Noom controversies
Controversies tied to this brand in public sources. A listing is not a finding of fault.
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2023
Follow-up privacy criticism
Privacy International reported significant positive changes in Noom’s data-handling practices but continued to identify data-sharing concerns and said that additional improvements were needed.
2022
Class-action billing settlement
Noom agreed to a $62 million settlement resolving allegations that its subscription system used deceptive automatic renewals and made cancellation difficult. The company said it had improved pricing and policy disclosures and added self-service cancellation tools.
2021
Concerns about personalization, health data, and advertising
Privacy International criticized Noom’s lengthy onboarding questionnaire, arguing that the resulting programs were not always meaningfully individualized. It also raised concerns about transparency around the handling and sharing of sensitive health information, including alleged sharing with Facebook. Separately, critics questioned calorie targets, coaching qualifications, standardized responses, and advertising associated with diet culture.
2021
Report raises concerns about Noom’s coaching and billing practices
Issue disclosure
In September 2021, Business Insider reported customer and former-employee complaints about Noom’s coaching and subscription billing, and described concerns about the app’s calorie goals and food-tracking features. The article also reported that eight people in New York filed a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging that Noom charged them without consent. The report presented these complaints and the lawsuit allegation as concerns raised about the company’s practices.
Source excerpt
In New York, eight people filed a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging that Noom charged them without their consent, in amounts from $45 to more than $400.
Customers are not screened for a history of eating disorders. They largely get the same content, down to stock responses from coaches who juggle hundreds of clients at a time, some of whom told me they felt anxious and burned out.
2020
Subscription cancellation and automatic-renewal complaints
The Better Business Bureau warned consumers after receiving complaints that users had difficulty canceling subscriptions after free trials, contacting Noom, and obtaining refunds. The issue later became the subject of class-action litigation.