Frequently asked questions about Selfia
Selfia is a free positive affirmation app for Android, in English and French, that works without an account. Here are short answers to the questions we hear most: the app, the price, privacy, content, the community and well-being.
The app
What is Selfia?
Selfia is a well-being app for Android, in English and French. It offers more than 17,000 positive affirmations sorted by theme, 800 quotes by authors checked word for word, daily content (History, General knowledge, Good news), animated meditation, 22 relaxation modules, a journal with mood tracking and a daily horoscope. It is published by Mathis Belouar-Pruvot, an independent publisher in France, and works without an account.
Is Selfia available on iPhone?
Not yet. Selfia is currently available only on Android, through Google Play, under the ID fr.belouar.youare. No iPhone version is published on the App Store for now. In the meantime, on an iPhone or a computer, you can read affirmations by theme, quotes and breathing exercises on this website.
Which languages is Selfia available in?
Selfia comes in English and French. The affirmations are written in both languages: the English is not a word-for-word translation of the French, the same idea is written for each language. Quotes, the horoscope, daily content and sacred texts are also offered in English and French, with public-domain translations for the verses.
Do I need an account to use Selfia?
No. Selfia works without an account, an email address or a password. Your profile, favorites and journal are stored on your phone. The Selfia Pro subscription, if you take it, is tied to your Google Play account, and “Restore my purchases” finds it on a new phone. Remember to export your journal from time to time, since no copy exists anywhere else.
Does Selfia work offline?
Mostly, yes. Affirmations, quotes, verses, the horoscope, the journal, relaxation modules, sounds and meditation sessions are built into the app and work without a connection. Daily content downloads when your phone is online, then stays readable offline. Community, Buddy, summaries, Words for me and the subscription need a connection.
How do I get an affirmation every day?
In Selfia, pick your affirmation times: the app then sends you a phrase from your themes at the times you chose, written in the second person (“you”). The free version allows 3 active times, Selfia Pro as many as you want. Phrases from sensitive themes, such as emotional support, never show on the lock screen, so they stay private.
Price
Is Selfia free?
Yes. Selfia is free to download and use: the affirmation feed, the journal, quotes, sacred texts, daily content, guided breathing, 9 relaxation modules, 3 meditation sessions and the general daily horoscope are free, with no time limit. Selfia Pro, which is optional, unlocks the rest. There are no banner ads, only rewarded videos that you choose to watch.
How much does Selfia Pro cost?
Selfia Pro costs €29.99 a year in France, VAT included, which is €2.50 a month. Depending on the store, a monthly plan may also be offered. The exact price, in your currency, is the one Google Play shows before you buy. Selfia Pro unlocks the 13 Pro modules, every living background, journal summaries, one batch of Words for me a week and every meditation session. Details are on the Selfia Pro page.
How do I cancel Selfia Pro?
You cancel the subscription in Google Play: tap your profile, then Payments & subscriptions › Subscriptions, choose Selfia and tap “Cancel subscription”. You keep Selfia Pro until the end of the paid period, then the app goes back to free without deleting anything. Uninstalling the app does not cancel the subscription. Refunds are requested from Google Play, under its rules.
Are there ads in Selfia?
Selfia shows no banners, no ads when you open the app and none during a session. The free version only offers rewarded videos, about 30 seconds long, that you choose to watch to try a Pro item for 3 minutes or open it for 24 hours: 3 a day at most, never during a module, a ritual or a summary. With Selfia Pro, there are no ads at all.
Privacy
Where is my journal stored?
Your journal is stored on your phone and nowhere else: Selfia has no access to it. An excerpt only leaves your phone if you turn on a feature written by Selfia yourself (summaries, questions, Words for me) and agree to send it; you then see exactly what goes. Since no copy exists on a server, remember to export your journal before you change phones.
What data leaves my phone?
By default, almost nothing: Selfia works without an account. Usage statistics, publishing a phrase, Buddy, summaries and Words for me are optional and ask for your consent. The subscription goes through Google Play and a subscription management provider, and rewarded videos through Google AdMob, after you choose them. Your answer about spirituality never leaves your phone. The full list is in the privacy policy.
Does Selfia sell my data?
No. Selfia sells no data and builds no advertising profile from your journal, your moods or your affirmations. The providers involved (hosting, subscriptions, optional statistics, rewarded videos, automatic text writing) are named in the privacy policy, with what they receive and how long it is kept.
How do I delete my Selfia data?
In the app, go to Settings › Data and privacy › “Erase all my data”: everything on your phone is erased for good. Export your journal first if you want to keep it. Data kept by the server (summaries, published phrases, Buddy) is deleted from its own settings. Every step is on the delete your data page.
Content
How many affirmations does Selfia offer?
