Stare into the camera for 10 seconds and get your own lullaby generated: Korean HealingBeats hit 30K installs in three weeks, mostly driven by check-in gift events
What it is A Korean health app that measures heart rate and stress by scanning your face with the front camera for 10 seconds, generates personalized relaxation audio from the result, and shows a lower stress score after you listen and retest. It has a sleep lock and is subscription-based.
Why it took off A company that had raised funding relaunched it in October, ran press releases and attributed promotions, then used a "check in 7 days after downloading, 100% get a gift" campaign to draw in Korean users who earn small rewards through app tasks. It climbed to the top 20 of a low-barrier lifestyle free chart. It was not driven by word of mouth.
CHow you could follow it Don't build a healing-sound app the same way. Instead, fold the "measure → intervene → measure again to show the change" before-and-after loop into your existing sleep, focus, or clinic channels, and acquire users through redemption codes via B2B2C.
- Data (updated daily) · first launch 2026-08-03 · 11-07 installs 33,118
Android · Total installs worldwide Data 2026-10-29 → 2026-11-07 (10 days, 10 observations). Google's detail page only refreshes install counts every other day, so a flat day doesn't mean nobody installed.
HealingBeats (힐링비트) is the consumer app from StressSolution, a B2B digital health company in Daejeon, Korea, with five years of history. It measures heart rate and stress from a 10-second face scan, has AI generate a healing audio track from the result, then retests after listening to show how much the stress score dropped. From late October to early November it climbed on Google Play from 10k to 33k installs and reached #12 on Korea's lifestyle free chart. But the volume came from launch campaigns and promotions, not from users spreading it by word of mouth. The product has a loop worth learning from, but the business itself is not worth copying.
A check-in poster
On Oct 29, StressSolution posted a calendar-style poster on Instagram: "HealingBeats launch event — starting Nov 1, check in once a day in the app; after 7 days, 100% get a gift. The event runs through Nov 5. How to join: download the app → check in 7 days in a row." The same post also went up on Threads.
"Guaranteed rewards, just open it once a day" has a whole group of people in Korea who seek out exactly these promotions. They call it "앱테크" (app + finance, earning small money through tasks and check-ins). Look at the "Customers also downloaded" section on HealingBeats' App Store page: of 10 recommendations, 5 are reward apps like walk-to-earn and check-in-for-coupons (11-06).
The install curve lines up exactly with the campaigns (cumulative Google Play installs, same below):
| Date | Total installs | new during the period | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| Around 10-19 | — | — | The new version launched "globally," and a venture media outlet ran a press release |
| 10-25 | About 7,000 | — | Third-party estimate |
| 10-26 | About 10,800 | About 3,700 a day (est.) | A jump after the press release, source unclear |
| 10-31 | 17,203 | 3 days +6,392 | Check-in poster goes out |
| 11-03 | 29,297 | 3 days +12,094, about 4,000 a day | Check-in campaign starts |
| 11-04 | 30,880 | +1,583 | |
| 11-05 | 33,118 | +2,238 | Campaign ends |
| 11-06 | 33,118 | 0 |
At its peak it ranked #12 on Korea's lifestyle free chart and #92 on the overall free chart (11-01). 11-06 It fell to #21 in lifestyle, and is no longer visible on the overall chart. It charted only in the Korean store throughout.
Two more numbers show how these users were acquired: 33k installs, yet on Google Play it still shows no rating at 11-06; the iOS version has only 12 ratings (4.92 stars). Among tens of thousands of installs, users genuinely moved by a product would normally leave a few dozen or hundred ratings, and here there are almost none (inference: typical incentivized installs). The company website's banner links still carry an ad-attribution short link, and the campaign is named app_launch, suggesting they track acquisition by channel, meaning they are buying installs (inference; the specific spend cannot be found through public channels).
The ranking itself also has a low bar. On the same day, the Korean lifestyle free chart was packed with apps that earn coins for check-ins or cash for watching ads, each gaining 19k to 28k over 7 days. HealingBeats gained 22k over its 7 days, in the same range.
What it actually is
Oct 19 coverage from Korean startup outlet Korea Startup Post summed up the flow in one line: "10 seconds to measure, 3 seconds to generate, 10 minutes to listen."
