Smart App Community Review – Safe or Scam? (Full Details)

Smartapp.io claims you can join and influence the next generation of your favorite websites, apps, and technology.

First, I want to make it clear that it used to be called Smart Panel but changed its name in December 2019 – but it is still the same more or less.

So is Smart App Community legit and safe to join, or is it a scam?

And how does it even work?

This Smart App Community review will give you all the details so you will easily be able to see exactly what it offers and if it will be worth it for you or not.

So let's get started.

Important update – Smart App has closed

As of the end of May 2021, Smart App suddenly announced it had closed down.

Unfortunately, this happened without any warning, so if you had money in your account there, you can no longer get it out. It is very unusual to see a platform close down like this without warning, and they did not give any explanation.

But you can no longer use Smart App, and if you have it installed, you should make sure to uninstall it ASAP.

You can still read the original review I wrote below if you want to see what it used to offer, but if you want to earn some extra money online, you need to use other methods instead.

You can instead check out better passive ways to earn here.

What is Smart App Community, and what does the site offer?

Smart Panel was founded in 2014, so it is a fairly new panel compared to many other panels. It is owned by Verto Analytics. But as mentioned already, it rebranded itself and took a new name in December 2019 – the official name is now Smart App Community.

However, you might still hear the name Smart Panel mentioned in some places, but it is the same panel – just with a new name now.

With more and more people using online media, it was created to get a fuller picture of how we all use the internet to use this info to help improve services and products.

As a member, you have a few ways to participate and earn.

So let's go over each of them below so you can see exactly what you can do as a member and how good each option it offers is.

I have created a video that explains all this. You can also read all the details below the video. Just be aware that in the video I still call it Smart Panel – but whatever else is explained is still the same:

Option 1 – Send passive data about your internet usage

This first option is the main way to use Smart App Community. And it is an option that is required if you want to be a member.

You have to download and install the Smart App on your device. You can use more devices if you want to and you can do it on Desktop/laptop, tablet, or mobile.

When you have the software installed, you will anonymously share data about your internet usage. All data collected is encrypted, secured, and protected.

Your data will be combined with the data of all the other members and will then be used for apps, websites, and tech companies to discover how people use their internet devices and to shape the way technology changes in the future.

The great thing about this option is that you actually do not have to do anything after installing it. You just have to make sure it is connected and sending data.

So it is one of the easiest ways to get paid to give feedback.

Option 2 – Take surveys

As a way to get more information about how we use the internet, Smart App Community sometimes sends out surveys as well.

You will earn extra rewards for participating in these. You can earn up to $10 per surveyyou complete plus get entries into extra survey giveaways

It will not be a big amount of surveys you will get, but only once in a while. But if you are a member, it can be worth taking the surveys you get to earn a bit extra.

But if you prefer sites that give you access to paid surveys every day, then you should join other sites instead.

Also, if you are using other survey sites already, you need to be aware that Smart App can potentially interfere with this – I will explain more about this a little later.

Option 3 – Participate in free prize draws

As long as you have at least one device connected to Smart App Community, you will participate in the monthly cash prize draw.

There will be a draw that selects random winners.

According to the official rules on the website, there will be three winners of $100 each month, which is a pretty nice prize, in my opinion.

However, I also saw a video where they announced the winners, and here it looks like they are also at times giving out even higher rewards even though this is not mentioned in the official rules on their website.

You will be told if you are one of the lucky winners but it will also be announced on their social media channels.

Option 4 – Loyalty bonus

If you get accepted as a panel member of Smart App Community, you will get $5 right away after downloading the software. But they also have a loyalty bonus, where you will get a bonus the longer you are a member.

After having been a member for 3 months, you will get a $5 bonus. After 6 months you will get $10 and you will get this bonus every 3 months after that.

So a nice little extra bonus you get once in a while just for being a member and one of the better bonuses I have seen from a survey panel.

How do you get paid?

As a member of Smart App Community, you will earn by just having the app downloaded and connected.

For every 30 days, you stay connected, you will earn $5. And you will also be able to earn extra rewards at times for additional surveys.

You can then get these earnings out either through PayPal or as Amazon gift cards.

Just be aware that you have to be a member for at least 30 days before you can cash out the first time. I think that is fair enough so people do not just join and cashout the joining bonus but never participate.

But overall, some nice payout options and fair payout conditions Smart Panel offers.

It is not the fastest site to earn on because you have to be a member for a while to get your cash out, but if you are patient enough to just let it run in the background it is a way to earn real rewards.

And you can earn completely passively by giving feedback – so in that sense it is similar to Nielsen Computer & Moblibe Panel. But Smart App Community just gives a bit better bonuses.

