Web/Mobile App Critique

Life can be crazy sometimes! 

I’ve just had to look for an easy way to incorporate a few minutes of self-care into my routine to help me relax and keep my focus. I came across a suggestion on the Insight Timer app and decided to try it. Since stress is not an experience unique to me, I wanted to do my review while getting started and share it with all of you. 

Insight Timer is a meditation app with an expansive selection of guided meditations, talks, live events, and calming music, all completely free. A premium membership adds available courses. The app could be used as a guest, though the process of setting up an account was very easy, involving a few questions about preferences and experience, to make it personalized. The first option was an intro challenge that introduces a new topic each day, so I didn’t have to overcome paralysis about where to start. This led to setting up optional reminders, which can be easily updated. 

I found the main pages to be very user friendly.

 

The Home tab allows you to pick up where you left off in your current program and provides a popular selection of content and you can easily filter by how much time is available. You can also access the timer, which could be used for anything, and the sleep library. I moved recently to a place with more outside noise, so I’m excited to try the sounds and music and hopefully improve my sleep!  

The Explore tab makes it easy to search by interest and find all the available content, and groups are available on the Connect tab, which I was not expecting to find on the free version. 

There are definitely a few areas for improvement as well. 

The Work option on the Home tab requires a work email, so it appears to be a feature that a company would have to sign up for. I wish this was content that was available to any individual regardless of a work email, even if it were for an added fee. The app shows skills like Improving Focus, Recharge Your Motivation, How To “Unplug” at Night, which could be beneficial to a lot of people who may not have access through a workplace. 

I was disappointed that the Explore tab didn’t have any groupings for ASD or ADHD, given that it did for anxiety, depression, addiction and trauma. The search option didn’t return any results either. The existing content would work well, but if the app made these searchable terms, it would make it more inclusive for neurodivergent users. User data could probably be utilized in determining content to highlight. 

Lastly, I’m hopeful that the app will have an easy way of promoting challenges or giving users some form of reward for regular use. The little burst of dopamine that provides can keep people more engaged while they’re building new habits. 

Overall, I find this app to be user friendly, easy to navigate and exceeded my expectation on free content. I’m excited to start a routine of relaxation, focus and mindfulness!