INSCAPE: Meditation & Sleep Reviews

I can’t remember if I have previously left a review but if I have. this app deserves another one!!!

When the this app app first came out, I was slightly weary because I have tried other free trials for meditation apps and had been HIGHLY DISAPPOINTED!!!

When I heard about this app and their free trial, I decided to give them a try. Oh my goodness! I fell in love with INSCAPE immediately. After using it for several weeks, I decided to do something that I have not done and got a monthly PAID subscription.

INSCAPE is amazing and if you are just getting into meditation and are overwhelmed with all the apps. Don’t look any further.

Another pretty awesome thing about the this app app are the people that work there. When INSCAPE came out, I was asked to do a phone call to give feedback on my experience with INSCAPE and then a few months later after their first major update. I was asked to participate in a follow up Skype session which I thought was pretty amazing!

The this app team truly cares about their customers experience with INSCAPE and that is why it is the only meditation app that I have.

So far I’m really loving INSCAPE. I’ve never been great at meditation or taking time to calm down and reduce stress, so having an app on my phone - which is basically my lifeline - that I can just press when I need to wind down is extremely helpful. However, I’m having some issues with what I can only assume is a bug; the home page isn’t loading, making it hard to interact with the lessons/sessions I want. I have full signal so I know it isn’t my internet, and I’ve tried clicking on the lessons I’ve gotten emails about, but it still won’t load. I’m not sure where to report this bug, so here I am.
Also, as nice as it is to have a free option and the trial available for premium, the constant reminder by placing a big green bar over items I want to click saying “try out trial!!!” Is OBNOXIOUS. No matter how many times I dismiss it, it returns 30 seconds later and it’s irritating. I know that premium subscriptions are how you make your money, but as much as I like INSCAPE it’s making me reconsider using it when I can’t click on things. :/

I’ve been using this app for over two years as a paid subscriber. I find the meditations to be well produced. Some of the sleep meditations, such as Balanced Breath, have interruptions mid way through as gentle reminders to refocus if you have lost your way. I find these to be be distracting especially as it’s part of the a Sleep Meditation series. The narrators voice is soothing and I have yet to find another that meets the same quality.

INSCAPE itself can be slow and I feel it is disorganized. Tapping into multiple screens to get details of a meditation is cumbersome. This can cause INSCAPE to freeze. There is no list view of all Mantra or Mindfulness meditations, for instance. Instead, you are restricted to the predefined topic categories. This can make finding particular meditations annoying.

The original layout of INSCAPE , from before it was redesigned is preferred. I am happy that the store was removed.

I have used INSCAPE for years and really liked the simplicity of the original. However, they rebranded and one of the key features is the use of “inspirational” images, which I think is cheesy at best, and tone deaf given the times. Why aren’t there any Black or Asian stock photo models? It’s like women laughing while eating salads meme. Just look at the thumbnails of all the meditations.

Also the structured feedback required after every meditation is poorly executed. There aren’t enough categories and each meditation session forces you into rating the sessions. It’s awful honestly as an interaction. It’s not like a Uber ride or an Airbnb, so why the strict requirements?

If I didn’t truly enjoy how useful the actual meditations are themselves, I would have switched to Calm or Headspace a while ago. The visual rebrand is garbage, but the core content is better than its competitors.

They have updated INSCAPE with a lot of great resources and the meditations in and of themselves are great. However, what I dislike about the updates is that (1) the streak feature doesn’t work correctly and constantly starts over from 1 even if you complete a meditation every day and (2) it asks for your feedback after EVERY meditation - this is the most annoying thing ever. You have to continually rate each meditation or it asks you again even after you close INSCAPE . I also don’t like how they’ve gotten so many specialty meditations that it takes away from finding something with a simple intention. Lastly, I think it’s stupid that certain meditations are “locked” until you complete a series. You should be able to do any meditation you want at anytime, especially when you purchase INSCAPE !

Everyone MUST try INSCAPE! I never thought I could be someone who meditates regularly, until I found this app. I originally started by attending their studio classes, and then downloaded INSCAPE as I travel a great deal for work. It has absolutely everything you need to begin, maintain, and deepen a daily meditation practice. From the instruction to soothing music, this is the most well designed program I have come across in my years of searching for a way to consistently engage in meditation. Thank you to the this app team for creating something that has changed my life on a daily basis and, as a result, on a large scale!

