Simple is a real weight loss app with real users and published data behind it, but its legitimacy depends on what you mean by the question. The app itself works as advertised for many people: it tracks intermittent fasting, meals, and hydration, and uses an AI coach to nudge behavior change. Where things get murkier is the company’s billing practices, which have generated serious complaints. Here’s what you need to know before signing up.
What Simple Actually Does
Simple is a wellness app built around intermittent fasting, food awareness, hydration tracking, and movement. It’s not a calorie-counting app. Instead of having you weigh food or hit macro targets, it assigns meals a nutrition score based on broad qualities like protein, fiber, sodium, and fat balance. The focus is on building repeatable habits rather than following a strict diet plan.
When you sign up, you fill out a questionnaire covering your goals, body stats, activity level, daily schedule, typical meal timing, and personal challenges. Based on your answers, the app recommends a fasting schedule, usually in the 12 to 16 hour range. It supports common intermittent fasting windows like 12:12, 14:10, and 16:8, and you can adjust your window on days when your schedule shifts without any penalty.
The app also includes an AI coach that sends reminders, encouragement, and suggestions based on your logged activity. It’s transparent about not being human. Users who find it helpful tend to describe it as a pattern-spotter (pointing out things like “your hydration drops on busy days”) rather than a prescriptive authority telling you exactly what to do.
Does the App Produce Results?
There is published data on this, though it comes with a significant caveat. A large observational study published in JMIR mHealth and uHealth followed over 790,000 users across 52 weeks. Among users who started with a BMI of 25 or higher and stuck with the app for 26 weeks, 67% lost at least 5% of their starting weight, and 39% lost at least 10%. Users with higher starting BMIs saw the most dramatic results: those starting with a BMI of 40 or above lost an average of 13.9% of their body weight by one year.
The important caveat: the study authors were employees of LifeOmic, the company behind the app, and had ownership stakes in it. That doesn’t invalidate the data, but it means no independent researchers have verified these specific numbers. The study also reveals a steep dropout curve. Of the nearly 800,000 users tracked, only 16.7% were still using the app at 13 weeks, 6.9% at 26 weeks, and just 2.1% at one year. The impressive weight loss figures apply only to people who kept going, not to the average person who downloads the app.
Separate research on AI-based coaching for weight loss is more encouraging on the concept itself. A study of 70 participants using a conversational AI health coach found weight loss of about 2.4% of baseline weight over 15 weeks, with a 31% increase in the proportion of healthy meals logged. Predictors of success included how long people used the AI, how many coaching sessions they completed, and how many meals they logged. In other words, the more you engage, the more you lose. That finding is consistent across nearly all weight loss research, app-based or otherwise.
What Users Say
Simple holds a 4.5 out of 5 on Trustpilot. Satisfied users consistently mention the app’s ease of use, the ability to log meals with photos rather than detailed food entries, helpful reminders throughout the day, and the AI coach (named Avo) providing timely prompts and accountability. Several reviewers specifically appreciated that the exercise recommendations weren’t overwhelming, and that the app helped them understand their habits over time rather than just restricting their eating.
The positive reviews paint a picture of an app that works well for people who want gentle structure around intermittent fasting without the rigidity of traditional calorie-counting programs.
The Billing Problem
This is where Simple’s legitimacy takes a hit. The app holds an F rating from the Better Business Bureau, driven by 34 complaints and the company’s failure to respond to 29 of them. The recurring themes are consistent and concerning.
- Surprise charges: Users report being billed for subscriptions they didn’t realize they’d agreed to, or feeling the purchase was “sneaked in” during the sign-up flow.
- Access problems: Some users report paying for the service but being unable to access premium features, or being repeatedly pushed toward additional purchases.
- Dissatisfaction with value: Others describe the app as not matching what was advertised, leading them to want an immediate cancellation.
The BBB rating reflects both the volume of complaints and, critically, the company’s silence in response to them. An F rating doesn’t necessarily mean a product is a scam, but it signals that the company has not prioritized resolving customer disputes through that channel.
Cancellation and Refund Details
If you do sign up, understanding the cancellation process beforehand can save you frustration. Uninstalling the app or deleting your account does not cancel your subscription. You will continue to be charged unless you explicitly cancel through your subscription settings.
Commitment subscriptions (longer-term plans, often offered at a discount) generally cannot be canceled until the commitment period ends. There are two exceptions: if your local consumer protection laws include a cooling-off period, or if you contact support within 7 days of purchasing. For standard subscriptions, you can request a refund within 30 days of being charged, but you need to cancel the subscription first to stop future billing. The refund request goes through their support team, not through app store refund processes.
This structure is common among subscription apps, but combined with the complaints about unclear billing, it’s worth reading every screen carefully during signup and setting a calendar reminder if you’re starting a trial.
Who Should Avoid It
The app’s core method is intermittent fasting, which isn’t appropriate for everyone. According to the Mayo Clinic, intermittent fasting is not recommended for people with eating disorders, those who are pregnant or breastfeeding, or people at high risk of bone loss and falls. If you have a history of disordered eating, an app that structures your day around eating windows and fasting periods could reinforce harmful patterns, regardless of how gently it’s designed.
The Bottom Line on Legitimacy
Simple is a legitimate app in the sense that it delivers a real product, intermittent fasting guidance with AI coaching, and published data shows it can work for people who stick with it. The approach itself, combining fasting schedules with food logging and behavioral nudges, aligns with what broader research supports about habit-based weight management. The 4.5 Trustpilot rating reflects genuine satisfaction among active users.
The legitimacy concerns are about the business side, not the product. The F rating from the BBB, the pattern of billing complaints, and the company’s silence on those complaints are real red flags. If you decide to try Simple, the safest approach is to read every screen during signup, understand exactly what you’re being charged and when, and know how to cancel before you enter your payment information.