• Lumosity

Lumosity

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Overview

Lumosity has a rating of 2.1 stars from 241 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers complaining about Lumosity most frequently mention customer service, credit card, and auto renewal problems. Lumosity ranks 1053rd among Games sites.

  • Service
    27
  • Value
    32
  • Shipping
    8
  • Returns
    16
  • Quality
    28
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How would you rate Lumosity?
Top Positive Review

“I looked over the reviews on this site about Lumosity...”

ryan b.
8/26/14

I looked over the reviews on this site about Lumosity and got to say. Please let me sale you a car. If you took 4 sec to read the billing statements before purchasing the product, you would have clearly seen what the billing cycles are, and the options if you choose not to enroll in the monthly or yearly subscriptions. Has for me, I like this product, I've tried other free apps and for the most part. They tent to be the same mathematical questions, no shapes... etc. I'm only four weeks into the service and seen improvements with my way of thinking. Now, I and hope no one expects these games to make you a genius, but should help improve daily thinking requires.

Top Critical Review

“Cancellation of games without notice”

Emily S.
1/14/21

Lumosity has over 100 million members, a lot of them, like me, signed up for the long term. That's why they can afford to cancel popular games with no explanation. I played Word Bubbles (classic) and Word Bubbles Rising almost daily, but never saw a banner indicating they were to be chopped, and they were not on the original list in the company's news flash. I believe Lumosity has done this because some of these games cannot be run without Adobe Flash, which pulled their service, and they would rather disappoint the customers than come to an agreement with Adobe. I'm very disappointed in the company, which, with this move, has proven itself to be just another business. They should at least have launched a survey to see who would be interested in having any proposed cancelled games saved. I now realise that Lumosity can simply close up shop, and lifetime members would have no recourse at all. I feel so upset it'll be a while before I return to the site. Caveat emptor!

Reviews (241)

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customer service (40) credit card (33)
Thumbnail of user deborahv2
1 review
1 helpful vote
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August 7th, 2012

I had a subscription and they have whipped money from my paypal account for the ensuing year - no email to remind me - just took the money
I am furious and they are not responding to my request to refund my money
NOT IMPRESSED

Thumbnail of user rajh
1 review
2 helpful votes
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September 25th, 2013

I would definitely say the Lumosity is worthwhile because of the mental stimulation it provides through training is really effective. I paid for lumosity for one year and played over 1000games. The results I got were quite amazing my bpi went up by 1000 and I noticed a significant improvement in memory/attention after I stopped paying for it. Since it targets all 5 mental areas I could see improvement in those areas too such as speed and flexibility. It boosted my confidence because when I had to remember things and answer questions I would get it right quite often. In terms of attention span I can pay attention for longer periods of time while retaining information from what I learned. Also the results come after training I didn't train too much I just played the games I liked but training will increase brain power since it includes a variety of different games based on your training priorities. All it takes is training to condition your mind. Further, my verbal fluency improved because I played those word games such as word bubbles rising. The games have a great design and really fun to play you, just have to be motivated enough to play the games. All in all its a great site if your willing to commit the time and effort for training. The time is takes to reap the benefits of training is around 15minutes daily.

Thumbnail of user elaineg15
10 reviews
48 helpful votes
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January 21st, 2015

I subscribed but was unable to access the games. Kept getting msg that I was not a member. However, my Discover was charged $59.95. I called the Lumosity phone listed and got an automated msg referring me to the online site. I went online and filed my complaint and got no reply. So I called again, and again, and again... automated phone msg each time referring me to the website. All of this time, months, I am unable to get into the games... getting the same message that I am not a member. Finally I email Lumosity stating that I will be appealing the charge to Disco ver. Magic... I get three replies in 2 days. The first states that I cannot be found as a paying member. I send the information to them with a copy of the Discover charge. I asked for cancellation and a refund. The reply from Lumosity was that my 30 days was up and I could not be refunded. Never mind that I had not been able to access the games! Discover accepted the dispute and told me that they receive many complaints from Lumosity customers. Discover also suggested that I contact my attorney general and the Calif attorney general about this, which I intend to do tomorrow. This company is inaccessible because they want to be! Some customer service, huh? No service after the sale!

