WHOOP · CHI Company Investigation · Technology & Software
WHOOPWHOOP, Inc. · Private company · WHOOP 4.0, 5.0 and MG wearables · WHOOP One, Peak and Life memberships
Conclusion: Partially Supports · Scope: the contract around membership-contingent hardware · Not a finding of fraud, deception or unlawful conduct · No score assigned
The hardware is included. Owning it was removed from the contract.
WHOOP’s problem is not price. Its equivalent full-membership price has fallen substantially since 2018. The stronger CHI case is structural: a physical device whose usefulness, warranty, support life and upgrade rights depend on continued membership, combined with a 2025 Terms change that quietly removed explicit ownership language and reserved WHOOP the right to require future upgrades.
The central question. How much control does a customer really retain over hardware that becomes useful only while the customer continues paying?
For years WHOOP said you kept the device. Since May 2025, its Terms say nothing either way.
Every version of WHOOP’s Terms of Use CHI reviewed from 2019 to early 2025 told members that the membership fee covered the device and that they kept it after cancelling. The sentence is present in the Terms dated 21 May 2019 and in every later version through the one dated 24 February 2025, still live in a capture of 18 April 2025.2,3
“The Initial Membership Fee also covers the cost of your WHOOP Device, and you will retain ownership of your WHOOP Device after you stop or cancel your Membership.”
WHOOP Terms of Use, versions dated 2019 to 24 February 2025
The Terms captured on 8 May 2025, the day WHOOP 5.0 and WHOOP MG launched, no longer contain that sentence. No replacement ownership clause appeared, and every later version, including the one in force today, is silent on who owns the device after a membership ends.1,4
Before May 2025
From 8 May 2025
WHOOP has not said that it owns the strap. The current Terms do not reserve title to WHOOP, do not require a cancelled member to return the device, and contain no clause allowing it to be disabled remotely. What changed is that the one sentence telling members the device was theirs is gone, and nothing replaced it. For years, WHOOP explicitly said customers retained ownership after cancelling. Since May 2025, its Terms say nothing about ownership either way.
Was the change announced? CHI found no announcement. It arrived in the same revision as WHOOP’s new upgrade policy.4
WHOOP reserves the right to end support for older hardware and require an upgrade.
The revision in place by 8 May 2025 introduced a “Continuing Support” clause, absent from the Terms in April 2025 and still in force today. It names no minimum support period and no notice period, and it gives the member “the same upgrade options” as a voluntary upgrade: a membership extension or a one-time fee. It does not promise that a required upgrade would be free.1,4
“WHOOP will continue to support your current 4.0 sensor and Membership for a period of time, but reserves the right to end support at its discretion. At such time you will be required to upgrade in order to maintain your Membership.”
WHOOP Terms of Use, Membership Upgrade Policy, May 2025 to present
Support ends when WHOOP decides
The clause entered the Terms with the 8 May 2025 revision and is still current. If WHOOP ends 4.0 support, a member who has prepaid a non-refundable term would need to extend or pay to keep the service usable.1
The 4.0 is still supported
WHOOP has not exercised the clause. As of October 2026 the 4.0 remains supported with no sunset date announced; 4.0 members were moved to Peak “at your existing billing rate”, and Healthspan was extended to 4.0 in August 2025.12,13,28
The hostility signal is reserved control, not an event. No WHOOP generation has been switched off by the company: 3.0 straps were recycled into free trials after the 4.0 launched, and the 4.0 kept working after 5.0.12,34
WHOOP’s own pages told members new hardware would be free.
Two WHOOP publications described free next-generation hardware as part of membership. Neither was a contractual term; both were WHOOP’s published representations, and they shaped what members expected in 2025.
“…for free — every time another generation is released.”
WHOOP’s membership page: “As a member, get the latest, most advanced WHOOP hardware for free — every time another generation is released.” It disappeared with a site migration in August 2023.6
“…for free after having been a member for six months or more.”
A WHOOP article comparing fitness trackers: “WHOOP members receive the next-generation device for free after having been a member for six months or more.” Last captured on 28 March 2025; by 10 May 2025 the address redirected to WHOOP’s homepage.7
What these statements were not. Neither appeared in the Terms. WHOOP’s 2019 hardware transition charged existing members, and its 2021 free upgrade required at least six months remaining or an extension. The statements are evidence of the expectation WHOOP created, not of a broken contract.9,35
A fee, a backlash, and a partial reversal in about two days.
“This was never our policy and should never have been posted.”