- Measure: The front camera scans your face for 10 seconds, estimating heart rate from subtle blood-flow changes in the face (rPPG), along with a "stress index" and "stress recovery index," plus a line of emotion summary based on facial expression. No watch needed.
- Listen: Choose the direction you want to shift toward (relaxation, focus, falling asleep), and in about 3 seconds it generates a "personalized" sound. The company CEO, 배익렬, said in the coverage that it makes everyone "their own lullaby."
- Retest: After listening for 10 minutes, scan again, and the two sets of numbers and curves are shown side by side so you can see the stress score drop.
- Sleep Lock: Set a duration, and apart from apps on the allowlist, nothing else can be opened (implemented via accessibility permissions on Android). During the lock it guides you through breathing, meditation, and sleep in sequence. There is also a heart-rate-triggered alarm and a leaderboard of cumulative healing time.
Where the money comes from
The app uses the standard free-plus-subscription model: the free version allows 1 scans a day, 5 audio tracks, and 10 minutes of sleep lock; "힐링Pro" is sold monthly or annually, listed on Google Play at $4.99–34.99. It has never charted on any top-grossing list, so its subscription revenue isn't visible from the outside.
The company's real money is outside the app. StressSolution released a consumer app 2021 years ago, but the iOS version has only 26 ratings to date, and the consumer side never really took off. In recent years it has earned money by selling to enterprises and institutions: supplying audio for SK Telecom's video ringtones, built into Bodyfriend massage chairs, a senior health service with KB Life Insurance, and a student mental-health program for a high school through government procurement. From August, Hoban Group set up a "힐링비트존" at its resort Splas Resom, and from October placed standalone rest pods in Gwangmyeong's shopping malls. In Nov 3 it sent a press release to over a dozen media outlets, headlined by the figure "average stress index drop of 38.5% among participants." In 2026 April it raised a 4.25 billion won Pre-A round, with credentials including Samsung C-Lab, CES 2026, and SKT leading a delegation to MWC.
The app has one opening that connects the two sides: enter a group code provided by an institution and get a free one-year membership. Once a B2B contract is signed, it turns into app installs and retention.
So this launch reads more like a funded company adding a consumer-facing piece to its story: the stated goal in the coverage is "10M users worldwide."
Who it's competing with
Split "measure" and "listen" apart and both sides are crowded. The combination doesn't exist in Korea; the closest global match is Endel.
| Product | Scale (Google Play installs) | Compared with HealingBeats |
|---|---|---|
| Endel | 2.78M | Generates personalized soundscapes in real time from heart rate, time, and weather. Global, has charted on the US top-grossing list. Relies on a watch and health data, no camera |
| Calm / Headspace | 70.6M / 42.5M | Content-based meditation and sleep, no measurement |
| Welltory | 5.99M | Camera or watch measures HRV and produces a stress report, but gives no audio |
| Camera-based heart-rate tools (Pulse App-style) | The largest at 29.9M | Measures only, no healing, monetized via ads |
| 마보 Mabo / 코끼리 Kokkiri | 520k / 400k | Korean-language meditation subscription, ranked #12 and #15 on Korea's health top-grossing chart, with real paying users, no measurement |
| Alarmy, Forest-style | Alarmy 52.3M | "Lock your phone to force yourself to sleep/wake" has been done for a long time |
| Samsung Health, Apple Watch mindfulness | Preinstalled | Watch measures stress plus breathing exercises, free |
| Binah.ai, NuraLogix | B2B SDK | Same camera rPPG tech, but sold as a measurement service to insurers and healthcare providers |
Measuring heart rate with a camera isn't the moat: there are off-the-shelf commercial SDKs and open-source implementations. Sound generation isn't either. What a late follower can't copy is HealingBeats' clinical studies, hospital partnerships, institutional clients, and funding, which are what get the app into resorts, malls, and schools.
If it were you
C: Worth borrowing one move, but not worth copying the whole thing. Its volume was bought with money, and users came for check-in rewards, so it drops when the campaign ends. There's no evidence anyone shares it organically or pays for it. What's worth taking is the loop: measure → get a score → intervene → measure again and show the number drop.
Who it suits: people who already have offline or institutional channels, like those doing employee wellness, school counseling, gyms, postpartum care centers, elder care facilities, or massage chair and sleep hardware makers. They can put "stress score dropped by X" into their pitch to clients.
