> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.skimwire.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # WHOOP now has a social network for your sleep and recovery data. Set this up before you share - URL: https://www.skimwire.com/whoop-humans-social-network-privacy-settings/ - Published: 2026-11-12T20:31:07.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-12T20:31:07.000Z - Description: WHOOP Humans lets members follow friends and share Sleep, Recovery, HRV and workouts. What it does, the privacy settings to check first, and our take. - Author: Maya Chen - Tags: Apps ## The skim - **What's new:** WHOOP Humans, launched Nov. 12, is a social feed inside the WHOOP app. You can follow friends and family and share the Sleep, Recovery, Strain, workouts and achievements you choose. It's free on every membership tier. - **The privacy controls:** you pick each metric (including HRV and resting heart rate), approve and remove followers, and can go dark with Stealth Mode. Activities marked sensitive stay private by default, and WHOOP says health alerts and medical information aren't shared at all. - **Our take:** useful for training partners and for families keeping an eye on an older parent. Set your sharing preferences *before* you accept a single follower, and think twice about sharing GPS route maps that start at your front door. ## What WHOOP launched WHOOP makes a screenless fitness band sold as a membership. On Thursday it added [WHOOP Humans](https://www.whoop.com/us/en/press-center/whoop-launches-whoop-humans-the-most-verifiably-human-social-network/?ref=skimwire.com), which the company calls "the most verifiably human social network ever launched." The pitch: every account belongs to a real person wearing a band, so there are no bots and no AI-generated posts. CEO Will Ahmed puts it this way: "Every account represents a real person with a verified heartbeat." Here's what's in it, according to WHOOP and launch coverage: - **Follow people one by one.** Your community screen lists who you follow and any pending follow requests. Members of your existing WHOOP Teams pre-fill it, [the5krunner](https://the5krunner.com/2026/11/12/whoop-humans/?ref=skimwire.com) reports. - **Share data you choose.** Sleep, Recovery, Strain, HRV, resting heart rate, workouts and achievements, each toggled separately. Followers can react and comment. - **Moments.** Photos from workouts and milestones, posted alongside your stats. Each Moment can be kept private. - **Workout maps.** A workout recorded with your phone's GPS can be shared with its route map. - **Teams stay.** The older group-and-leaderboard feature isn't going away. It's available in the WHOOP app starting Nov. 12 at no extra cost. Memberships start at $199 a year for WHOOP One and run to $359 a year for WHOOP Life, per [WHOOP's membership page](https://www.whoop.com/us/en/membership/?ref=skimwire.com) (checked Nov. 12). ## How it differs from WHOOP Teams Teams, which WHOOP says 57% of members already use, is built around groups. Everyone in a team sees everyone else's numbers on a leaderboard. Humans flips that around. You decide who follows you and what each of them can see. [TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2026/11/12/whoop-just-launched-a-social-network/?ref=skimwire.com) gives the example of a trainer who can follow a set of clients without those clients seeing one another's data. Ahmed also told TechCrunch that in beta, people engaged more when a friend posted a *low* Recovery score than a great one. That's the real use case. It's less a bragging feed than a "hey, you OK?" feed. ## Before you share anything: a 2-minute privacy setup WHOOP hasn't published a step-by-step support guide yet, so we can't give exact menu paths. These are the controls WHOOP lists, and the order we'd set them in. Skimwire hasn't tested WHOOP Humans. 1. **Open your sharing preferences first.** Turn off every metric you don't want a coworker or a casual gym friend to see. HRV and resting heart rate can hint at illness, stress, alcohol or pregnancy, so many people will want those off. 2. **Review workout types.** WHOOP lets you choose which activity types and achievements appear. Activities marked sensitive are hidden by default. Check that the ones you care about are marked that way. 3. **Be careful with route maps.