Thumbnail of user lumou
1 review
3 helpful votes
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February 1st, 2014

There are some flaws with the games, and your BPI is drastically affected depending on which device you use. My BPI doubled once I switched to an ipad from a PC--that's because the ipad has a touchscreen, so it's easier to pick up speed with that feature. The ipad, however, offers only a subset of games that you can get on the PC. The ipad has maybe 10-12 games, while the PC version has about 40 games. I have found flaws with two games, and within a month, I am at the 96th percentile for my age group--the big leap was because I switched to the ipad. The games are interesting, but I would like more statistics/data to accompany each one. I can see how I rank in general--across the board. But I would like to see how I rank on a per-game basis. I also think the company should provide an overview of how you rank and what that means in terms of daily functioning. For example, if I rank high in <x area> at particular times of the day and lower at other times--or if it's obvious that I rank better/worse after/before meals or after/before exercise, they could provide that information. They could offer optional quick surveys after each game to pull this data and then aggregate it into something useful. I enjoy playing some of the games, but I'm not sure if it's really improving my cognition or if I am just getting better at particular games.

Thumbnail of user stephl2
1 review
2 helpful votes
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September 20th, 2013

I started using Lomosity for myself, liked it and paid extra for the family plan to include the rest of my family. The games are fun and challenging at the higher levels - we liked playing them and were seeing improvements.

HOWEVER, when we recently logged in to play the games again, we found that all of the games were locked and the only wayto play them was to upgrade our accounts. We already paid and our subscription time had not yet expired. Basically, this is a breach of contract since they cancelled our existing subscription without refund and force us to sign up and pay a higher fee.

I have no problem with Lumosity changing their program and fee structure for new member subscriptions, but for those of us that already have accounts with time remaining on our active subscriptions, we should be allowed to use up the remainder of our subscription with the same access to the games, history data, and comparison profiles that we have always had. AFTER our subscription runs out, THEN and only then should Lumosity request thay we pay the higher fees to continue.

I have requested from Lumosity to unlock my account(s) for the remainder of my subscription or issue a refund, but I have not heard anything from them yet.

The terms of service agreement has changed from the original when I created my account. Now they are saying we cannot file a class-action lawsuit, but that clause is not enforceable in the case of breach of contract or fraud (which is certainly arguable in court) Therefore, If enough of us have not received satisfactory resolution of our concerns, a class-action suit may be warranted.

Thumbnail of user betsyc83
3 reviews
1 helpful vote
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February 5th, 2023

It's the same thing over and over. You simply learn how to do their "tests" better, but it doesn't improve your ability to increase brain capacity.

Thumbnail of user kristenh12
2 reviews
51 helpful votes
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January 24th, 2015

DO NOT USE LUMOSITY! They stink. Honestly - I signed up for one month in JULY 2014 and am still (JAN 2015!) trying to get them to stop charging me the monthly fee. Such a scam. HORRIBLE company.

Thumbnail of user davec69
1 review
19 helpful votes
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September 10th, 2014

Lumosity reminds me of the old joke about a kid eating the rabbit dung "smart pills".
He did learn something!

Thumbnail of user dariusr3
2 reviews
4 helpful votes
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October 28th, 2013

I actually enjoy Lumosity games. I don't know if they make me smarter but it was a nice, fun present for my son to get me.

Thumbnail of user jane4646
1 review
6 helpful votes
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March 20th, 2018

Lumosity has an automatic renew policy and don't let you know about the reoccurring charge! They are shameful and out of integrity.

Thumbnail of user johnm270
3 reviews
11 helpful votes
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January 30th, 2014

I tried this crap and now they send me emails every single day. This is the stupidest thing i ever tried. Dont waste your time or money on it.