How much money can you make?

In one sense, Smart App Community is a way to earn some passive income. But passive income has also become such a hyped term that you need to be aware of what exactly this means in each case.

In this case, it means you do not necessarily have to do much. But that also means you will not earn much. You will earn $5 per month + the loyalty bonuses. And if you are lucky maybe you will win a prize at some point.

So if you calculate the monthly earnings + the loyalty bonus, it means you will be able to earn around $100 per year.

You would then maybe once in a while also be able to earn a bit extra by taking surveys. So overall, it is not life-changing income, but it can be a nice way to get a bit extra without much effort.

But if you want to join sites where you can find more options you can actively participate in and earn rewards daily, then you should instead check out the best survey sites in your country here.

No matter what, if you are eligible to join Smart App Community, it can definitely be a great addition to other survey sites as you do not have to do much.

Does the Smart App VPN interfere with other sites?

There is one thing I just want to make you aware of if you are already a member of other survey or Get-Paid-To (GPT sites) or planning to be.

As a part of the security in Smart App (which is, of course, great they have) there will be installed a VPN on your device when you install the app. This can be a great way to ensure security. But if you are using other survey or GPT sites this can be a problem.

The reason for this is that most survey sites do not allow the use of VPN. This is because a VPN can also be used to hide which country you are from and therefore potentially cheat the sites. So even though this is not your intention, survey and GPT sites might detect you have a VPN on your device and you can risk getting banned from sites because of this.

I have asked Smart App about this to make completely sure what they say about it as well.

Above you can see the answer I got from Smart App's support and it is clear that it you have to be careful and this is very important to know before installing Smart App.

I know survey and GPT sites are very strict when it comes to the use of VPN's because so many people are trying to cheat. Therefore, if you are planning to install Smart App and also use other survey and GPT sites, I would definitely suggest NOT to do it on the same device.

If you install Smart App on one device and then make sure not to use that device on other survey and GPT sites you can get around this and still use both. But it can be risky to use both on the same device.

This is definitely something you need to be aware of and plan around.

Who can join Smart App Community?

Membership of Smart App Community is quite restricted. From what I have been able to find out, it is first of all, only available if you live in the USA.

Furthermore, you cannot just join. You have to take a short 5 minutes application survey.

After this, your application will be reviewed. As they mention themselves:

“All Smart Panelists are specifically chosen to represent and help us better understand how a larger section of internet users use technology”.

So you might not be able to join as you most of the time need a special invitation.

You should, however, not worry too much if there is one single panel you can not join, in general.

Especially not if you live in the US where there are so many great alternatives. You can just check out this list with the best survey sites in the US and find many more options.

So do not be upset even if you cannot join Smart Panel – There are many other great alternatives.

However, here on PaidFromSurveys.com, I regularly get invitations to Smart App Community which means you will be able to join if you do it through my invitation link. They are not always available, but quite often they are.

You just click the joining button at the end of this article and can then sign up. If there are not any available, just come back a couple of weeks later as I will probably have some again then. So if you want to join, using an invitation link is the best way.

Can you get support?

How good support you get tells a lot about a company. From what I have seen when it comes to Smart Panel, it has a quite responsive support.

If you, for example, look at their Facebook page, they answer every single comment a user is leaving there. And if people are asking questions, they respond quickly.

Responsive support like this is a very good sign and underlines the legitimacy of the site and you know that you can expect help if you should need it as a member.

Also, for more basic questions, Smart App Community has a great FAQ section that you can start by checking if you need any help.

I have been in contact with their support a few times myself and have always received helpful answers. However, they are not always the fastests and sometimes you might have to remind them about a message you send.

But overall they provide great support, and the support staff is very friendly, in my experience.

Final verdict

Overall, Smart App Community is NOT a scam but a legit and safe panel where you can anonymously share data to help with market research and earn a bit by doing this.

But let's finish this review by summing up the pros and cons to give you a better overview before deciding if it is for you or not.

Pros:

• Free to join
• You can earn passively
• Great rewards in the prize draw
• High rewards for their surveys

Cons:

• Limited earning opportunities
• Only accepts members through invitation
• The VPN might get your account banned on other survey sites

Smart App Community can be a decent panel to join if you do not mind sharing data about your internet usage anonymously. You will then be able to earn a bit extra by doing nothing else.

You just have to be aware of the limited earning opportunities so only join it as an extra option and do not expect too much in terms of income. Also, be aware that you might not get accepted as a member – you can only join through an invitation.

Overall, there are, however, just better apps to earn passively, and I would encourage you to use some of those methods instead.

If you have any comments, questions, or have any experiences with Smart App Community yourself, I would love to hear from you in a comment below.