Amazing
Liking this app!
use of ai
Subscription
Taking advantage of vulnerable people
Response from developer
Firstly, we’re proud of you for even taking this step. Breakups are incredibly tough, and we built Breakfree because we’ve been there too. Personally, it took me far too long to heal from my own devastating breakup (4 years+), and I wish I had something like this at the time. That’s why we pour so much of ourselves into this app: to help people stop spiraling, overcome the pain, and move forward, because you deserve to be happy. To be clear: Breakfree is a paid service, and this is indicated in the App Store description and the paywall itself. Just like with the gym or therapy, research shows that people who pay for support often commit more deeply and see better results. For example, studies on gym memberships found that pre-paying increases attendance and motivation (DellaVigna & Malmendier, 2006), and research on psychotherapy shows that patients who pay themselves are more engaged and achieve better outcomes (Leibenluft et al., 1989). We’ve seen the same effect with Breakfree, which is why we believe in offering a high-quality paid service that actually helps people heal. I've listed 8 more scientific studies below. To add running the app takes a huge amount of time, money, and energy, from AI and machine learning costs to real people working behind the scenes every single day to support users. We’re a very small team, smaller than most people realize, working *flat-out* to make this app a real *lifeline* for people who need it. We wish we could provide it all for free, maybe one day we can, but right now charging is what allows us to keep helping people at all. That said, we’ll continue working on making our messaging even clearer so there’s no room for confusion. Even if Breakfree isn’t the right fit for you right now, we’re rooting for your healing journey, and we hope you’ll reconsider and experience the 5 star support that so many others have shared in their reviews. The Breakfree Team 1. Behavioral Commitment / Sunk Cost Effect * Arkes, H.R. & Blumer, C. (1985). The psychology of sunk cost. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 35(1), 124–140. * Shows that when people invest money into something, they are more likely to follow through and commit because of perceived value. 2. Health & Fitness / Gym Commitment * DellaVigna, S. & Malmendier, U. (2006). Paying not to go to the gym. American Economic Review, 96(3), 694–719. * Found that people who pre-pay gym memberships attend more often than those who pay per visit because the investment drives commitment. 3. Therapy Outcomes & Payment * Leibenluft, E., Green, S.A., & Gervasio, A.H. (1989). Effect of payment method on psychotherapy outcome. American Journal of Psychiatry, 146(3), 324–328. * Found that patients who paid for their therapy themselves (versus free or insurance-covered) were more engaged and had better outcomes. 4. Behavioral Economics / Perceived Value * Ariely, D. & Wertenbroch, K. (2002). Procrastination, deadlines, and performance: Self-control by precommitment. Psychological Science, 13(3), 219–224. * Demonstrates how upfront costs and commitments help people stick to goals they’d otherwise procrastinate on. 5. Willingness to Pay & Health Apps Liu et al. (2024) * Users who were willing to pay for health apps also showed higher and more sustained usage, indicating that financial investment correlates with adherence. 6. Mental Health Apps Retention * Boucher et al. (2024) * Free users of mental health apps often drop off quickly (retention under 4% at 15 days), highlighting the challenge of commitment without investment. 7. Calm App Engagement * Internal data reported in BMC Digital Health (2024) *Paying Calm subscribers showed sustained engagement for over 11 months on average, with ~60% using the app 5+ times per week — far higher than typical free mental health apps. 8. Headspace Clinical Trials * Headspace, cited in peer-reviewed trials (2018–2022) * Subscription-based Headspace interventions reduced stress and anxiety in workplace and clinical settings, showing that committed, paying users achieved measurable psychological benefits.
