Brain training apps — can they really help improve memory? Problem solving? Forestall dementia? Not according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). On January 4, Lumo Labs, makers of the popular Lumosity app, agreed to modify its marketing tactics to no long make such grandiose claims.
Brain training apps — the claims
If you’ve ever seen or heard a Lumosity ad, you’ll recall they claim those who play the games improve their cognition, problem solving, and more. In general, the brain training apps claim people can improve their mental health by simply playing a game.
Brain training apps —the Lumosity settlement
In their announcement of the settlement, the FTC said, “…the defendants claimed training with Lumosity would 1) improve performance on everyday tasks, in school, at work, and in athletics; 2) delay age-related cognitive decline and protect against mild cognitive impairment, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease; and 3) reduce cognitive impairment associated with health conditions, including stroke, traumatic brain injury, PTSD, ADHD, the side effects of chemotherapy, and Turner syndrome, and that scientific studies proved these benefits.”
Those allegations resulted in a $2 million settlement and an agreement to no longer make claims that cannot be substantiated by science. So, what happened?
Brain training apps — the settlement results
According to the agreement between Lumo Labs and the FTC, “…the disclosure must be made through the same means through which the communication is presented. In any communication made through both visual and audible means, such as a television advertisement, the disclosure must be presented simultaneously in both the visual and audible portions of the communication, even if the representation requiring the disclosure is made in only one means.”
…consider testing the free version before shelling out money for a monthly or annual subscription.
Here’s the closest thing I could find to a disclaimer on Lumosity.com as of January 9, 2016. These statements refer to “a randomized study on Lumosity, using crossword puzzles as an active control.”
“Our scientists had 4,715 participants complete the study. Half trained with Lumosity, while the rest did online crossword puzzles to control for placebo effects. After 10 weeks, the Lumosity group improved more than the crosswords group on an aggregate assessment of cognition. These results are promising, but we need to do more research to determine the connection between improved assessment scores and everyday tasks in participants’ lives. That’s our next focus.”
What to do about brain training apps
Turning a disclosure into a statement of promising results is sheer marketing genius. The problem is, for someone worried about cognitive decline, these statements may offer misleading results. In a poll conducted on SiteJabber.com, 113 of 161 reviewers gave the program only one or two stars. For those wanting to try out brain training apps, consider testing the free version before shelling out money for a monthly or annual subscription. If you decide the program doesn’t work for you, you’re only out time, not hard-earned dollars.
Celeste says
There’s a really nice “free” app I helped beta test, called right vs.left. You get some of the games free but there’s also in app purchases. As a tester, I got them all at some point, & most were quite fun. It’s by 3 men & they’re company name is mochibits. Very nice & if ever had questions, one usually responds within a day, but usually only hours
Terry says
Thanks, Celeste. I’m all for free and as long as people recognize these apps are more for fun than preventing dementia, I think they’re great. Thanks for passing on the info.
Nancy J. Cohen says
I have a few free games that I play when I’m waiting for a salon or dr’s appt, and they’re fun irregardless of their health benefits. I do believe they help your brain stay active more than if you just sat there staring into space.
Terry says
Thanks for the comment, Nancy. I think the games people play for their own enjoyment are great. And, if someone wants to pay for the games such as they do for the (paid) Lumosity plan or other services, I’m okay with that as long as they are doing it for entertainment, not with the purpose of forestalling some mental decline. I also agree that being active does keep you sharper, but I don’t like to see people taken in by claims that can’t be proven via an independent study.