen telling me about the free trial for the premium version of the app. I don’t know if I want to try the premium version yet, first I want to…" - EM&Ms2004
3
"trial"
13 negative reviews mention this · 26% of all complaints
★★★★★ "No free option?. After setting up the app, I cannot do anything anymore since I am bombarded with a nonclosable screen telling me about the free trial for the premium version of the app. I don’t know if I want to try the premium version yet, first I want to…" - EM&Ms2004
4
"apple"
10 negative reviews mention this · 20% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Doesn’t track Correclty. Unless you sleep in your Apple Watch, this app will NOT track sleep correctly. So far, I hate this app and am going back to my trusty Sleep Cycle app that I’ve used for years." - SGNiite
5
"work"
10 negative reviews mention this · 20% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Not working anymore. When I get up for a bathroom break it does not recognize I went back to bed and asleep." - OldSheep44
6
"subscription"
10 negative reviews mention this · 20% of all complaints
★★★★★ "No free option?. After setting up the app, I cannot do anything anymore since I am bombarded with a nonclosable screen telling me about the free trial for the premium version of the app. I don’t know if I want to try the premium version yet, first I want to…" - EM&Ms2004
7
"free trial"
10 negative reviews mention this · 20% of all complaints
★★★★★ "No free option?. After setting up the app, I cannot do anything anymore since I am bombarded with a nonclosable screen telling me about the free trial for the premium version of the app. I don’t know if I want to try the premium version yet, first I want to…" - EM&Ms2004
8
"premium"
9 negative reviews mention this · 18% of all complaints
★★★★★ "No free option?. After setting up the app, I cannot do anything anymore since I am bombarded with a nonclosable screen telling me about the free trial for the premium version of the app. I don’t know if I want to try the premium version yet, first I want to…" - EM&Ms2004
9
"without"
9 negative reviews mention this · 18% of all complaints
★★★★★ "“Free” yeah okay. I can’t use a single thing on this app without paying. It won’t even track myself for me automatically. This app used to be amazing but every update you lose a free feature now I can’t use anything" - Rapperer
10
"doesn"
8 negative reviews mention this · 16% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Doesn’t track Correclty. Unless you sleep in your Apple Watch, this app will NOT track sleep correctly. So far, I hate this app and am going back to my trusty Sleep Cycle app that I’ve used for years." - SGNiite
11
"watch"
7 negative reviews mention this · 14% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Doesn’t track Correclty. Unless you sleep in your Apple Watch, this app will NOT track sleep correctly. So far, I hate this app and am going back to my trusty Sleep Cycle app that I’ve used for years." - SGNiite
12
"anything"
7 negative reviews mention this · 14% of all complaints
★★★★★ "No free option?. After setting up the app, I cannot do anything anymore since I am bombarded with a nonclosable screen telling me about the free trial for the premium version of the app. I don’t know if I want to try the premium version yet, first I want to…" - EM&Ms2004
📋 All 50 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").
Doesn’t track Correclty
Unless you sleep in your Apple Watch, this app will NOT track sleep correctly. So far, I hate this app and am going back to my trusty Sleep Cycle app that I’ve used for years.
Not working anymore
When I get up for a bathroom break it does not recognize I went back to bed and asleep.
Waste of money
DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY on this useless app!!!
Useless
Useless
No free option?
After setting up the app, I cannot do anything anymore since I am bombarded with a nonclosable screen telling me about the free trial for the premium version of the app. I don’t know if I want to try the premium version yet, first I want to try the normal version of the app but that doesn’t seem possible. If the app requires a subscription, that should be made more clear before downloading and setting up, this feels slimy and greatly annoying to me.
“Free” yeah okay
I can’t use a single thing on this app without paying. It won’t even track myself for me automatically. This app used to be amazing but every update you lose a free feature now I can’t use anything
Doesn’t track sleep well
I sleep with an Apple Watch. This app is constantly telling me that I only got three hours of sleep when I know for a fact I got at least six. I used to use another app that worked better, but the other app (SleepWatch) refused to let me opt out of sharing my health data, so I don’t use that app anymore. Unfortunately it worked a lot better at tracking my sleep than Pillow does
.
Refuses to let you use the free version unless you sign up for the trial.
Crash then forced premium??
