Frequently Asked Questions

General Visible Membership Wearable Armband

General

Who is Visible designed for?

Visible is designed for people living with Long Covid or ME/CFS and helps with pacing, which is widely recommended for both of these conditions.

We know other illnesses benefit from pacing too, so if you live with a different energy-limiting condition you may still find Visible useful.

Can I use Visible if I have POTS?

POTS is a common comorbidity of Long Covid and ME/CFS and can make pacing extra challenging. Many Visible members live with POTS and are able to use Visible effectively. If you have POTS you might require some extra support in setting up your account, but a member of the team will be on hand to help support with this.

How is Visible different from fitness trackers?

Most wearable platforms like the Apple Watch, Garmin, and Fitbit are designed with a focus on fitness and workouts, rather than rest and pacing. In contrast, Visible is specifically tailored for those managing energy-limiting conditions such as Long Covid and ME/CFS.

Fitness trackers too often encourage you to do more, not less. At the core of Visible is the concept of energy budgeting, or pacing. For people living with energy-limiting illness and post-exertional malaise, this is an important symptom management strategy.

What’s more, fitness trackers are designed and optimised with healthy bodies in mind. Visible has been built from the ground up with input from thousands of people living with energy-limiting illness, and by a team with lived experience of Long Covid and ME/CFS. This means we can build tools specifically designed for illness not fitness.

For more about our mission to make invisible illness visible, take a look at our About Us page.

Can I use my Apple Watch, Garmin or Fitbit with Visible?

Unfortunately not. Visible is designed specifically to integrate with the Polar Verity Sense armband. We use this device because pacing tools require:

‍Continuous data

‍Most wearables do not capture your heart rate in real-time. Instead, they measure your heart rate once every 5-10 minutes (with the frequency increasing if you start a “workout”). Even if you set heart rate alerts on one of these devices, they will often only notify you when it’s too late.

‍High accuracy data

‍Optical heart rate sensors work by using light to measure blood flow in capillaries beneath the skin. The top of your wrist is a convenient place for a watch, but is a challenging location for even the best sensors. Wearing on the arm offers our optical sensor an optimal amount of blood flow to gather heart rate data with accuracy comparable to that of an ECG chest strap.

‍Consistent data

‍Capturing consistent data from a single device also allows us to build better, more reliable algorithms to help measure and manage invisible illness.

That’s why we aren’t currently able to support other wearables like Apple Watch, Fitbit or Garmin.

What data does Visible track?

When paired with your armband, Visible tracks heart rate continuously. It uses this data to provide HRV and Resting Heart Rate datapoints in the morning and pacing insights throughout the day.

Alongside biometric tracking, Visible also allows you to track self-reported sleep quality, symptom severity, levels of emotional and social exertion and other factors such as medication, infections and more.

Can I track sleep?

Visible is not currently optimised for sleep tracking, and does not offer any insights on sleep. We know that disrupted and unrefreshing sleep are features of energy limiting illness, so we’re working on tracking this effectively for future versions of Visible. For pacing, we recommend charging the armband overnight and wearing it during waking hours.

What is Visible’s free research app?

If you’re not ready to become a Visible member, you can still track and see trends in your symptoms and biometrics, and take part in research studies for free via our app.

If you’re using the free version then Visible won’t be able to integrate with a wearable, but it can collect important data on your illness including your heart rate variability using your smartphone camera.

When will Visible be available in my country?

Currently, the Visible membership is only available in US and UK. We’re working hard to make Visible available to everyone, wherever they are, and we’ll aim to provide a timeline for our international expansion in 2025.

You can find out more about this here.

Visible Membership

What’s included in the Visible starter pack?

When you become a member, you’ll receive a starter pack containing:

• Polar Verity Sense armband (a research-grade optical Heart Rate Monitor)

• Charger

• Welcome card (this will include a link to your setup instructions)

‍Please note, the starter kit does not include a carry bag or a swimming clip for the Polar Verity Sense device.

Can I cancel if Visible isn’t for me?

You can cancel your membership before your next renewal payment at any time if Visible membership isn't for you. However, for hygiene reasons, we’re unable to provide refunds for the device cost unless your armband is faulty. You'll still be able to use the Polar armband with fitness apps if you decide to cancel your membership.

What if I can’t afford Visible?

We know not everyone is in the financial position to afford a membership. Our aim over time is to make sure that Visible is available for reimbursement from insurers or provided free of charge from healthcare providers, but that’s a long road - one we’re working hard on!

Importantly, you can still track your illness and take part in research by downloading our free research app.

Wearable Armband

What’s the armband made out of?

The Polar Verity Sense device is made entirely of plastic. The fabric strap is 57% Polyamide, 27% Elastane, 20% Polyethylene. No exposed metal touches your skin while wearing the device. The total weight of the device and fabric strap is 19g (7oz).

Why doesn't the armband have a screen?

The wearable armband is designed for superior accuracy and durability, it’s focused on getting you only the data you need to manage your conditions without any distractions. All your insights, data and notifications are available to you anytime via the Visible app.

What size arms does the armband fit?

The fabric strap is fully adjustable, and is suitable for upper arm sizes 23-34cm in circumference.

Is the armband waterproof?

The armband is fully waterproof and is suitable for bathing and swimming.

What’s the armband’s battery life?

The armband battery lasts for 24 hours. We recommend charging it before you go to bed and wearing it during waking hours.

Technology

Do I need a smartphone to access Visible?

Yes. The Visible app is currently available on both iOS (iPhone or iPad with iOS version 13.2 or later) and Android devices (Samsung, Pixel, LG etc. with Android 8.0 or later). We currently do not support certain Motorola and Huawei devices using Qualcomm Snapdragon processors.

What happens to my data?

All Visible data is stored in an encrypted database and is not shared with any third parties unless you explicitly opt-in to a research study. If you choose to opt-in to a research study, your anonmyized data will be shared with the researchers only, and can't be linked back to you.

Research Partnerships

I would love to partner with Visible, who can I contact?

Visible hosts selected IRB-approved studies within the app that users can opt-in to share their data with anonymously. If you are interested in using Visible for academic research into Long Covid or ME/CFS, please reach out to us at research@makevisible.com.

Frequently Asked Questions

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