Lumosity guilty of deceptive advertising for brain training

rolandw · January 6

Brain training apps promise a lot, but the question is, do they deliver? It seems that Lumosity has overstepped the mark with claims about what its brain training apps and online programs can do.

The company has to pay $2 million to settle US Federal Trade Commission charges for deceptive advertising. It also has to notify users of the action and provide easy ways for people to cancel subscriptions to the brain training service. (FTC press release.)

According to Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection “Lumosity preyed on consumers’ fears about age-related cognitive decline, suggesting their games could stave off memory loss, dementia, and even Alzheimer’s disease.”

Brain training apps can be fun to play and like a lot of apps in the iOS and Android stores, there are in-app-purchases. That is not the problem and a million other apps do exactly the same thing.

Where Lumosity has fallen foul of the law is, according to FTC, claiming that its brain training apps could delay or reduce medical conditions like dementia, Alzheimer's disease, stroke, brain injury, PTSD, ADHS and more.

It would be a shame if Lumosity and other brain training apps disappeared because of this and there is nothing wrong with playing games on your phone, tablet or in a web browser. Some games are actually worth paying for.

You should treat them as entertainment and decide whether they are worth paying for on that basis and not as a cure for medical conditions.

Here's what Stanford Center on Longevity says on brain training.

Lumosity was reviewed by RAW Apps back in July 2014. Read the review - Train your brain - Lumosity vs Fit Brains. Was it a fair review?

Have you used brain training apps? Did they work?

clarachan1355 · January 8

the best brain training are things like; learning a new language and speaking it; working at a job; doing business; any of these complex,hard-to-do things, I would add "Mozaki Blocks" if I could still get a real copy of it.Being 60 going on 70. and trying to work,get a job,or find a business that makes money in this economy. Mathamatics is darn good brain exercise; I finally understand algebra, at 68!!! It was finally explained well,in "Beginning Quantum physics" which I am studying, and I was NEVER good at science or math.(But, I decided to study it any way, cause its fascinating--so who cares if i am not Gallileo? I'm doing well for ME.) :)

rolandw · January 8

I like brain training apps, and anything else that exercises the mind. I've even done a bit of quantum physics, but that was a long time ago.

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Lumosity guilty of deceptive advertising for brain training

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