WHOOP, “Clarifying and Updating Our Upgrade Policy”, 10 May 2025, on the six-month article
Members with 12 months or less remaining were never made free. They could extend, pay the one-time fee, or wait for their renewal. That rule is still current in WHOOP’s October 2026 upgrade article.8,12
How CHI classifies the episode: partially reversed. The launch policy was compatible with the Terms, contradicted WHOOP’s own earlier representations, and was corrected within about 48 hours for members with the most prepaid time. It is not classified as fraud, deception or a breach of contract.
From six months remaining to more than twelve.
WHOOP moved the free-hardware threshold from six months remaining to more than twelve after restructuring its plans around longer commitments. WHOOP explained the change itself: in 2021 most members were on monthly or six-month plans; “Today, we only offer 12- and 24-month memberships.”8
The customer effect. A normal 12-month subscriber is usually below the threshold unless they prepay another year. The extension route costs nothing extra for a member who intended to renew anyway. CHI reading
You keep the strap. It stops being a WHOOP product.
Three days after non-payment, WHOOP’s Terms put the account into an “inactive state” in which “you will be unable to upload data from your WHOOP Device.” The strap has no display and no useful stand-alone mode; scoring and analysis happen in WHOOP’s service. When a membership ends, “WHOOP will no longer collect, upload, or analyze your biometric data.”1,14
What a lapsed member keeps
Precise wording matters. Nothing in the Terms allows remote disabling. Without an active membership, the sensor may still physically collect data, but it cannot upload that data into the WHOOP service and loses its practical function as a WHOOP product. Second-hand prices could not be verified, so no resale value is given.
“Lifetime” means the lifetime of the membership.
WHOOP markets a Lifetime Warranty. Its own Terms define the warranty period as “for as long as you have an active Membership with no outstanding balance.” Between September and October 2025 the Terms renamed it a “Limited Warranty”; WHOOP’s sales and support pages still say “lifetime”.1,5,17,18
The warranty is not the problem. Coverage while paying is generous, and WHOOP’s sign-up page follows “lifetime warranty” with “As long as you have an active membership” in the next sentence. The warranty is simply one more attribute that runs with the payment, not with the object.18
Easy to cancel. Slow to take effect.
Cancellation is self-service on WHOOP’s website, with no phone call required, and “you do not need to contact support.” It takes effect at the end of the prepaid term: “WHOOP will not provide any prorated refund,” and fees are non-refundable after the 30-day return window.1,14
WHOOP’s own pages disagree. WHOOP’s live support pages are inconsistent on the return deadline and consequence; one gives seven days and automatic enrolment in a $239 membership, another gives fourteen days. The Terms describe a $110 charge. CHI does not resolve the conflict for WHOOP.14,15,16
A certified class, a trial pending, no finding of liability.
One and Peak ship the same hardware. The difference is software.
Current annual US pricing is $199 for One, $239 for Peak and $359 for Life. One and Peak both ship the WHOOP 5.0; the features that separate them are switched on by the tier. Life adds the MG sensor and its medical-grade features.13,18
Downgrades. A Life member who moves to Peak keeps the MG sensor, but from the next renewal no longer has access to ECG, irregular-rhythm notifications or Blood Pressure Insights. These tier rules are disclosed in WHOOP’s support pages.12
A new generation means a new set of accessories.
“WHOOP 4.0 accessories are not compatible with WHOOP 5.0 or MG devices”: bands, the battery pack and Any-Wear apparel all need replacing. WHOOP offers no trade-in for them. Bands are excluded from the warranty, and WHOOP recommends replacing its standard band about every 12 months.17,20,21,37
Context. A smaller device needs a different band, so incompatibility alone is not hostile. It is included here only as part of the switching cost that comes with each hardware generation.
WHOOP is not a price-increase story.
The price of the full WHOOP membership, the feature set now sold as Peak, has fallen by about a third since 2018. The February 2023 price cut applied to renewing members as well as new ones.24,25,26,27,38
This is strong evidence against a more severe verdict. WHOOP held the full-membership price flat through the 2025 restructuring while adding a cheaper tier and a pricier one with new hardware. CHI reading
Fixed Under Pressure counts.
Under CHI methodology a correction is credited in full when assessing the customer’s current experience, whatever prompted it. WHOOP earns that credit on the 2025 upgrade episode.
- Reversed the launch upgrade policy within roughly 48 hours.8
- Expanded free eligibility to members with more than 12 months remaining.8
- Refunded qualifying customers automatically, without requiring a request.8
- Kept the 30-day fee waiver for recent buyers.8
- Later extended Healthspan to WHOOP 4.0, reversing its launch-day position.28
Why the verdict stops at Partially Supports. These corrections and the pricing record are why the conclusion is not Supports. The pressure is recorded as context; it does not erase the original conduct.
What WHOOP gets right.
The strongest evidence against a hostile reading, with full credit to WHOOP.