I have used this app for years. I stuck with them when they removed several of the features and put them behind a paywall. Then things got buggy. Recently it got so bad it wouldn’t even connect to my Apple Watch, so I deleted the app and reinstalled to see if that would fix it. Now it’s forcing me to do the trial for premium… can’t get past the nag screen. Absolutely vile. You’ve lost a loyal customer.
Can’t use app
Originally this app was decent and I enjoyed using it. I never paid for the subscription or did any free trial. I haven’t been on the app in some time, and when I go onto it, it forces me to agree to a free trial. There is no x, or not now option. The only options i can click is to see what’s included, to start the free trial, or view the terms and conditions. This is highly frustrating. I have updated the app and closed out of it several times, but there is no option for me to even use the app.
Greedy paywall app
I tried the free trial and instantly canceled afterwards
The fatal flaw here, you have next to none access to any features? It’s absolutely crazy you can’t even open your own sleep reports in detail???
There’s nothing you can do in this app at all unless you pay
So I respectfully say to anyone reading this, this app isn’t worth your time. You are just wasting effort and time on developers who are too greedy to lock up basic features behind paywalls
The fatal flaw here, you have next to none access to any features? It’s absolutely crazy you can’t even open your own sleep reports in detail???
There’s nothing you can do in this app at all unless you pay
So I respectfully say to anyone reading this, this app isn’t worth your time. You are just wasting effort and time on developers who are too greedy to lock up basic features behind paywalls
Useless after DST
This was working permanently fine until daylight savings time now it’s not recording the proper amount of sleep. It’s saying I’m taking naps when I’m not even taking naps. At this point, I’d be better on going back to the Rise App even though it didn’t count my work schedule or that I don’t go to sleep till 11 o’clock at night and get up at 5:30. At least it is more accurate. Canceling Subscription
poor accuracy
Needs a lot of work. I was in bed for 7 hours and it claimed I was in bed for 3 hours and 21 minutes.. Poor accuracy.. This needs to be fixed asap
Free is unnecessarily restricted
You don’t get proper sleep tracking, fine. You don’t get any sleep aid sounds- stupid. I can run any other app and play music or sound. You can’t pick custom alarm sounds despite clearly being available in the app. I don’t think losing access to Clair De Lune is compelling me to break out my wallet, so why bother restricting it? You offer nothing special or unique for free over the basic iPhone alarm. If I got some kind of tracking, and then occasionally when I could afford a sub for deeper tracking, that could be interesting.
However phones and even watches are notoriously inaccurate for sleep tracking. Don’t waste your money. And please don’t respond to this review. It’s condescending.
However phones and even watches are notoriously inaccurate for sleep tracking. Don’t waste your money. And please don’t respond to this review. It’s condescending.
Only tracking or recording sounds works, not both
I have attached this to my Apple Watch to get detailed tracking, which works great if I do not try to record sleep sounds as well. When recording sleep sounds the sleep tracking just gives a solid line all night saying I was in deep sleep the whole time. Per the app these should work together. Despite following all their instructions the sleep tracking and sound recording do not work together.
Scam!!
I downloaded this about a year ago and loved it - even paid for the subscription since it did exactly what it said it would do. It woke me up during a light sleep cycle. Then about 6 months in it would only wake me up 30 minutes before my set time. I communicated with help and they said they would work on it. I stupidly believed them and gave them my money again with renewal. Now the alarm only goes off at the set time. I tried all the fixes. They will not refund money so I’ve wasted my money again.
Total garbage!
Does not work properly anymore. It will not analyze my sleep pattern properly, it will say I only slept one hour when in fact I was asleep for seven + hours. The Apple sleep app is working perfectly. What is the problem?
Daylight Savings Time DUMB
Why wasn’t my alarm NOT UPDATED automatically or AT LEAST was I given an alert to do so? Very DUMB!
It woke me up to tell me it’s bedtime.
NEVER INSTALL THIS TRASH…
True story. It came up as a priority notification. I went to bed early and it pushed a notification to my watch that vibrated and woke me, reminding me that it was time for bed.
True story. It came up as a priority notification. I went to bed early and it pushed a notification to my watch that vibrated and woke me, reminding me that it was time for bed.
Not good
tried for 3 days but it didn’t work. Worthless
No free test without a payment
A lot of overwhelming useless popups in the beginning. Deleted as garbage
So disappointed.
I have had this app for years and my phone updated it in the App Store and now I can’t use it without a $39.99 fee when up until now it has been free. Very disappointing!