Who it doesn't suit: indie devs who want to ship an "AI healing sound" app and survive on organic installs and subscriptions. Meditation and white noise are a red ocean. Endel and Calm have content and brands, and watch makers give away measurement for free. HealingBeats has funding and backing of its own, and subscriptions haven't shown traction yet.
How to do it: Don't build a "better HealingBeats." Build the loop into something you already have. For example, add a "measure before and after listening" step to a sleep or focus app, and turn each change into a shareable card. Or build a "relaxation corner" tablet experience for institutions that prints a before-and-after slip when a session ends. Use an existing SDK for heart rate from the camera and a ready-made generation or asset library for sound. Don't spend time on those two layers. In the product and marketing, say "relax" and "state tracking," not diagnosis or treatment.
How to acquire users: B2B2C. One institutional client brings in a batch of users with redemption codes. HealingBeats has proven this path itself. For consumers, the "stress score dropped from 72 to 44" comparison card is natural share material. If you want to chase the charts, check-in rewards can push numbers, but prepare for volume to fall once the event ends.
When to get in: No rush. This isn't a window that will be taken before you can act.
Signs you've misread it: ① Two to three weeks after the event ends, it still holds a top 30 spot on the Korea lifestyle Top Free chart and Google Play starts collecting hundreds of ratings, which means real users are sticking around. ② It charts on the Korea health or lifestyle Top Grossing chart, which means people are actually paying for the subscription. ③ It starts charting in other stores like Japan or the US, or user-made "measure stress → listen → measure again" videos show up on TikTok or Threads. That would mean the loop itself drives organic sharing, and it's worth tracking closely.
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Data and sources: Google Play install counts and Korea chart positions (before 10-25 to 11-06,10-29 are third-party estimates); iTunes Korea store page and ratings (11-06); StressSolution Instagram event post (published 10-29); Korea Startup Post and Platum launch coverage 10-19; Herald Economy, fnnews and other coverage of the Hoban empirical study 11-03; Platum and Unicorn Factory reports on the Pre-A round (2026-04); Google Play Korean store listing.
Research notes: competitor table, acquisition evidence, full research report
- Competitors
Name Where Launched Scale How it differs from this one Endel iOS 2019 Play 2.78M installs, charted in the US health Top Grossing Also generates personalized soundscapes from physiological and environmental signals, but relies on watch or health data, not a camera. Already global. HealingBeats is Korea-only, and its selling point is a 10-second camera measurement plus before-and-after comparison. Calm / Headspace iOS 2012–2014 Play 70.6M / 42.5M Content-based meditation and sleep. No physiological measurement or personalized generation. Welltory Android 2017 Play 5.99M Measures HRV with a camera or watch and produces a stress report. Doesn't offer sound interventions. Camera heart rate tools like Heart Rate Monitor - Pulse App Android 2022 Play 29.9M Only measures heart rate, monetized through ads. No healing content. 마보 Mabo / 코끼리 Kokkiri Android 2016 / 2019 Play 520k / 400k, Korea health Top Grossing category ranked 12 / 15 Subscription to Korean meditation content, no measurement. Already has paying users. Lock-the-phone and alarm apps like Alarmy and Forest Android 2012~ Alarmy Play 52.3M Features like Sleep Lock and heart-rate alarms have been around in mature products for a long time. Samsung Health stress measurement and Apple Watch mindfulness Big-company features Years Preinstalled Free stress measurement and breathing exercises, but requires a watch and doesn't generate sound Binah.ai / NuraLogix Anura Other 2018~ B2B SDK, sold to insurers and healthcare Same camera rPPG tech, but sold as a measurement capability only, with no consumer content - Where users come from
- Verified Launch event (download + 7-day consecutive check-in, 100% chance of a gift): Instagram / Threads posts: starting 11-01, 7 days of check-ins earn a 100% gift chance, event runs until 11-05; 11-01~03 was the installs peak (about 4,560/day), after the deadline it fell to about 1,100/day, 11-06 is 0
- Inferred Promotion to reward-app users (offerwall or paid CPI): the website banner goes through an Airbridge attribution short link (campaign=app_launch); 5 of the 10 iOS "customers also bought" apps are 앱테크 or reward apps; 33k installs on Play with no ratings, and iOS has only 12 ratings. No direct record of the specific ad platform was found.