Selfia offers 17,584 affirmations, in English and French, sorted by theme: self-confidence, serenity, gratitude, courage, self-love, relationships, career, studies, parenting, sleep, emotional support and more. You pick up to five themes at a time. Some phrases are written for specific life situations and only appear if you have said that situation applies to you.
How are Selfia’s affirmations written?
Selfia’s affirmations are written to be believed: each one names a concrete situation, acknowledges what is hard, offers a choice instead of giving orders, and promises nothing about the future. Words such as “universe”, “vibration” or “manifest” are kept out. Automatic checks review the catalog at every update, and the feed is simulated for 30 reader profiles to weed out phrases that assume a situation.
Are Selfia’s quotes accurate?
Yes, that is the rule: each of the 800 quotes was found word for word in a public-domain source text (Project Gutenberg, Wikisource), with its author and work. A quote that circulates online with changed words or a made-up author is dropped. A translation is either in the public domain or written by Selfia and labeled as such. Doubt about a quote? Write to us.
Which sacred texts does Selfia offer?
If you choose to, Selfia offers 1,694 verses from the Bible, the Tanakh, the Quran and Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh and Taoist texts, alongside sayings of sages. They come from public-domain translations such as the King James Version, the JPS 1917 Tanakh and Pickthall’s Quran, and are reproduced unchanged. Your answer about spirituality stays on your phone. See sacred texts.
Where does the daily content come from?
Selfia’s daily content (History, General knowledge, Good news) is prepared automatically from open sources: Wikidata for History and General knowledge, the World Bank and NASA for good news. Each item shows its source, its license and a link to check it, and it is reviewed by a second automatic pass. “Report an error” lets you flag a wrong fact.
How is Selfia’s horoscope written?
Selfia’s daily horoscope is written by Selfia from the real positions of the planets, for all 12 signs, in English and French. A panel shows the day’s transits used to write it. It is built into the app and reads offline. Read it for fun and reflection: it does not predict anything, and should not be used to make an important decision.
Community
How does the Selfia Community work?
The Community is a library of phrases written by people who use Selfia. You can read them, keep the ones that speak to you and share them. You can also write your own phrase, 20 to 140 characters long: it is reviewed automatically, then by a person when in doubt, and shown without your name. There are no comments and no private messages, and you can report a phrase or block an author.
What is Buddy in Selfia?
Buddy links two people who know each other to exchange at most one gentle sign a day: “Thinking of you”, “I’m here”, “Thank you” or a phrase from the catalog. You invite someone with a single-use code valid for 48 hours. Each person appears under a pseudonym, with no free messages, no photos and no notifications. “Leave” ends the link right away, with no explanation needed.
Do I need to be 18 to use Selfia?
Not for the app itself, which is not meant for children under 13. However, publishing a phrase in the Community and using Buddy are reserved for people aged 18 and over, who confirm it: Selfia does not verify age, it records the statement. Reading the library stays open to everyone, and its phrases are reviewed to suit all ages.
What is “Words for me”?
“Words for me” is an optional Selfia feature: it writes a small batch of phrases for you, based on what you choose to show it, such as your answers to a few questions or the trend of your mood. Nothing is sent without your explicit consent, you see exactly what goes, and Selfia keeps no copy. One trial batch a month is free; with Selfia Pro, you get one batch a week.
Well-being
Does Selfia replace a therapist?
No. Selfia is a well-being and inspiration app, not a medical device: it does not diagnose anything, offers no treatment and does not replace a doctor or a therapist. If you are going through a hard time, talk to someone you trust or to a professional. In the US, you can call or text 988; in the UK, Samaritans answer on 116 123; elsewhere, findahelpline.com lists local numbers.
Do positive affirmations work?
The research is mixed. In 2009, two experiments with students (Wood, Perunovic and Lee, Psychological Science) found that repeating “I’m a lovable person” made participants with low self-esteem feel worse, and those with high self-esteem only slightly better. That is why Selfia writes believable phrases that acknowledge what is hard, rather than promises.
How do I use an affirmation day to day?
Pick a phrase you can believe today, even a little. Read it slowly, softly or in your head, at a set moment: when you wake up, before a hard task, in the evening. If it rings false, drop it with “Not for me” rather than forcing it. In Selfia, you can keep phrases as favorites, get them as reminders or put them in a morning or evening ritual.
What should I do if I’m really not okay?
Talk to someone now. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK, call Samaritans on 116 123; in an emergency, call your local emergency number. Elsewhere, findahelpline.com lists the numbers for your country. Selfia does not replace this help: when what you write suggests you are going through something very heavy, the app does not write phrases for you and shows you help resources instead.
Selfia is not a medical device. If you are going through a very hard time, in the US you can call or text 988; in the UK, Samaritans answer on 116 123; elsewhere, find a line on findahelpline.com.