Humanity has launched a longevity app in the UK that could help you stay healthier for longer and potentially achieve longevity. The HUMANITY app has been launched on the iPhone, and it is due to get an Android version in the near future. This longevity app will be available in the US in September.
An app to help more people enjoy longevity
The founders of Humanity, Michael Geer and Pete Ward, have been working on the app for over two years. They wanted to create an app that could collect a person’s biological data and provide advice on how to slow down their rate of aging based on that data. The aim of the app is ultimately to help each user make optimal lifestyle choices that could impact health and longevity.
Ward explains:
We saw a major issue with most health and longevity apps, that even once you might get a good reading of your Biological Age, you were left on your own to figure out how to change it. So we set out to make that the main focus of Humanity. Much like a traffic navigation app advises you on where to turn to get to your destination faster, Humanity uses similar data techniques to guide you to better health and longer healthspan faster.
There is a free version available, but if you want all the bells and whistles that allow you to continuously monitor your health data, you will need to choose the premium subscription service for £30 (currently just over $40) a year. Premium users will be able to watch their biomarkers and discover how their actions change their biological ages.
There is nothing particularly new about recording biomarkers in real time; researchers do this in the lab all the time. However, what is new is taking that real-time data monitoring and moving it to an accessible mobile longevity app that anyone can use. Geer highlights:
Both Pete and I became huge believers in the science that clearly shows we can slow our rate of aging and thus live healthier for longer. We wanted to do our part to bring this to everyone and be radically inclusive. We are partnering with the most amazing scientists, companies, and institutions. Two great examples being Gero, who we collaborate with for their advanced GeroSense algorithms, and Chronomics, who we work with on the epigenetics side. We are all on this mission together now.
We are frequently advised to eat less junk food, exercise often, drink plenty of water, and get enough quality sleep by our doctors. This is good advice and could help us to live longer and healthier lives. Founders Geer and Ward set out to take advice like this and benchmark it against a real-world population to help more people achieve healthy longevity.
In other words, the app does not merely adjust your biological age and report that you have slowed down aging just because you did something like exercise; rather, it compares you against real-world population data. The longevity app draws on data from a scientific database, and you are being compared to that, not just other users of the app.
So, how does this longevity app work?
Once you have registered on the app, you will need to enter basic information such as your age, weight, height, etc. It then links into the Apple Health system, and you are given a “Humanity Score”, or H score, in four different categories: movement, mind, recovery, and nutrition. The idea is to improve the H scores in these four categories, and, over time, you may see your biological age slowed or even reversed.
The app can connect to sensors in your phone and health wearables to track a variety of biomarkers, such as heart rate, walking distance, and sleep quality. It then compares this data to its scientific database, building a profile of your biological age and how fast you are aging.
Based on your data, the app will then make suggestions to improve your H score, such as taking a walk, getting more sleep, and so on. Many fitness apps already do this, of course, but because your data is validated against real-world population data taken from longitudinal biobanks, its advice is based on the long-term data of what really could influence your lifespan and longevity.
Free version available now, but full access is invite-only
Humanity is currently rolling out their longevity app on an invite-only basis to build interest and drive publicity. Social media platform Clubhouse used this approach when it launched, and this approach may also work for the HUMANITY app.
The company claims to have a waiting list of tens of thousands of people, and while you need an invite to use the full features of this longevity app, you can get the free version now. The app store states that “Anyone can install, sign up and track their Rate of Aging and then can request an invite from an existing user to gain full access.”
Addressing concerns about privacy, the app stores as much information locally on your phone as it can and runs its algorithms as much as possible on your device. The company claims that any data that goes to its servers is encrypted during transmission and storage and that it keeps its data private.
Conclusion
There is a great deal of enthusiasm among the community, especially biohackers, to optimise health and aging biomarkers with the goal of increasing longevity. A longevity app like this could be a valuable quantified self tool and could be incorporated into your personal longevity strategy.