Refunds and exits
No generation switched off
Exit paths and experiments
- History stays viewable after cancellation; CSV export and privacy requests remain available.14,19
- WHOOP says it does not sell personal data.29
- Advanced Labs blood testing opened to non-members in August 2026.32
- A test of unbundled hardware, sold outright with a cheaper membership, began in Australia and Spain in May 2026.31
A fast-growing private company.
WHOOP is private. The figures below are company-reported and unaudited. This is not investment advice and makes no prediction.
Context. WHOOP reports being cash-flow positive in 2025; Series G investors include major institutional and healthcare names. The chief executive has spoken of a public-company horizon of about two years; no filing exists.30,33
An ownership sentence, a price cut, then a quieter contract.
- 14 May 2018WHOOP membership model launchesWHOOP statement
- 21 May 2019Terms say members retain ownership after cancellingArchive
- 8 Sep 2021WHOOP 4.0: free upgrade with six months or more remainingWHOOP statement
- 2021–2023Membership page says the latest hardware is free each generationArchive
- 15 Feb 2023Price cut; six-month plan removedWHOOP statement
- Oct 2023 – Mar 2025WHOOP article says next-generation hardware is free after six monthsArchive
- 24 Feb 2025Ownership sentence still present in the TermsArchive
- 8 May 2025WHOOP 5.0 and MG launch; ownership sentence gone; Continuing Support clause added; upgrade fee or extensionArchive
- 10 May 2025Upgrade policy partially reversed; eligible customers refundedWHOOP statement
- 5 Aug 2025Healthspan extended to WHOOP 4.0WHOOP statement
- Oct 2025Terms rename the Lifetime Warranty a Limited WarrantyArchive
- Mar 2026WHOOP raises $575M at a $10.1bn valuationWHOOP statement
- May 2026Unbundled-hardware test in Australia and SpainWHOOP statement
- 2 Jul 2026Sanderson auto-renewal damages claim proceeds toward trialCourt record
What this page does not claim.
About conduct
- That WHOOP now claims ownership of members’ devices.
- That WHOOP has ended support for WHOOP 4.0, or disabled any device.
- That WHOOP raised the price of its full membership.
- That WHOOP removed a feature from a paying member.
About the evidence
- That the free-upgrade statements were contractual promises.
- That any court has found WHOOP liable; Sanderson is unresolved.
- What a used WHOOP strap sells for second-hand.
- WHOOP’s member churn or retention, which it does not disclose.
Final CHI assessment · Partially Supports
A hard dependency, fairly priced, with contractual edges that moved in 2025.
WHOOP does not fit the usual subscription-hostility story. It has reduced the price of its equivalent full membership, has not removed features from paying customers, continues supporting older hardware, and reversed its most controversial upgrade decision within two days.
The CHI signal is narrower. WHOOP’s product is a physical sensor whose useful life depends almost entirely on continued membership. In May 2025, the company quietly removed the Terms language that had explicitly told members they retained ownership after cancellation, while adding the right to end support for older hardware and require an upgrade.
That control remains mostly latent rather than exercised. The 4.0 still works, and no generation has been switched off. WHOOP’s rapid 2025 reversal and strong customer protections materially reduce the severity. No numerical CHI, CVI or CFS score has been assigned.
WHOOP kept the membership price fair,
and stopped telling members the device was theirs to keep.
Sources
- WHOOP Terms of Use, current version (Last Updated 3 Aug 2026), incl. §5.3.3, §5.3.4, §6, §7, §15, §19 and the Membership Upgrade Policy. whoop.com WHOOP
- WHOOP Terms of Use dated 21 May 2019, Internet Archive capture of 22 Aug 2019. web.archive.org Primary
- WHOOP Terms of Use dated 24 Feb 2025, Internet Archive capture of 18 Apr 2025. web.archive.org Primary
- WHOOP Terms of Use, Internet Archive capture of 8 May 2025 (WHOOP 5.0 launch day). web.archive.org Primary
- WHOOP Terms of Use, Internet Archive captures of 8 Sep 2025 (“Lifetime Warranty”) and 11 Oct 2025 (version dated 9 Oct 2025, “Limited Warranty”). web.archive.org, web.archive.org Primary
