Verdict
Wysa is free to chat with, has been trialled in NHS Talking Therapies waiting lists, and says plainly it is not for crises and not a medical device. A 2026 NHS-linked trial found no evidence it treated depression, and Common Sense Media rated the consumer app Unacceptable for teens in May 2026 after it flirted with and played adult games with a 13-year-old test account. It is not suitable for anyone under 18 or in distress.
Privacy note. Common Sense Media rated it Unacceptable for teens with no age checks and adult content shown to a 13-year-old persona; anonymous chats train its AI with no opt-out (legal.wysa.io)
Best for
Adults wanting structured self-help exercises between other support
Skip if
You are under 18, in crisis, or looking for a proven treatment
Key facts
- Category
- Health, fitness & wellbeing
- Made by
- Touchkin eServices Pvt. Ltd. (Wysa)
- Based in
- India
- Launched
- 2016
- Works on
- iPhone, Android, Web
- In the UK
- Yes
- Price from
- £11.99 a month
- Free plan
- yes: the AI chat and some self-help tools are free with no end date
Pricing
| Plan | Price | Billed |
|---|---|---|
| Wysa Premium (Monthly) | £11.99 | month |
| Wysa Premium (Annual) | £66.99 | year |
| Wysa Premium (Annual, higher-priced listing) | £99.99 | year |
| Therapist access (Monthly) | £79.99 | month |
What it does
- chats with an AI chatbot about mood, stress, anxiety and sleep
- teaches self-help techniques drawn from CBT and DBT
- offers mindfulness, breathing and sleep exercises
- keeps conversations anonymous
- connects users with human mental health professionals for extra support
Ratings
What people say
Little user discussion of Wysa itself turned up in user reviews or X in the past year. The loudest 2026 thread was a teenager posting that a crisis team handed them a sheet listing Wysa, which drew hundreds of upvoted replies calling AI chatbots dangerous for suicidal people. Store ratings of 4.5 to 4.8 contrast sharply with that reaction and with Common Sense Media's findings.
“One of these apps listed is Wysa (at the bottom). Wysa is an ai chatbot. Idk I thought this was kind of insane. Giving vulnerable people ai chatbots to speak with.”
Individual user review, 3 September 2026 · source
““AI is designed to agree with you. Giving a mentally unstable person a machine that will regurgitate what they tell it and affirm their beliefs is so incredibly dangerous””
Individual user review, 3 September 2026 · source
“I don't want to talk to a robot, I want one fucking person to care when I'm in crisis.”
Individual user review, 3 September 2026 · source
“Standard chatbots like Wysa are fine for quick venting, but they often lack continuity and feel a bit transactional.”
Post on X, 24 December 2025 · source
Press reviews
- Common Sense Media (with Stanford Medicine Brainstorm Lab) 2026-05-05
Overall risk 'Unacceptable' for teen mental health support; no age checks, missed eating-disorder and psychosis signs, a 'You misunderstood' option that ends crisis checks, and adult content with a 13-year-old test persona.
- International Journal of Social Psychiatry (Shankar et al., University of Plymouth) 2026
Randomised trial of 76 people waiting for NHS Talking Therapies found 'no evidence that Wysa treats depression', though participants found it easy to use and potentially helpful.
- Med-Tech News 2022
Reports the £1m NHS trial in Central and North West London testing whether Wysa could stop symptoms worsening during waits for talking therapy.
Privacy
- Trains on your data
- Yes, anonymised: the privacy policy says 'We might use some anonymous chats to help our AI learn better'; replies come from unnamed third-party LLMs with zero data retention in a Europe region
- Opt-out
- No training opt-out described. 'Reset my data' in app settings deletes chats and settings; other requests go to the DPO
- Retention
- Up to 10 years from last update where no specific limit applies; staff check LLM responses 'at frequent intervals' (privacy policy v7.2.1, 26 Aug 2026)
- Incidents
- Common Sense Media risk assessment (5 May 2026) rated the consumer app Unacceptable for teens, citing no age assurance, inappropriate sexual and drug content with a 13-year-old persona and crisis-pathway gaps. No data breach or regulator action found in searches. UK status: Wysa's instructions for use (v3.0, Nov 2025) say the app 'is not classified as a Software as a Medical Device' and is not for crisis use; an older MHRA registry entry lists a Wysa Class I device, current UKCA status unknown.
- Age limit
- 13+ under the privacy policy (11+ via a provider); no age check at sign-up per Common Sense Media; UK App Store 4+, Google Play PEGI 3
Official videos
- Wysa's Global Impact 2026-05-28
FAQ
Is Wysa safe for teenagers?
Common Sense Media rated it Unacceptable for teen mental health support in May 2026. Testers found no age check, and the chatbot told a 13-year-old persona 'Age is just a number' and played an adult version of Never Have I Ever.
Is Wysa free?
The chat and some tools are free with no end date. Premium costs £11.99 a month or from £66.99 a year in the UK App Store, and human coaching costs extra.
Is Wysa used by the NHS?
Some NHS Talking Therapies services have trialled it for people on waiting lists. A 2026 trial in London found no evidence it treated depression, though participants found it easy to use.
Can Wysa help in a crisis?
No. Wysa's own instructions say it is not for crisis use and is not a suicide or self-harm service. The NHS says people in England can call 999 in an emergency, 111 and choose the mental health option, or Samaritans on 116 123.
Is Wysa a medical device?
Wysa's November 2025 instructions for use say the consumer app is not classified as Software as a Medical Device. It describes itself as wellbeing support, not treatment.
Scores are based on published evidence, not lab tests. How we score.
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