ADDED: they replied to my review stating that it indeed still is free BUT I can not get out of the screen regarding the free trial. It will not let me go onto another screen without starting a free trial!! If it is still free please indicate how I get into the free version that I’ve had for years.
ADDED: they replied to my review stating that it indeed still is free BUT I can not get out of the screen regarding the free trial. It will not let me go onto another screen without starting a free trial!! If it is still free please indicate how I get into the free version that I’ve had for years.
No way to use app without giving payment info for free trial.
If this app wasn’t intrusive enough by supplying recordings while you sleep, there is no X in the upper corner to just use the free version. It appears you must click to use the free trial by giving them access to payment info. Was never able to use limited version without providing payment info. Uninstalling without ever using
How does it work ? terrible, not consistent and very fast to take a yearly fee. Hard to find help
Hasn’t show anything where do I find my sleep pattern?
Paywall (kinda)
Don’t wanna have to start a free trial then cancel it just to use the app for free, too much work and would have to explain to parents.
Sucks
Can’t get off premium screen at all it seemed like it would have a free ability but no it doesn’t
Making me pay for something that was free
This app was free before and you could optionally pay for extra features. Whole thing is behind a paywall. We have completely lost the plot. Not everything needs to be under a subscription model. Deleted and will just use the health app instead.
Ugh
There was no way of getting out of the premium buy like no I don’t want that but there was literally no x or anything it was super annoying and a waste of my time.
Used to be ok now it sucks
It takes 30-ish min to realize that I have gone to sleep. Then if I roll over barely waking up to do so it records that I was awake for 30 to 60 minutes - seriously I think I would know if I was awake for an hour! But it would allow me to correct it by editing the duration and the awake or sleeping data. But since the latest update it just says nope you were awake all night and I know I was not. I'm done with this app! I'm deleting it.
Misleading waste of time
Promising app at first, too bad its potential is wasted behind a paywall. If you are going to require payment you might as well make it cost money to download. Just a misleading waste of time in the end.🤷
Not even free
I looked up best free sleep tracking app and this said is was completely free……… turns out it’s not and I can’t even enter the app without it saying I have to pay for a subscription…… don’t recommend.
Very Inaccurate
Nice design and features; however, its main function is a major fail. I’ll sleep 8-9 solid hours and this sleep app reports I went to bed three hours late and was awake all night. Way way too inaccurate to be of any use at all. Bummer. AutoSleep and Apple Watch Sleep are accurate. Can I have a refund?
Don’t buy
It was widely different than apple health. I asked for a refund and was denied by them and apple. $40 wasted. So disappointed.They keep saying they can’t refund it. Then why not allow people to pay month to month
Worthless
Every time I get up to go to the bathroom it resets and gives me low scores.
This App Sucks. Not worth it.
You can’t do anything on the app expect for set an alarm, id rather keep the space on my phone and use the alarm that comes with my phone it’s waste of space. Very stupid app and very useless. I don’t recommend. Not worth it.
Sarah
Sleep
Doesn’t capture my sleep time accurately at all… And customer service is nonexistent
I’ve been using Pillow for years and generally thought it was fairly accurate, but in the last six months, it’s been recording my sleep inaccurately by saying I fell asleep much later than I did and tracking my sleep while after I woke. I’ve tried to submit this problem to Pillow in the app under the “report a problem“ function… But it won’t let me submit. I’ve tried contacting through chat, no response. Very disappointed
requires a subscription
The app supposedly has a limited version that can't be accessed without a free trial of the premium version, so you can't use the app without purchasing it. I don't want to purchase the trial, I'm upset.
Почему не убирается экран с пробной подпиской
Если бы я хотел оплатить пробную подписку, я ты сделал это. Но почему нельзя сделать на входном экране крестик?
Can’t get past paywall
So there is supposedly “limited” version of the app that I am fine with using but there is no way to even access it because you have to sign up for the free trial before you’re even allowed access to anything. Premium this and Premium that, I don’t want to pay money for this and I don’t care if that makes me the bad guy but I find it annoying that this app can supposedly be used without a subscription but there is a pay wall.
US Marine Corps-Repetitive (weekly) issues that consume your time to repair with Support CHATTING.
