Frequently asked questions
Common questions about PinkSteady, the science behind the app, and how data is handled.
What is PinkSteady?
PinkSteady is a wellness application for iPhone and Apple Watch that helps adults monitor and improve their balance. It uses motion data from the device's built-in sensors to score steadiness, and pink-noise audio to support the sensorimotor signals the body uses to maintain balance. PinkSteady is a wellness product, not a medical device.
What is pink noise?
Pink noise is a specific spectral profile of variability where signal power decreases as frequency increases, in a 1/f relationship. It is the noise pattern found in healthy biological systems such as heartbeats, neural firing, and human gait. It is distinct from white noise, which has equal power across all frequencies, and brown noise, which is weighted more heavily toward low frequencies.
What is stochastic resonance?
Stochastic resonance is the counterintuitive phenomenon where adding a calibrated amount of noise to a weak signal makes the signal easier to detect. In the context of human balance, sub-threshold pink-noise audio appears to enhance the proprioceptive signals the nervous system uses to maintain stability. The research base on this effect spans roughly three decades.
Is PinkSteady a medical device?
No. PinkSteady is a general wellness product. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Steadiness scores and trends are for informational and wellness purposes only. Anyone with medical concerns should consult a qualified healthcare provider.
How is PinkSteady different from a fall detector?
Fall detectors are reactive. They alert someone after a fall has already happened. PinkSteady works upstream, by helping users notice changes in their stability before a fall occurs. Both have a place in a care plan, but they solve different problems.
What devices does PinkSteady work on?
PinkSteady runs on iPhone and Apple Watch. It uses the inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensors built into both devices to quantify sway and gait variability. There is no proprietary hardware to buy.
Where does the science come from?
PinkSteady's science is grounded in the research program of the Center for Research in Human Movement Variability at the University of Nebraska Omaha, led by Dr. Nikolaos Stergiou. The center holds over $20M in NIH-funded biomechanics research and has published extensively on the role of variability in human movement, including a 2024 paper in PNAS by Brink et al. on pink-noise driven motor coordination.
How is my data protected and shared?
PinkSteady does not sell user data, and it does not use health information for advertising. Data is encrypted in transit using TLS 1.2 or higher, and at rest using AES-256. Identifiable health data is shared only with caregivers a user explicitly links via a connection code, with care facilities a user explicitly consents to share with via a consent code, with cloud infrastructure providers used to operate the app, or where required by law.
Does PinkSteady support caregivers and care facilities?
Yes. Users can generate a connection code to share session data with a trusted caregiver, or a consent code to share with a participating assisted living facility. Both are revocable at any time from within the app's settings. Caregiver access requires an active PinkSteady Premium subscription. Facility participation is governed by a Business Associate Agreement and HIPAA-aligned audit logging.
How accurate is iPhone-based balance tracking?
Modern iPhone and Apple Watch IMUs are sensitive enough to quantify sway and gait variability at a precision comparable to dedicated motion-capture hardware used in research labs. PinkSteady's signal-processing pipeline draws on the same biomechanics methods used in the University of Nebraska Omaha research program.