Date: February 2022

In this review we will test the free version 3.7.2 of Yana updated on February 3, 2022.

User interface

Yana has an intuitive, simple and pleasant interface. Having the chat with Yana as the main screen and in the lower right part of this same window we have a button that allows us to access the menu.

The menu has the following options:

• Record what I feel: when pressing this option a new screen will appear where we must select a state of mind that appears in the list, these states of mind are only represented by emojis (without text), and when pressing on one of the emojis the wallpaper changes and also the mood of our profile picture.

If by mistake we have pressed this option (Record what I feel), there is no way to go back to the previous screen because the back button available on the device's navigation bar is disabled on this screen. Therefore, we must yes or yes register the state of mind and press the next button.

Next, we must choose an emotion to express how we feel. The user will have to choose yes or yes one of the listed emotions to continue with the process. Finally we must choose the factor or factors that influenced our mood.

• Read my statement today: pressing this option will display a message (statement) that we must rate with stars, one star being the minimum score (I do not agree with the statement), and 5 stars the maximum (totally agree with the statement) . According to Yana, identifying thoughts helps us gain more control over our emotions, which brings us closer to getting the things we want.
• See relaxation techniques: Yana provides 5 relationship techniques whose objective is to bring our body and mind to a state of calm.
• See my activities today: Yana lists 4 activities designed to create a healthy and balanced routine, we must do these activities throughout the day. When we do one of the activities we can record how we feel when doing it.
• Write or view a thank you: thanks to this option we can access the gratitude trunk, a place where our thanks are stored.
• See all my emotional records: a monthly calendar will be displayed and each day will be represented by the emoji that we have registered in the “Record what I feel” option.
• Work on my personal growth: we can work on our self-esteem, emotions, relationships, productivity, body or rest, depending on the selected option. Yana will prepare related questions and give us some recommendation to solve or address a problem.
• Evaluate my depression and/or anxiety: Yana will ask us 4 questions to evaluate our depression or anxiety, but remember, the objective of these questions is to inform about the probability of suffering or not suffering from depression or anxiety, and they are not intended to replace the diagnosis of a professional .
• Receive help in crisis: this option gives us numbers that we can call if we need help (the help lines change depending on your country selected in the configuration), but remember, as a first option we can seek help from a family member, friend , or trusted qualified professional.

However, during the tests carried out, we verified that the help lines provided for Spain were not available.

• Configure my app
  • Profile: when pressing this option, a new screen appears where the following information is shown: name, email, age, gender, country where you live and delete my account. Regarding "Delete my account", it is necessary to provide the reason why we decided to delete our account before the cancellation is made.
  • Premium: this option allows us to view the prices of the different plans for the subscription to the premium version of the application and subscribe to the one that best suits our needs.
  • Themes: thanks to this option we can select the theme of our application, we must choose one of the following options: System default, Light and Dark.
  • Customize my chat: We can customize the chat by choosing between the "Zen" and "Flow" modes, we recommend the Flow mode to better visualize the conversation thread.
  • Set up my routine: This option is available only for users with a premium subscription.
  • Reminders: thanks to this option we can configure the time of the reminders to talk to Yana, to carry out our daily routine and our daily affirmation. The user must choose one of the hours shown on the screen, it is not possible to configure another time that does not appear in the list.
  • Security PIN: this option allows the user to enter a four-digit PIN to restrict access to the application interface, remember that to access the application it is necessary to log in by entering our username and password, the PIN will provide us with one more layer security to protect access to the chat with Yana and the menu.
  • Report technical failure: thanks to this option we can report technical failures that may occur while using the application. The user will have to write a detailed summary of the problem and press the “Report bug” button to send it.
  • Send feedback: this option allows us to send the creators of the application any suggestions to improve the application or let them know if you are enjoying it.
  • Frequently asked questions: in this option you will find answers to questions such as: Who is Yana? What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy? Can Yana replace a therapy? Among other very interesting questions about how the chatbot works.
  • Privacy Notice: thanks to this option we will be able to know how our data is treated, who has access to it and what it is used for.
  • Terms and Conditions: thanks to this option we can access the information related to the agreement of wills between Yana and the user.
  • Close session: this button allows us to close session.

