The what, how and why of personalisation in the Sonder app
A personalised app experience helps members access the most relevant support, guidance and tools when they need them most.
What personalisation is
Personalisation is how we deliver the right care at the right time. Instead of sending every member the same content, we tailor what they see to their needs, their interests and their situation. A member who tells us sleep is a concern sees sleep content. A member who has used a safety feature sees guidance that builds on it. A member who hasn't told us much yet sees broadly useful content, and a prompt to tell us more.
The purpose is simple. Relevant, well-timed content improves satisfaction, engagement and wellbeing outcomes. Irrelevant content does the opposite. Personalisation is how we stay on the right side of that line at scale.
How Sonder personalises content and app experiences
We personalise from three kinds of information, and only these three.
- What members tell us directly. Our onboarding personalisation questionnaire captures year of birth, gender identity, topics of interest, resource preferences, caregiving status and work situation, alongside a self-rating of their ability to manage their wellbeing. Optional wellbeing assessments add to this picture. All of it is volunteered by the member.
- What members do in the app. The content they engage with, the features they use, the programmes they sign up for, and the terms they search. Behaviour tells us what is useful to them.
- Limited context the app can read, with permission. Location if the member has enabled sharing, time of day, weather and device notification settings. These signals let us make a safety alert or a piece of content timely and relevant to where a member actually is.
From these inputs we tailor a handful of things: the "Recommended for you" content carousel, the welcome journey, push notifications, email content, and series recommendations such as a sleep programme. The personalisation attributes are captured by our experience orchestration suite, and applied to content tiles, notifications and journeys.
The boundaries: what we never do
- We do not listen to conversations. There is no microphone access, no ambient listening, no capture of anything a member says or does outside the app.
- We do not access HRIS or employer records. We hold no employment records, no performance data, no manager relationships, no salary and no role detail beyond the work-situation category a member volunteers in the questionnaire.
- We do not buy or ingest third-party data. Nothing about a member comes from outside Sonder.
- We do not report individual data back to the employer. Customers receive aggregate, de-identified insights, never individual member activity.
Members stay in control throughout. The personalisation questionnaire is optional and can be skipped. Push permissions are presented at first login and can be changed anytime. Every email carries a clear unsubscribe link.
Why a notification can feel like it "knows" a member
When a message lands at exactly the right moment, it can feel uncanny. A heat-safety alert on the hottest day of summer. A resilience message the week someone is struggling. The instinct is to assume we know something we shouldn't.
We don't. What's happening is relevance working as designed. The member gave us the inputs, through the questionnaire, an assessment, or how they've used the app, and the app added context like location and weather with their permission. The result feels personal because it is personal, and it is personal because the member supplied the signal. Nothing is drawn from outside the app, and nothing is inferred about a member's private life beyond what those inputs support.
Frequently asked questions
"How does Sonder know I'm interested in this?"
Because the member told us, through the onboarding questionnaire or an assessment, or because of how they've used the app. We only personalise from what a member shares or does with us.
"Is Sonder listening to me?"
No. There is no microphone access or listening of any kind. Personalisation uses only the information a member gives us in the app.
"Does my employer see what I do in the app?"
No. Individual activity is never shared with the employer. Customers receive aggregate, de-identified insights only.
"How did Sonder know my location for that safety alert?"
Only if the member has enabled location sharing. They can turn it off anytime in their device settings.