Thumbnail of user crisc5
1 review
11 helpful votes
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June 3rd, 2014

I admit to being enticed by the supposed brain science and ability to improve my memory and brain function by playing games. I should have known better than to be lured by the heavy marketing and fabulous claims. I paid nearly $100 for a 2 yr subscription and was denied a refund when I realized I had been duped (not only was there no improvement in memory despite constant claims of stellar performance by the Lumosity measures, but I had become the target of a heavy handed marketing campaign designed to get me to pressure family and friends to sign up). I subscribed to this service based on the marketing claims of improved memory and brain performance. It seemed more credible coming from an educational based background and as an educator that appealed to me. I found it difficult to access the website from the foreign locations where I often work and the i-phone app was not the same quality of experience and seemed far less legitimate than the regular web page version. More importantly, I noticed no improvement in memory or any other brain function after using this consistently for over 2 months, despite the company claims my brains performance was miraculously improved. The rating system of where I stood with my age group was frankly suspect and seemed designed to only encourage me to continue playing games just to beat others. It became clear there was nothing credible in this data and the company had few other people in my demographic subscribed, so the performance comparisons had no solid basis. The performance numbers seemed rigged to encourage me to get friends and family to subscribe and then compete with them. I was bombarded with family and friend plan options. This service should sell itself based on its 'science-grounded' merits - not a heavy handed marketing campaign. After several months playing brain games I realised that it is a scam, designed to squeeze money from gullible customers wanting to optimize their memory and performance. There is no discernable improvement in my mental capacity or memory since I subscribed. Now they refuse to give me a refund for the year and a half that's left of the subscription and Ive been forced to lodge a complaint with the BBB.

Thumbnail of user kjellb13
1 review
2 helpful votes
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May 19th, 2023

They have deducted 6 years of subscription from an account out of date. Name change and expire date. Don't touch

Products used:
Terrible and a scam. Don’t touch. They take money from an expired account.

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Thumbnail of user lisal1043
1 review
0 helpful votes
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April 10th, 2020

Some of the games are kind of repetitive. I agree. The memory games are fairly useful, as they reflect how useful my memory is in real life. The language games to me are the most useful. I love the Contextual game, Taking Root, and Word Bubbles.

When I was at the hospital with my husband in late February for a follow-up on his DBS surgery, he was required to do some more cognitive tests. I also got the opportunity to do the same but only a limited number of tests, and I was compared to people of the same age group with similar educational background. Some of these samples of tests reminded me of Lumosity; for example, Word Bubbles. I also had to remember certain images and draw them on paper. The Tidal Treasures game is very similar in terms of choosing specific images and clicking on new ones.

The Train of Thought and Trouble Brewing are very good attention games that help with divided attention. I find they are challenging enough for me.

The drawbacks? Familiar Faces is an excellent game for remembering names. There is nothing else like it. Unfortunately, it requires a flash player and will not work on my iPad or phone or any Mac device. I use to play it regularly on my PC, and quite enjoyed it. Another drawback is that I wish this game had the option of multi-player format. In this time of the Covid-19 crisis we are already so socially disconnected. I get tired of playing solo. One final thought: I know that only mobile Apple devices are gaming devices. It still would be nice if Lumosity were compatible with Mac laptops and desktops. Playing on an IPhone is not nearly as interesting as playing from a computer. I realize that most games are not compatible with Mac computers, but it would be great if this could change sooner rather than later.

Thumbnail of user macleanf1
5 reviews
17 helpful votes
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June 23rd, 2020

Lumosity is slick looking product, but the lack of any scientific evidence behind the games makes it a no go for me. PS4 is more useful.

Thumbnail of user hadiuli
2 reviews
0 helpful votes
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October 24th, 2020

It's a ClickASnap. It help earning money for a student. Who want to earn money they're create this account and do earn money

Thumbnail of user oa6
2 reviews
5 helpful votes
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August 22nd, 2018

The product is useless (at least no impact on me), and they keep charging you, and refuse to cancel the charge due to "policy"

Thumbnail of user michaelw375
1 review
10 helpful votes
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September 17th, 2017

I hope my refund comes quickly. I think I used the site just a handful of times over the past year... they have gotten enough of my money.

Thumbnail of user susieg4
1 review
3 helpful votes
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November 28th, 2015

Why am I suddenly locked out from playing the games I usually play? If I am at an anniversary, why haven't received a notice?