I’ve tried a few mediation apps. This one seems to be the best fit for me. The sounds and voice are very relaxing, and I’ve managed to stick with it for much longer than I have with other apps.

A few suggestions for improvements:

1. Ability to stream audio via AirPlay so I don’t always need to use headphones (would love to play on my Sonos speakers).

2. More than three session options on the home screen would be nice (seems too limiting). Four or five would probably offer a better variety.

3. Ability to subscribe to more than one series at a time. For instance, I sometimes do one series in the morning and a sleep series at night. Alternately, if you choose to follow a series manually (instead of through the home screen) then graphically indicate which ones have been completed.

4. Bug alert: if I do a sleep meditation series and put my phone into sleep mode while doing a session, it doesn’t seem to have logged that the session was completed the next time I wake up my phone. I have to trick INSCAPE into completing the mediation again by selecting it from the home screen and fast-forwarding to the end.

This is my favourite app, and I have been a premium subscriber since forever. INSCAPE started crashing mid meditation months ago -infuriating- and when you reach out to them they try to make it like it’s your machine, when as you can see from the reviews it’s their end. 2 updates ago seemed to have fixed the problem, but lo, that was short lived, and with the last update is back to crashing non stop, moments in to each session. Come on, this app. Get it together. Stop telling us to uninstall/reinstall logout/login (DUH), and actually fix this. It shouldn’t be this hard. I have the apps of your leading (less expensive!) competitors, as well, and literally none of them have ever crashed for me, let alone as an ongoing issue for over 3 months now.

I’ve never meditated, and wanted to get into it because I feel like I’m super scattered and heard it helps. this app has been great! I tried a few other things too and the voices are always jarring, the musics annoying or whatever have you, and generally this app is way better. The shorter sessions I don’t find AS helpful but I think that’s because it takes me so long to zen out with this, so maybe that will change over time? Overall, great app and the recent redesign looks fantastic.

I really love this app. It’s reliable - I know that I like almost every meditation available. I use mostly the sleep ones but other ones are nice too. I used INSCAPE when I was going through chemo and the steroids and anxiety would make me restless but i would play one of these and it helped calm me down, focus on something outside myself and put me to sleep. Unfortunately the subscription price is a little out of my budget at the moment but I’ll be back once I can.

Love love love INSCAPE and all the meditations.
I have been using it every single day....first thing in the morning. It has provided me with so much benefit and has transformed my mindset to a more positive space. I feel calmer, more grateful, more positive and have more peace within. I have been able to face some very difficult situations with more mindfulness and calm. It has inspired me on many levels and has become an essential part of each day for me. With so much gratitude..💗🌟

I used to try to go in person once a week and loved the respite. Once covid hit, I downloaded INSCAPE and try to do a 20-min meditation everyday! I’ve recently started listening to the guided sleep meditations as well if I’m having trouble falling asleep. It feels much healthier than watching something on a screen and I find I’m sleeping better and often more deeply on nights I do a sleep meditation. Definitely worth it. Can’t recommend enough!

this app is the perfect non-intimidating app to integrate meditation into your life. I am a total newbie to meditation and always found it annoying to add to my routine. My excuse is always that I'm not good at it or too busy. I found that this app is user friendly and customizable. I can fit a quick and easy session in on the go, in my bed or at my desk. Thank you to this app for helping me realize that the benefits of mindfulness and meditation are real! I can't wait to visit the NYC studio.

I love the content on INSCAPE but after the most recent update it has gone completely buggy! When I open INSCAPE is shows the opening image then almost immediately goes to a blank white screen. I have had to remove INSCAPE and reinstall ( which requires me to go through all the rigamarole of signing in again) then it might work for one session. The next time I open it, same problem! Since this is a subscription, I find this particularly annoying. Also, who wants to deal with this when you are trying to meditate for goodness sake! Life tests my attempts as at equanimity quite well without the help of INSCAPE. Please fix it.

As someone who over the years have used them all, I finally found my go-to. this app has been a resource to lean on from those days it’s hard to get out of bed, feeling anxious and overwhelmed bopping from meeting to meeting, supporting me through creative anxiety and relationship anguish, to helping me fall asleep feeling grateful. I love the soundbaths and mini reminders to breathe, and be in the moment. Thank you, this app! Keep up the great work!