Calm
- The documents do not say whether your data trains AI.
- Your data is used for personalized ads, including by third-party ad companies.
- Data is shared with partners and affiliates; you can opt out.
- The documents do not say who can read your content.
Calm collects usage, device, mood, and ad-tracking data, auto-renews paid plans.
Agent Trust Hub uses AI and may make mistakes. Review reports and confirm their contents before relying on them.
Collected
Account info, moods, usage, device IDs, payments, and sometimes health-app or social data.
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Privacy policy
“Device information: information about the computer or mobile device you use to access the Services, including the hardware model, operating system and version, device identifiers set by your device operating system, and mobile network information.”
Training
They run the app, guess age or gender, market to you, and help partners show targeted ads.
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Privacy policy
“Personalize your online experience and the advertisements you see on other platforms based on your preferences, interests, and browsing behavior”
Sharing
Service vendors, ad partners, affiliates, and others if required by law or a sale of the company.
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Privacy policy
“With companies and contractors that perform services for us, including email service providers, payment processors, fraud prevention vendors, analytics providers, advertising partners, and other service providers;”
Kept
They say they keep data only as long as needed, with no set number of days.
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Privacy policy
“We retain personal data for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which it is processed, unless applicable law requires storage for a longer period of time.”
Controls
You can email for access or deletion and opt out of ads at calm.com/optout.
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Privacy policy
“You can exercise these rights by emailing us at support@calm.com or by submitting the request on our website at calm.com/contact”
Fine print
Plans auto-renew with no refunds; U.S.
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Terms of service
“You will not have the right to receive a refund for any amounts paid to us unless otherwise required by applicable law.”
Expand “Read the exact line” to see the source alongside the explanation.
What you can turn off
The controls and opt-outs their own documents describe, and where they say to find them.
Opt out of targeted ads and data “sales”
calm.com/optout, or device ad settings described in the privacy policy
Cancel auto-renew at least 24 hours early
https://calm.com/profile/manage-subscription if bought on calm.com; otherwise cancel in the app store
Request access or deletion
Email support@calm.com or calm.com/contact (“Ask a question”)
If a switch is not where they say, the deletion request above still applies.
Line by line
The lines that matter most, worst first.
You may have to pay Calm’s legal costs if your use or content leads to a claim.
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Terms of service
“To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, you will , defend, and Calm and its officers, directors, partners, employees, and agents”
For example, if someone sues over a review you posted, you could be on the hook for Calm’s lawyers.
Subscriptions keep charging until you cancel in time, and money already paid is generally not returned.
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Terms of service
“If you cancel, you are not entitled to a refund for the fees you already paid, but, subject to these Terms, you will continue to receive access to Calm Premium until the end of your current subscription period.”
For example, if you cancel two days into a yearly plan, you keep access until the year ends but do not get money back.
They can shut your account without warning if they decide you broke the rules.
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Terms of service
“We may terminate your access to and use of the Services or your account if you violate these Terms, in our sole discretion without notice to you”
For example, they could lock you out of meditations you paid for without an email first.
They get a wide license to reuse what you post, including for marketing, and can pass that license to others.
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Terms of service
“you hereby grant to Calm a non-exclusive, transferable, , worldwide, , license to use, store, publish, translate, reproduce, adapt, copy, modify, create derivative works based upon, publicly display, publicly perform, and distribute your User Content”
For example, a check-in or photo you share could be used in their ads without extra pay.
Outside ad companies can track you across sites and apps to target ads.
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Privacy policy
“Calm and others may use this information to, among other things, analyze and track data, determine the popularity of certain content, deliver advertising and content targeted to your interests, and better understand your online activity.”
For example, listening to sleep stories could help show you Calm ads on another website.
They build inferred profiles about you, not just what you type in.
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Privacy policy
“We may make educated guesses about your gender or age. We may also use information we collect about you to help determine the likelihood of you continuing to use the Services in the future.”
For example, they might guess you are likely to cancel and target you with a promo.
If you allow it, they take sleep data from your phone’s health app.
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Privacy policy
“we may also receive data from your mobile device’s health app (like Apple HealthKit or Google Health Connect), including hours of sleep and sleep goals.”