Thumbnail of user snoopayl
1 review
4 helpful votes
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April 12th, 2018

They said that they would give a full experience for free...
Then I get an email and It says get full experience for "300 dollars for life".

Thumbnail of user gv13
1 review
4 helpful votes
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January 4th, 2014

Worst customer service I have ever seen. No response for 8 days. Stay away from a subscription to this site.

Thumbnail of user katek99
2 reviews
5 helpful votes
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September 29th, 2019

Signed up for the alleged free version, at the end of the month they charged $99 that wasn't authorized.

Thumbnail of user peggya4
2 reviews
15 helpful votes
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August 4th, 2014

I sure hate to be negative, but I DID like this app. I give it no stars (but have to give one) because it is way too expensive. There are free games online that allow you to build neurons. The games are very limited via the app compared to a computer, it's not worth it. Yet more importantly, it gets no stars because if you sign up for a yearly subscription and do not know that you have signed up for auto-renewal this company feels that it is not important to let you know that you have. All of the auto-renewals or auto-payments that I have set up send advanced warning that your credit card/bank account is about to be charged to my email or my phone. This includes Apple, my isp, my car payment, my phone, the water softener people, Godaddy, and this list goes on. They also let you know that your account has been charged. Not Lumosity. Yes, my credit score has been damaged because of a payment made with a credit card that I was not using anymore, and, therefore had no reason (so I thought) to check its balance. In fact the last and only time it was used (at the time of my original post) was to renew my Lumosity subscription. This is one of those "There ought to be a law" situations.

I have update this review and tried to improve the grammar to please one positive reviewer (who probably works for Lumosity). There may be a run-on sentence. My apologies. However, MORE IMPORTANTLY:

Since posted my review has received 53,246 views. And, Lumosity has lost to the FTC and has to pay $2M for deceptive advertising:

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2016/01/lumosity-pay-2-million-settle-ftc-deceptive-advertising-charges (My apologies to all the positive reviewers; you are being duped).

Now, if only there were laws in the US that prohibit hidden automatic charges. After rebuilding my credit, it was destroyed over the $79 membership. BTW-After contacting the Attorney General and getting partial resolution over two years ago (They paid me back the fee and late charges and canceled my membership, but my credit is still badly dinged), Lumosity still sends me about an email a day to play their games, yet they were unable to send an email to remind me of my auto-renewal.

Thumbnail of user jonathanj18
1 review
15 helpful votes
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July 15th, 2014

You cant talk to customer service... I'm on my 6th day waiting for a refund... any business that avoids their customers, I AVOID THEM.

Thumbnail of user sheilaf19
6 reviews
20 helpful votes
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August 16th, 2017

It's an 'ok' game thing - but definitely not worth a monthly fee.

If it was a $1 to $5 one-time payment that would be ok... who pays a monthly fee to play a phone game for 5 minutes a day? The only increase in brain activity you should have dear gamer, is to understand that.

There are a lot of free, fun games out there that are mentally challenging, and some great ones for ONE PAYMEMT of $2.99 or less.

Also - did'ja ever notice how a lot of reviews mention the same negative experience? I see a whole lot of reviews mentioning problems with the payment, & not getting the game, or the game not working properly & little or no tech support...

The game asked me to review - and on that review forum I saw many of the same issues mentioned. Here by those who embarked on monthly or yearly payments.

Also saw a lot of comments about how boring the repetitive free game is, & the inability to even replay some of those.

I found it weird that I could replay some of the games & improve my final score, even if I missed 1 or 2 more than on a previous score. I think the game does this to falsely build your ego - makes you think you're smarter - if your 'smarter' then by a sort of psychological-innuendo you should be getting bored with the 'easy' free version & be psyched (& apparently hypnotized) to pay not only for the game, but continually pay for it monthly...

On that same review forum, after several of the same poor reviews, there was an extreme rash of one word-praise reviews, or no comments, just 5 stars, making it pretty obvious everyone & their cousin affiliated with Lumosity glommed-on to boost ratings.

So herein is wisdom, if you wish to increase your apptitude, heed these warnings so many have shared, and research other interesting, challenging that aren't tryin' to scam ya.

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