- Verified Press releases: 10-19 Platum, Korea Startup Post and others covered the "global official launch"; 11-02~03 the Hoban empirical study news ran across a dozen-plus outlets; 10-25~26 the jump (about 3,700/day) came after the press releases.
- Verified B2B2C institutional codes and offline experience spots: the store page says entering an institution's group code gives one year free; the Hoban Splas Resom 힐링비트존 has about 5,500 people cumulatively, Avenue France 힐링박스 about 350; school government procurement, Mad for Garlic, KB Life and other MOUs. The scale is in the thousands, which doesn't explain the peak.
- Inferred Social content / creators: x-radar shows 0 posts in the last 30 days; searching TikTok for "힐링비트" turns up no relevant videos.
HealingBeats (힐링비트): why it gained 22k installs in 3 weeks
Package io.stresssolution.healingbeats | Developer (주)스트레스솔루션 (StressSolution, Daejeon, Korea) | Play Lifestyle category | Research date 2026-11-06
Bottom line
It wasn't a natural breakout. It was a digital health company that raised a 4.25B won Pre-A 2B and repackaged 5 years of B2B technology into a consumer app and relaunched it (10-16 new version, 10-19 press release). Then it used a launch promo starting 11-01 ("download plus 7 consecutive days of check-ins, 100% get gifts") and attributed paid promotion to drive installs, breaking out in Korea alone. During the promo, installs ran at roughly 4,600 a day and dropped to about 1,100 a day once sign-ups closed. The 33k installs have almost no Play ratings, and iOS has only 12 ratings, and the iOS "customers also bought" list is almost entirely Korean "appteck" (earn-while-doing-tasks) apps. So these installs are mostly chasing the rewards, not word of mouth for the product itself.
1. Data (googleplay / appstore databases, with AppstoreSpy filling in history)
| Date | Play cumulative installs | Average daily new installs (spread evenly between two observations) | Korea Lifestyle Top Free chart | Korea overall Top Free chart |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10-25 | 7,063 | About 1,600 | – | – |
| 10-26 | 10,801 | About 3,700 | – | – |
| 10-28 | 10,811 | About 5 | – | – |
| 10-29~31 | 17,203(10-31) | About 2,100 | 15 | 154→105 |
| 11-01~03 | 30,880(11-03) | about 4,560 | 12→18 | 92 (best 11-01) → 150 |
| 11-04~05 | 33,118 | About 1,100 | 21~22 | 175 |
| 11-06 | 33,118 | 0 | 21 | Not charted |
- Charted only in the Korea store. The Play rating count has always been empty (the database's 9-day snapshots show ratings and score as NULL).
- The iOS version "HealingBeats: 힐링비트" (id 6792970634,2026-08-27, Health & Fitness): iTunes lookup shows 12 ratings, 4.92 stars, version 1.4.1 (updated 11-05). The best position in the appstore database is #30 on the Korea category Top Free chart.
- The company's older app "(구) 힐링비트" (iOS id 2021-10-18) has only 26 ratings, which suggests the consumer side barely took off from 2021 to 2025.
- The bar for this chart position is low: on the same day, the Korea lifestyle Top Free chart was crowded with 앱테크 earn-money apps (금줍줍, 달러줘패공사, 금한돈, 캐시충전, 캐시모어, each gaining 19k to 28k every 7 days). HealingBeats gained 22,307 in 7 days, which is the same scale.
2. What the product is
- Uses the front camera to scan your face for 10 seconds, estimating heart rate, stress index, and stress recovery index from rPPG (blood flow changes in the face), plus a summary of facial emotion. It generates a "personalized" healing sound in about 3 seconds, then measures again after 10 minutes of listening and compares the before and after metrics (kspost 2026-10-19).
- "슬립락 Sleep Lock": after setting a duration, every app except whitelisted ones can't be opened (implemented with the Android accessibility service). During the lock, it guides you through breathing, meditation, and falling asleep. There's also a heart-rate alarm and a leaderboard of cumulative healing time.
- The free version allows 1 measurements a day, 5 sounds, and 10 minutes of sleep lock. "힐링Pro" is a monthly or annual subscription (IAP $4.99–34.99). Entering an institution's group code gives one year of membership for free (Play store listing).