- WHOOP membership page, Internet Archive captures of 20 Sep 2021 and 13 Aug 2023. web.archive.org, web.archive.org Primary
- WHOOP Locker, fitness-tracker comparison article, Internet Archive capture of 28 Mar 2025 (also captured 1 Oct 2023 to 19 Jan 2025; redirected by 10 May 2025). web.archive.org Primary
- WHOOP, “Clarifying and Updating Our Upgrade Policy”, The Locker, 10 May 2025. whoop.com WHOOP
- WHOOP, “WHOOP Unlocked 2021 Recap: Announcing the 4.0”, The Locker, 8 Sep 2021. whoop.com WHOOP
- Android Authority, “Whoop faces backlash after charging existing users upgrade fee for new models”, 9 May 2025. androidauthority.com Secondary
- TechCrunch, “Fitness tracker Whoop faces unhappy customers over upgrade policy”, 11 May 2025. techcrunch.com Secondary
- WHOOP Support, “Upgrades” (dated 9 Oct 2026). support.whoop.com WHOOP
- WHOOP Support, “Membership Pricing” (dated 28 May 2026). support.whoop.com WHOOP
- WHOOP Support, “Canceling Your Membership” (dated 5 Jun 2026). support.whoop.com WHOOP
- WHOOP Support, “Free Trial FAQ” (dated 4 Sep 2026). support.whoop.com WHOOP
- WHOOP Support, “Returning Your WHOOP in the US” (dated 24 Aug 2026). support.whoop.com WHOOP
- WHOOP Support, “Replacing WHOOP Products” (dated 5 Feb 2026). support.whoop.com WHOOP
- WHOOP membership sign-up page, read 16 Oct 2026. join.whoop.com WHOOP
- WHOOP Support, “How to Export Your Data” (dated 17 Nov 2025). support.whoop.com WHOOP
- WHOOP Support, “How to Upcycle Your WHOOP” (dated 13 Mar 2026). support.whoop.com WHOOP
- WHOOP Support, “Band & Accessory Compatibility” (dated 2 Dec 2025). support.whoop.com WHOOP
- Order granting in part class certification, Sanderson v. Whoop, Inc., N.D. Cal. No. 3:23-cv-05477-CRB, 7 Mar 2025. justia.com Primary
- Order on cross-motions for summary judgment, Sanderson v. Whoop, Inc., N.D. Cal. No. 3:23-cv-05477-CRB, Dkt. 150, 2 Jul 2026. govinfo.gov Primary
- TechCrunch, “Super wearable WHOOP launches $30 subscription service”, 15 May 2018. techcrunch.com Secondary
- Android Authority, WHOOP 4.0 launch and pricing, 8 Sep 2021. androidauthority.com Secondary
- Connect the Watts, “WHOOP lowers price”, 15 Feb 2023. connectthewatts.com Secondary
- WHOOP press release, “WHOOP Unveils WHOOP 5.0 and WHOOP MG”, Business Wire, 8 May 2025. businesswire.com WHOOP
- Gadgets & Wearables, “Whoop 4.0 gets new Healthspan metrics”, 1 Aug 2025. gadgetsandwearables.com Secondary
- WHOOP Privacy Principles and Consumer Health Data Privacy Notice. whoop.com WHOOP
- WHOOP press release, “WHOOP Raises $575 Million at $10.1 Billion Valuation”, 31 Mar 2026; TechCrunch, 31 Mar 2026. finance.yahoo.com, techcrunch.com WHOOP
- Gadgets & Wearables, “WHOOP price testing”, 25 May 2026. gadgetsandwearables.com Secondary
- Android Authority, “WHOOP drops membership requirement for Advanced Labs”, 18 Aug 2026. androidauthority.com Secondary
- Bloomberg Law, “Whoop Is Considering Going Public in Next Two Years, CEO Says”, 12 Nov 2025. news.bgov.com Secondary
- WHOOP Locker, “3.0 Upcycle Program: free trial”, 2021. whoop.com WHOOP
- WHOOP press release, “Introducing WHOOP Strap 3.0 Featuring WHOOP Live”, PR Newswire, 22 May 2019. prnewswire.com WHOOP
- WHOOP Locker, “Health Monitor feature”, 11 Sep 2021; WHOOP press release on Stress Monitor, Business Wire, 29 Mar 2023. whoop.com, businesswire.com WHOOP
- WHOOP Support, “WHOOP Accessories Overview & Recommendations” (dated 27 Aug 2026). support.whoop.com WHOOP
- DC Rainmaker, WHOOP price cut and lifetime warranty, Feb 2023. dcrainmaker.com Secondary
Limits carried onto this page. CHI did not hold a WHOOP account or make purchases, so checkout and in-app flows were not observed first-hand. Historical Terms and marketing text rest on Internet Archive captures; WHOOP’s help-centre text was read on 16 October 2026. Second-hand prices and member churn could not be verified.
Status. Research frozen 16 October 2026. No numerical CHI, CVI or CFS score has been assigned; scoring is reserved for a later calibration stage.
Reading this beside the rest of the index
Hardware, software and the right to keep using what you bought.
WHOOP is assessed on what customers hold after paying, not on the accuracy of its health metrics. Apple shows another hardware ecosystem in the same sector; the Lexicon entries describe the patterns in general.