Do Yourself a Favor and Save Yourself the Aggravation
Trying to learn that what I’m telling you has been proven over a platoon of Marines. The aggravation of trying to figure out why this app does not do the same thing consistently will be where you spend your time. It simply doesn’t work.
A military fact unknown to civilians is that when Marines are not deployed, we spend all of our time in a squad bay, sleeping outside of training. During that time, there is always a Marine on duty for 24 hours, pacing the squad bay. This duty has a nickname: “firewatch.” Over the past two months, we have had the firewatch interchange hourly, as they only do one-hour shifts every 24 hours. They have been assigned to take notes on any Marine who is not what we have nicknamed “in a coma.” If he is tossing, turning, uncomfortable, or can’t stay asleep, all of this is jotted down into a spreadsheet on his tablet. The data that the human is writing down rarely coincides with the data that this app is producing.
Trying to learn that what I’m telling you has been proven over a platoon of Marines. The aggravation of trying to figure out why this app does not do the same thing consistently will be where you spend your time. It simply doesn’t work.
A military fact unknown to civilians is that when Marines are not deployed, we spend all of our time in a squad bay, sleeping outside of training. During that time, there is always a Marine on duty for 24 hours, pacing the squad bay. This duty has a nickname: “firewatch.” Over the past two months, we have had the firewatch interchange hourly, as they only do one-hour shifts every 24 hours. They have been assigned to take notes on any Marine who is not what we have nicknamed “in a coma.” If he is tossing, turning, uncomfortable, or can’t stay asleep, all of this is jotted down into a spreadsheet on his tablet. The data that the human is writing down rarely coincides with the data that this app is producing.
Not tracking properly
I used to really love this app. However, for the last several days that I’ve checked my sleep, it has me still asleep for 30 minutes or longer after I have gotten up. It usually has me “asleep” even though I have gotten ready for and driven the 30 minutes to work. I even stop for coffee on the way, and I feed my dogs and let them out before I leave home. It’s a bit crazy to have my wake up time after I arrive at work. Today it says I was in REM sleep while I was ordering coffee at Dutch Bros, after driving 18 miles. I wouldn’t imagine that the rest would be all that accurate. I have reported the issue a few times and have updated the app. I will give it another few days and delete it if it continues to track this poorly.
Please don't force subscriptions.
Hello, I downloaded the app because I want to be able to track my sleep and fix my abnormal sleep patterns. Everything was fine until I wasn't able to exit out of the premium subscription page, I tried everything to get passed it but there isn't any option available to skip it. I would truly appreciate it if you didn't force subscriptions on the app users because this just causes more stress and unnecessary hassle trying to get rid of that page. Thank you.
Won't Let Me Exit Out The Free Trial Offer
how do you deny the Pillow Premium offer as soon as you download the app? i can't find it for the life of me.
Poor app 😔
I was NOT impressed by the numbers this app found with my sleep progress!! Compared against the Apple 🍎 app, I discovered Pillow’s findings were quite askew!! And the Apple Health app recommended it (obviously for a commission 💰💰) Of course, it’s impossible to know what’s up while one is sleeping, but one gauges it against how one feels. That depends on numerous factors!! Anyhoo, NOT impressed at all!!
Instructions???
No instructions on how to set up with a watch so you waste several nights of sleep data trying to get it to collect correctly. Is it so hard to provide steps?
Unable to use app
I was recommended this app by my
Sibling and i am stuck on the free trial screen. Is there any way I can just use free features without even getting the 7 day trial or..? I’d rather not have to worry about canceling my subscription
Sibling and i am stuck on the free trial screen. Is there any way I can just use free features without even getting the 7 day trial or..? I’d rather not have to worry about canceling my subscription
Broken
This app no longer works as it used to. Without any changes being made to my phones settings, it no longer seems capable of retrieving Apple data. When you reach out for help, they tell you “oh you must’ve changed the permission settings” when no settings have been changed. Honestly, I used to love this app but it actually doesn’t offer anything that Apple itself doesn’t already do on your phone in Apple health.
Frequently wrong on time slept
I did the trial of premium and found Pillow frequently was wrong on time asleep. When Apple showed I slept 7+ hours but pillow said 4+ hours.
Does not register nightly events well
I have been using for over a month and it is just not an accurate recording system. I get up and go to the bathroom and it doesn’t register waking up during the night.
Sentiment summary
85%
Positive (4-5★)
7%
Neutral (3★)
9%
Negative (1-2★)