Technical performance

Reliability

During the testing period (one week), we only experienced one problem, we opened the app and Yana stayed in the “Waking up” state for a long time, we checked the internet connection and everything was ok, but the app was still frozen in that state . Finally, the test user decided to close the application and reopen it (the test user waited approximately 3 minutes while Yana woke up and after this time he decided to close the application).

The test user also ran tests to see how Yana behaves if the end user loses connection or has no connection to the Internet.

• The first was when he was interacting with Yana through chat, he disabled the connection and tried to answer Yana's question, but when he clicked on the answer, the following message appeared “Cannot read property 'age' of undefined”.
• When you pressed the menu button, “Cannot read property 'menuOptions' of undefined” was displayed.
• When you tapped one of the menu options, the app would play the loading animation.

In conclusion, it is possible to access the application (if we have saved the login data), enter our PIN to access the main screen if we have it configured, but we will not be able to interact with the elements on the main screen. Therefore, to use the application it is necessary to maintain an Internet connection.

Consumption

During a period of one week, we have verified that the consumption of the battery is minimal.

Versatility and compatibility

We can install Yana on smartphones or tablets with Android operating system whose version is 5.0 or later.

Furthermore, Yana is also available for iPhone whose iOS is 11.0 or later.

Security and privacy

We recommend that you carefully read the Terms and Conditions whose access is available to all users through the application or by visiting the following link https://yana.com.mx/terms/ and the Privacy Notice available at the following link https://yana.com.mx/privacy/, which allows us to know what they use our personal data for, who has access to them and what rights we have over them.

Among the security features or functionalities offered by the application we find the following:

• Option to delete our account at any time, by accessing Menu > Configure my application > Profile > Delete my account.
• Option to add a PIN to access the application (Menu > Configure my application > Security PIN)

Accessibility 

Among the few accessibility features of the application we have:

• Choosing the theme of our application, we must choose one of the following options: System Default, Light and Dark.
• Emotions are represented with emojis
• The icons used are of a good size, and are easy to identify and relate to their functionality.
• We have the option to configure the time of the reminders.
• We can customize the chat by choosing between "Zen" and "Flow" mode.

Let's not forget that we can make this app more accessible with our device's accessibility settings. For example, we could configure: color correction, invert colors, high contrast text, control with switches, use screen readers, among others.

Thanks to screen readers like TalkBack for Android or VoiceOver for iOS, the use of certain applications is more easily accessible for people with low or no vision.

For this reason, we have carried out tests complementing the Yana app with TalkBack to analyze the impact that the complementary use of these applications aimed at this specific group would have.

Unfortunately we found that not all buttons have labels and Yana's messages (in chat) are not automatically read as soon as they appear, we must scroll to the item (Yana's response), so that the text to speech can be reproduced.

Conclusions

According to the WHO, "Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."

Many times, we forget our mental well-being and this is where Yana comes into play, a tool that helps improve people's emotional well-being through strategies based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

What is Yan?

Yana is a digital self-help platform designed to provide virtual support through pre-designed conversations.

We must take into account the following points to use Yana:

• Yana is not trained to deal with crisis situations.
• Yana cannot replace professional therapy.
• Yana is unable to make a diagnosis.
• Yana analyzes the conversations in order to improve, and some of the conversations may be reviewed by the creators to improve the application and provide personalized help (according to the creators it is saved anonymously).

Who can use Yana?

Yana can be used by anyone who needs a complementary tool to their usual therapy or is looking for a confidant, friend or guide to help them get to know themselves.

Highlights

• Yana has a simple and pleasant interface.
• We can choose the application theme that best suits our needs: System Default, Light and Dark.
• We can add another layer of security through PIN that restricts access to chat and menu options.
• We can delete our account at any time.
• There are 3 types of premium plans that add some extra functionality to those available in the free version. Even so, we believe that the free version is very complete.
• We have access to different relaxation techniques.
• We will be able to register our emotions and see our progress.
• We can choose the mode in which the chat is displayed: Zen and Flow.

Improvement points

• When wanting to configure a reminder, the user must choose one of the times that is shown on the screen, it is not possible to configure another time that does not appear in the list.
• It may happen that the possible predefined answers that Yana shows do not reflect what you want to express.
• It would be interesting to add the reading aloud of the questions or answers that Yana makes.
• There are some buttons that do not have labels to be read by the screen reader.