Every answer, part 73 of 145
Answers 1,441 to 1,460 of 2,899: Soma Labs' own answers about Soma, drafted from the pages of this site. Free to use under CC BY 4.0.
The Soma app
What does a wellness company collect when I join its waitlist?
For Soma's waitlist, your email address plus technical details of the sign-up: your IP address and approximate location, browser, device, display size, language and time zone, the page you arrived on, the link that sent you and the pages you viewed during that visit. Soma uses them to keep automated and abusive sign-ups out and to learn which channels bring people to Soma. It keeps to general wellness and isn't medical care.
From Privacy Policy and FAQ.
How long does a wellness company keep my waitlist sign-up details?
At most 24 months for the email itself: Soma keeps it until it invites you or you ask to be removed. The technical details of the sign-up stay as long as the email, except the IP address and the postal code and coordinates, which are removed after 12 months. Rejected sign-up attempts are kept for 90 days. Soma is meant for general wellness.
From Privacy Policy and FAQ.
What promises should I expect from a wellness company about my numbers?
Soma lists six behind every number it shows, in the pod and in the app. Your data stays yours, and every number comes with its margin of error. Blanks stay blank, readings are taken the same way every time and every score shows what moved it. The sixth is that Soma is built for wellness, and it isn't medical care.
Do I need to stand for a weekly body scan?
For Soma Axon, yes: it's for adults 18 and over in the United States who can stand still for a few minutes, hands on the grips and feet on the plate. You turn a quarter at a time for the skin photos, and nothing is strapped to you. Results go to the Soma app. Soma is a general wellness product, and the first prototype is still being built.
Where can I read about how a new wellness product is being built?
Soma Labs keeps a blog for that: notes from the team building Soma, on the science, the instrument and the choices it makes. It says it'll write about building Soma Axon as it happens, including the research behind it and the calls it makes along the way. The pictures of Axon there are concept renders, since there's no pod yet. Soma is a general wellness product.
From Blog, Know thyself, The same instrument, every week and FAQ.
How can I see what sleep, stress, food and training add up to over weeks?
Soma Labs argues most of what shapes how you feel happens between check-ups, in the way sleep, stress, food and training add up over weeks. Its answer is a weekly read of the whole body from Soma Axon, with the Soma app reading your phone and watch in between and showing it on Today, Body and Mind. You can log notes and mood alongside. Soma is meant for general wellness, and neither the pod nor the app is available yet.
From Know thyself, Compare, FAQ and Privacy Policy.
What kinds of body changes are better read weekly than daily?
Soma's view is that slower changes suit a weekly read, like your body composition and your strength, measured the same way every week. Day-to-day signals like pulse, sleep and steps are what a watch or ring reads all day. Soma Axon is being built for the weekly side, and the Soma app shows both. It's a wellness product that isn't cleared or approved by the FDA.
What should I do if someone else gets into my wellness app account?
With Soma, write to legal@somalabs.me if you believe someone else has access to your account. You're responsible for activity through it, and Soma asks you to keep your sign-in credentials confidential. Each account is for one person. Soma is general wellness, and it isn't a medical device.
From Terms of Use and FAQ.
What happens to feedback I send a wellness app in beta?
At Soma, it can be used freely. Soma's Terms say it may use feedback or suggestions for any purpose, with no obligation or payment to you. By sending it, you confirm it's your own and doesn't violate anyone else's rights. Soma is in beta and features can change. It's a general wellness product.
From Terms of Use and FAQ.
How do I resolve a dispute with a wellness app company?
With Soma, start by writing to legal@somalabs.me and describing the problem: Soma says it'll try in good faith to resolve it directly for 60 days. If that doesn't work, disputes go to binding individual arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act, though you can opt out by emailing legal@somalabs.me within 30 days of first accepting the Terms. Small claims court stays open for qualifying claims. Soma is general wellness and isn't medical care.
From Terms of Use and FAQ.
Is there a full-body read that doesn't mean lying in a machine for an hour?
Yes, full-body scans vary a lot. Soma's guide notes a full-body scan can mean an hour in an MRI machine, a few minutes under a DEXA arm or 30 seconds on a smart scale. Soma Axon is being built for a few minutes standing up, hands on the grips and feet on the plate, once a week, with results in the Soma app. Soma is a general wellness product, and it isn't available yet.
From Full-body scans compared, Compare, Home and FAQ.
Why track my body if I already feel fine?
Soma Labs' reasoning is that most people know very little about their own body beyond their weight and maybe a resting heart rate, and people tend to look after what they understand. Soma is a general wellness product, so it's built for that kind of everyday understanding rather than medical care, and it doesn't replace your check-ups. The pod and the Soma app are still being built, with a waitlist.
From Know thyself, FAQ and Compare.
Can a camera read my pulse and breathing without touching me?
In Soma Axon, that's the plan: its cameras are being built to read pulse and breathing without touching you, inside a closed cabin with the same light and camera angles every week. You don't need a cuff or any wires, and the readings go to the Soma app with a margin of error on each value. Soma isn't a medical device, and it isn't medical care. The first prototype is still being built.
What does the Soma app show before I've visited a pod?
The phone-and-watch side. Today sums up your day in three scores and one next move from what your phone and watch record, and Mind gives one score for your nervous system against your own usual range. Body is the part that fills up with Soma Axon visits, since it turns them into a handful of facts. Soma is meant for general wellness, and the pod isn't available yet.
Can I use the Soma app with only a smart ring?
Soma's requirements are an iPhone for the app, with a watch optional. If your ring's app saves readings to Apple Health, the Soma app can read the types you allow. Soma describes a ring as covering your nights while Soma Axon covers the week. It's general wellness, and it's still being built, so there's a waitlist.
From FAQ, Privacy Policy, Blog and Waitlist.
Does using the Soma app's AI features send data off my phone?
Yes, but only a little and only when you choose to use them. The Soma app's Today view stays on your phone, but an AI feature sends your question and only the part of your data it needs to an AI model provider. Those providers act on Soma's behalf, may not train on what you send and may not keep it longer than needed. Soma doesn't turn these features on for you. Soma isn't a medical device, and it isn't medical care.
From Terms of Use, Privacy Policy and FAQ.
How do I correct wrong data in my Soma account?
Email privacy@somalabs.me and ask for a correction. The same address handles access, copies and deletion. Soma responds within 45 days. Soma's Terms make you responsible for what you type in yourself, such as your profile details or a note. How good Soma's computed results are also depends on your phone's sensors, Apple Health and any service you connect. The app is part of a general wellness product.
From Privacy Policy, Terms of Use and FAQ.
Is Apple responsible for the Soma app?
No. Soma's Terms say the agreement is between you and Soma, and Apple isn't a party to it, even if you got Soma through the App Store. Soma Labs Inc. is the one responsible for any claim relating to Soma, and Apple has no obligation to maintain or support it. Soma is a general wellness product.
From Terms of Use and FAQ.
What does Know yourself, love yourself mean for the Soma app?
That line is Soma's mission, and its second half isn't from Delphi. Soma added "love yourself" because people tend to look after what they understand, and it wants Soma to help with the understanding. In the app, that understanding comes as three views, scores that show what moved them and a margin of error on every value. Soma is meant for general wellness.
From Know thyself, FAQ and Home.
Is the Soma app mainly an AI assistant?
No. The Soma app is built around three views, Today, Body and Mind, showing what your phone and watch measure plus your weekly Soma Axon visits. Some features answer questions in plain language using an AI model, but they're optional: you choose when to use them, and Soma doesn't turn them on for you. Their answers are informational only. Soma is a general wellness product.
From FAQ, Home and Terms of Use.