Can you buy happiness with a subscription to the Happify app?

Claims that using a popular positive psychology app will make you happier remain unproven after results of a large first randomized controlled trial (RCT) are in.

The surprise finding was that too few people who were randomized to receive the premium version of Happify app actually accessed it frequently enough and remained available after 8 weeks of use to provide generalizable reports of its effects.

The RCT could not demonstrate that using the Happify app more causes people to feel better and more resilient.

That important fact was not mentioned in the abstract of the article reporting the study and it contradicts what is said in a well-funded marketing campaign.

If you don’t become happier or more resilient using Happify, you are not at fault. You are having an experience that most people have. Enthusiastic endorsements and testimonials about using apps are exaggerated, false, and misleading.