For example, last night’s hours of sleep from Apple Health could be sent to Calm.
Support chats and calls can be recorded and kept as your information.
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Privacy policy
“we may record our communications including chat messages, phone, or video calls, such as when you utilize our chat-bot or provide us with feedback or market research.”
For example, a video call with support about a billing issue could be stored.
There is a page to turn off targeted ads and related sharing.
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Privacy policy
“Depending on where you are located, you can opt out of use of data collected via the Services for targeted advertising, and related “sales” and “sharing,” by visiting calm.com/optout”
For example, you visit calm.com/optout so partners stop using your Calm activity for ads.
Words to know
Legal words from the lines above, in plain English.
- device identifiers
- Codes that single out your phone or computer, used to recognise you across apps and sites. For example, the advertising ID on your phone lets two unrelated apps know they are seeing the same person.
- service providers
- Outside companies that handle your data on the app's instructions, such as a cloud host or an email sender. For example, the company that stores the app's files in the cloud sees your data but only does what the app tells it.
- retention
- How long a company keeps your data before deleting it. For example, a policy might keep your messages for 30 days after you delete them, or for as long as it likes.
- personal data
- Any information that is about you or can be linked to you, from your name to your phone's ID. For example, your email, your IP address and the list of apps on your phone are all personal data.
- indemnify
- You promise to pay the company's legal costs and losses if your use of the service gets it sued. For example, if you post a song you do not own and the label sues the app, you owe the app's lawyer bills.
- sublicensable
- The company can pass its rights over your content on to other companies without asking you. For example, an app can let an advertiser or a partner reuse your video under the licence you gave.
- royalty-free
- The company can use your content without ever paying you for it. For example, your photo can appear in the app's ads and you get nothing.
- opt out
- Something is on by default and stays on until you find the setting and turn it off. For example, your chats may be used for training unless you go into settings and switch it off.
- targeted advertising
- Ads chosen for you based on what you have done across other apps and websites, not just this one. For example, you look at shoes in one app and see shoe ads in a totally different app the next day.
How we got here · grade F · score 29/100 · 15 of 15 policy answers backed by a verified quote · 3 not stated
What does the app collect beyond what it needs to work?
They collect more than account and content: device IDs, logs, inferred age or gender, moods, and optional health-app and social data.
Does it record your voice, face or body, and what happens to that?
They may record chat, phone, or video support and list audio and visual info among data they keep.
Are your chats and uploads used to train AI models, and is that off by default?
Not stated in the documents.
Can employees or contractors read your conversations, and when?
Not stated in the documents.
Are you profiled or tracked for advertising?
Third parties run analytics and ads using cookies and device IDs across the web.
Do they sell or share your data, and can you opt out?
Ad tracking may count as a sale or share under some laws, and they offer an opt-out.
What rights do they take over what you type and what the AI makes?
You keep ownership, but you grant a transferable, sublicensable worldwide license for operating and marketing the service.
How long do they keep your data after you delete it, and can you delete it in the app?
Deletion is by request (email or contact form). They keep data as long as needed or as law requires, with no in-app 30-day promise.
Does it build a lasting memory or profile of you, and can you see, edit or turn it off?
They infer traits like age, gender, and whether you will keep using the app, without describing memory controls.
Do they commit to basic security, and have they leaked data?
Not stated in the documents.
Is there a real age gate, and are teens protected?
You must be 16 or older; under the age of majority you need a parent to agree. There is no described age-check beyond that.
Will they tell you when the rules change, and is the policy specific?
Policies are dated. Privacy may give extra notice sometimes; terms say continued use after notice means you accept.
Can they close your account without warning, and can you get your data out first?
They may end access or your account without notice if they think you violated the terms.
If something goes wrong, who pays?
The app is “as is,” liability is capped (often $50 or what you paid), and you must indemnify Calm for many claims.
Do subscriptions renew on their own, and can you get a refund?
Paid plans auto-renew. Cancel at least 24 hours before the period ends. They say you generally get no refund of amounts already paid.
The privacy policy is 3,514 words at a professional or legal expert level (Flesch reading ease 23.1); the terms are 7,960 words at a professional or legal expert level.