** A run or ride that starts and ends at your house reveals where you live. We couldn't find a documented "privacy zone" setting like Strava's, so if you record from your front door, consider keeping GPS workouts off the feed. 4. **Approve followers deliberately.** Pre-filled Team members aren't the same as people you'd share sleep data with. You can remove followers at any time. 5. **Know about Stealth Mode.** It temporarily hides everything you share without wiping your settings. Use it when you're sick, traveling or just want a break. ## The bigger privacy question WHOOP says it "does not sell or monetize a member's personal health data," and Ahmed told TechCrunch the company doesn't license data to third parties. That's a good policy, and it matters more as WHOOP moves into medical-style features: an FDA-cleared ECG, AFib detection, blood pressure insights, blood tests and Medicare members. Two things are worth knowing. First, WHOOP's minimum age is 13\. When TechCrunch asked whether a parent could follow a teen's data, Ahmed didn't answer directly and pointed to the privacy controls. Parents of teen members should talk about who they accept as followers. Second, a social feed changes the risk even when the company never sells anything. Once a follower has seen your data, they can screenshot it. Share accordingly. ## How it compares - **Oura Circles:** Oura's [Circles](https://ouraring.com/blog/introducing-oura-circles/?ref=skimwire.com) share high-level Readiness, Sleep and Activity scores with small invite-only groups and allow emoji reactions, with no comments. It's more limited than WHOOP Humans, and arguably more private. (Comparing the hardware? See our [smart ring comparison](https://www.skimwire.com/smart-rings-2026-oura-vs-ringconn-vs-samsung-galaxy-ring/).) - **Strava:** a much bigger, open network that works with almost any device and has a free tier. It's built around routes and segments rather than recovery and sleep. If your friends don't wear WHOOP, Strava is still where they are. - **Apple Fitness sharing:** Apple Watch owners can share Activity rings and workouts with friends. It's simpler, but it doesn't share sleep or recovery scores the way WHOOP does. ## Our take WHOOP Humans is a smart move for WHOOP. Social features keep people paying for memberships, and the "verified human" angle is a timely jab at bot-filled feeds. For members, it's genuinely useful in two situations: training with a partner or coach, and families who want a gentle signal that someone isn't sleeping or recovering well. The catch is the network size. WHOOP says it has more than 3 million members, and it expects nearly 4 million by year's end, spread across 61 countries. Most of your friends probably aren't on it. WHOOP describes Humans as a member feature, so a friend will most likely need their own membership to follow you. - **Try it** if you already wear WHOOP and have a training partner, coach or family member who does too. Set your sharing preferences first. - **Skip it** if you'd feel awkward about anyone seeing your sleep or HRV. Ignoring the feature costs nothing. - **Don't buy WHOOP for it.** If you're shopping for a tracker, pick on fit, price and health features. Our [Black Friday gift guide for her](https://www.skimwire.com/black-friday-2026-gift-guide-her/) covers trackers like Fitbit Air and Oura, and [Oura's new Cardio Effort feature](https://www.skimwire.com/oura-cardio-effort-automatic-vo2-max/) shows where the rival is heading. *Sources:* [*WHOOP Press Center*](https://www.whoop.com/us/en/press-center/whoop-launches-whoop-humans-the-most-verifiably-human-social-network/?ref=skimwire.com) *(Nov. 12, 2026);* [*WHOOP membership page*](https://www.whoop.com/us/en/membership/?ref=skimwire.com) *(checked Nov. 12, 2026);* [*TechCrunch*](https://techcrunch.com/2026/11/12/whoop-just-launched-a-social-network/?ref=skimwire.com)*;* [*the5krunner*](https://the5krunner.com/2026/11/12/whoop-humans/?ref=skimwire.com)*;* [*Wareable*](https://www.wareable.com/wearable-tech/whoop-humans-social-network-feed-announcement-features-rollout?ref=skimwire.com)*;* [*Oura*](https://ouraring.com/blog/introducing-oura-circles/?ref=skimwire.com)*.*