- Tech credibility: a 2025-year randomized controlled trial in adults (KCI journal), a panic disorder study with Seoul National University Hospital, a Korea research foundation project, Samsung C-Lab Outside, CES 2026, and SKT leading a group to MWC 4YFN (2025 and 2026, two years running).
III. Competitors
| Product | Where | Launched | Scale | How it differs from HealingBeats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Endel | iOS/Android | 2019 | Play 2.78M installs | The closest match: generates personalized soundscapes in real time from heart rate, time, and weather, but relies on a watch or health data rather than a camera. Global, with US Top Grossing rankings. |
| Calm | iOS/Android | 2014 | Play 70.6M | Content-based meditation and sleep. No physiological measurement. |
| Headspace | iOS/Android | 2012 | Play 42.5M | Same as above |
| Welltory | iOS/Android | 2017 | Play 5.99M | Measures HRV with a camera or watch and produces a stress report. Doesn't generate sound. |
| Camera heart rate tools like Heart Rate Monitor - Pulse App | Android | 2022 | Play 29.9M | Only measures heart rate, monetized through ads. No healing content. |
| 마보 Mabo | South Korea | 2016 | Play 520k, best rank #12 in Korea's health Top Grossing category | Subscription to Korean meditation content. No measurement. |
| 코끼리 Kokkiri | South Korea | 2019 | Play 400k, ranked #15 in Korea's health Top Grossing category | Korean meditation and sleep. No measurement. |
| 마인드카페 Mindcafe | South Korea | 2019 | Play 1.93M | Psychological counseling plus community |
| Alarmy, Forest-style | Global | 2012~ | Alarmy Play 52.3M | Features like "lock the phone and force yourself to sleep or wake up" have existed for a long time. |
| Samsung Health stress measurement and Apple Watch mindfulness | Big-company features | Years | Preinstalled | Watch-based stress measurement and breathing exercises, free, but doesn't generate sound |
| Binah.ai, NuraLogix Anura | B2B SDK | 2018~ | Sold to insurers and medical institutions | Same camera rPPG, but sold as a measurement capability only, with no consumer-side content |
Verdict: "measurement + sound" are both crowded on their own. HealingBeats' combo is "watch-free camera measurement → personalized sound generation → measure again after listening to see the before/after → sleep lock." It has no direct rival in Korea; the closest global match is Endel.
4. Growth levers (evidence)
- Launch event "download + 7-day streak check-in, 100% get a gift" (confirmed): Instagram and Threads posts read "힐링비트 런칭 이벤트: 11월 1일부터 7일 출석체크… 7일을 모두 채우면 100% 선물 증정… 이벤트 기간 ~11월 5일까지" (instagram.com/p/DfG2aKmk_Sx). 11-01–03 was the installs peak (about 4,560/day); after the sign-up deadline (11-05) it dropped to about 1,100/day, and 11-06 was 0. "Guaranteed prize + 7-day retention" is exactly the kind of mechanic Korean app-tech (앱테크) users respond to most.
- Reward-based or paid promotion (strong inference, no direct evidence): ① the website pop-up banner uses an Airbridge attribution short link abr.ge/j4jbf9y with campaign=app_launch, showing they run attributed acquisition campaigns; ② of the 10 "Customers also bought" apps on iOS, 5 are 앱테크 or reward apps (마블워크, 트리보, 기프또, 캐시농장, METAHINT 보상), showing heavy overlap between people who install it and people who earn money by completing tasks; ③ Play installs of 33k show no rating, and iOS has only 12 ratings, a install-to-rating ratio that looks like incentivized installs. Our Meta and Google ad libraries only track Western-market keywords, so not finding ads there doesn't mean none were run; we found no public record of it entering offerwalls like 캐시워크 or 토스 or quiz ads.
- Press release (confirmed): around 10-19, Platum, Korea Startup Post, tech42 and others reported a "global official launch"; 11-02–03, Hoban Group's empirical news ran across a dozen-plus outlets (Herald, fnnews, News1, metroseoul…). The 10-25–26 jump to about 3,700/day came right after the press coverage, but the exact source is uncertain.
- B2B2C and offline venues (existence confirmed, volume likely small): Hoban's affiliate Splas Resom's "힐링비트존" has had multiple-person experiences since Aug 13; Avenue France Gwangmyeong store's "힐링박스" has had about 5,500 people since Oct 8 350; Jeonnam Technical Science High School ran a student project through government procurement; there are also 매드포갈릭 (Mad for Garlic), KB Life Insurance, Bodyfriend, and SKT V彩铃. A group code inside the app can be used free for a year to move institutional users into the app. These volumes are in the thousands and can't explain the early-November peak.
- Organic channels: X (x-radar shows 30 posts in the last 0 days) and TikTok (searching 「힐링비트」 turns up no related videos) have no buzz; Naver blogs only have scattered reviews of the old version.
5. Why it could "break out"
- Money and backing: 2026-04 Pre-A, 4.25B KRW (InLight Ventures, Daejeon Investment Finance, Credit Guarantee Fund, IBK, etc.), selected as a "Daejeon Unicorn" in 2026; Samsung C-Lab, SKT, CES, and MWC add credibility, and they can afford gift events and press releases.
- Playbook is "launch event for volume + low-threshold category charts": to reach #12–21 on Korea's Lifestyle free chart you only need two or three thousand installs a day, which a launch event plus promotion can deliver.
- The product's "10-second check" is fun in itself and works as a hook: one test gives you a heart-rate and stress score, which lowers the barrier to first use, good for events and offline experiences. But there's no evidence yet that people share it organically or pay for it.
6. Differentiation, and whether that's why it broke out
The differentiation is a loop: "no watch needed, camera measures physiological state in 10 seconds → AI generates personalized sound → after listening, retest and see the numbers drop," plus Sleep Lock and institutional group codes. This loop is persuasive for B2B settings (resorts, mall experience pods, schools, insurers): "average stress index down 38.5%" can go straight into a partner's press release. But the direct cause of this install wave was the event and promotion, not the differentiation itself; the differentiation's role is to win funding, partnerships, and media, which indirectly pays for the events.
VII. Visibility and copycats
- Few people know about it yet: revenue isn't public; there's no discussion on X or TikTok; only Korean VC and industry press releases.
- Copycats: none (I haven't seen anyone copying the "camera measurement + generated sound" combination).
8. What others can borrow
- The before/after loop of "measure → get a score → intervene → measure again to show the change" suits conversion and sharing, and is also good for convincing B2B clients.
- The consumer app offers "free institutional code for a year" at the same time, turning B2B contracts into app installs and retention, and can also be packaged as procurement projects (schools, public sector).
- Korean local launch playbook: "consecutive check-in for N days, 100% get a gift" aimed at 앱테크 users, with controllable costs, can push a small category chart into the top 20. But retention and payment from these users are doubtful.
IX. Uncertainties
- No direct evidence on the split of early-November volume among reward-based CPI/CPA (offerwall), Meta or Google paid acquisition, and organic.
- The source of the 10-25–26 jump (about 5,000 installs).
- Subscription revenue: it hasn't entered any top-grossing chart, so revenue can't be judged; the IAP range $4.99–34.99 only shows pricing is set.
- Retention after the event ends: 11-06 new installs is 0 and ranking is falling; watch one more week.
- The Play listing date 2026-08-03 may be a soft launch; 10-16 is the new version that officially launched publicly.
Sources
- Data: googleplay library app_day_ext / chart_rank / app_snap (2026-10-25–11-06); appstore library app_profile; iTunes lookup id 6792970634 (kr)
- Play store page (Korean): play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=io.stresssolution.heal…
- New version launch: platum.kr/archives/296561, www.kspost.biz/ko-kr/articles/3052 (2026-10-19)
- Launch event: www.instagram.com/p/DfG2aKmk_Sx/
- Hoban empirical study: biz.heraldcorp.com/article/10923776, www.kspost.biz/ko-kr/articles/3137, www.fnnews.com/news/202611031429084063
- Funding: platum.kr/archives/285630, www.unicornfactory.co.kr/article/2026042109330779227
- School procurement: www.aitimes.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=40950
- Company news page: www.stresssolution.io/news (banner short link abr.ge/j4jbf9y → Airbridge campaign=app_launch)
- iOS "Customers also bought": apps.apple.com/kr/app/6792970634?see-all=customers-also-boug…