OnMyWay is an App That May Mislead You into Believing that you can Earn “Cash” for Driving Safely
…and it does that while coaxing you into handing over your most sensitive personal information.
Is OnMyWay a scam? No. It is, however, a subtle phishing scheme, bearing some traces of a pyramid setup, teeter-tottering on the edge of false advertising.
OnMyWay’s creators have decided to act on the age-old adage according to which, under certain circumstances, people will voluntarily give you all of their personal information they would otherwise never share. OnMyWay has found a decent recipe to achieve that goal.
How does this seemingly innocuous little app go about its business? Let us take a closer look at what it does, and what its users think of it.
- OnMyWay’s “business model”
- What kind of personal information does OnMyWay grab from its users?
- How does it “pay” its users?
- Shades of a pyramid scheme.
- OnMyWay user feedback.
- The verdict.
Promises of Cash
That is how we could sum up the business model of this app. The pitch it makes is attractive to many, albeit even at first glance, it is a little too good to be true.
- The app promises to activate as soon as you start moving quicker than 10 MPH.
- OnMyWay only racks up reward currency for you (it is NOT cash), if you keep your phone locked while driving.
- The app pays you 0.05 OnMyWay Cash for every mile you drive with your phone locked.
- You can earn a further 0.02 OnMyWay Cash for every person you refer to the app.
- Passengers can also earn OnMyWay Cash.
- The app discourages going over the speed limit.
At first glance, even if what the app pays you are reward points rather than cash, its proposition seems interesting. At a closer look, however, the luster quickly fades as you realize that this deal is far from being free.
OnMyWay Collects a Bevy of Personal Information
To accurately track your movements, the app needs to be able to access your location. It goes way beyond what is technically necessary in this regard though. It grabs your email address, phone number, street address, date of birth, access to your call log, and it even requires a scan of your driving license.
If you are comfortable giving up all that information, for a handful of make-believe bucks, then the app is right for you.
More precisely, the app requires permission to access your:
- Identity.
- Accounts.
- Contacts, including reading, finding, and modifying your contacts.
- Your location, including precise and approximate location. It even accesses location provider commands.
- It reads your SMSs and sends SMSs.
- USB storage. It can read and even delete such storage.
- Camera for taking pictures and videos.
- Internet data, network connections, account creation, and password setting, Bluetooth pairing, etc.
OnMyWay voraciously consumes your battery and it takes appalling liberties with your SMSs. If someone sends you an SMS while you are driving, it fires one back, stating that you will reply later. It also takes the opportunity to shamelessly promote itself.
According to company insiders, OnMyWay does not intend to sell the information you hand it. Its advertisers may gain some degree of access to it, however. The company is ready to comply with any subpoenas it may receive. Be aware of that.
Through this app, you will not just share who you are based on your official documents, you will also let those interested follow your movements. There is not much more you could share with the world…
How Does OnMyWay Pay for your Information?
It pays you through a shady points system, the benefits of which are far less obvious than you would guess at first glance.
Again, the app does NOT give you any money or “cash”, for driving around with your phone locked. It gives you OnMyWay Cash, which may as well be called “Pet Rock Allowance”.
Currency is only as valuable as the things you can buy with it. OnMyWay cash does not fare well in this regard. You cannot transfer it to your PayPal or Venmo as the app may have you believe. You can only spend it on gift cards that you can use with certain partners of the app.
Even so, OnMyWay cash might provide some value. The problem is that these gift card deals involve little-known stores. According to user feedback, some of these partner stores are known scammers. Furthermore, most of the deals are “sold out” and as such, inaccessible. To qualify for most deals, you need to have referred an army of new users. For most people with reasonable social circles, these referral goals are simply unattainable.
Rewards that do not require referral feature unrealistic driving requirements. One of them requires you to drive 200,000 miles, more than the life expectancy of your vehicle.
OnMyWay may have calibrated the rewards to give users as little value as possible, preferably none.
Shades of a Pyramid Scheme
The more people you bring into the OnMyWay fold, the more information you will help the company collect. The app actively encourages its users to refer their contacts. In some cases, it handles the promotion without the intention of the user – as mentioned.
The app rewards users with two OnMyWay cents for every mile their referrals drive.
OnMyWay officials have pointed out that this is hardly a pyramid scheme. The referral reward system is only one layer deep. At this point, arguing such technicalities is not particularly trust-inspiring, however.
OnMyWay User Feedback
Considering everything discussed in this review, it is not surprising that most of the user feedback available online on OnMyWay is negative.
Alarmingly, most complainers decry the shortcomings of the OnMyWay Cash reward system. Not many people seem to care about the phishing aspects of the setup. The few who do, mostly belong to the “I do not want to sound paranoid but…” crowd as well.
From a privacy angle, this is a disaster. Deleting your account and uninstalling the app is the equivalent of closing the stable door after the horse has bolted. Some users have complained that the company did not delete their accounts even after they asked them to do so.
Even if every OnMyWay Cash dollar were directly transferrable to a bank account, giving up all of your personal information for some change would not make a bargain.
The Verdict
In some of the user reviews we have read, people mentioned false advertising. Some even threatened lawsuits.
OnMyWay is a skillfully set up phishing operation that skirts the law but never fully commits to breaking it.
- It gets you to give up your information voluntarily.
- It never truly says that it rewards you with cash for driving. It only mentions OnMyWay Cash.
- It makes it clear that you can only put its reward points to use through its deals.
- It lets you know what permissions it requires and you agree to grant it those permissions.
- It makes the terms of its deals clear.
- You cannot accuse it of using a pyramid scheme for promotion.
Safe driving carries rewards greater than anything you could ever express in OnMyWay Cash or other funny money. Getting home safely to see your loved ones and protecting your fellow drivers are priceless.
This is our On My Way App Review from November 5, 2019:
Texting and driving related instances are a significant issue that can result in catastrophic consequences.
The National Safety Council reports that cell phone use while driving leads to 1.6 million crashes each year, with 1 out of every 4 (25%) car accidents being caused by texting and driving.
As a result, many organizations have been founded to help combat these issues.
Similarly, this is where the OnMyWay App looks to make a contribution.
What we’ll cover in this unbiased review:
- What is the OnMyWay App?
- How does the OnMyWay App Work?
- How does the App work while Driving?
- OnMyWay App Social Media
- Positive OnMyWay App Reviews
- Who is Behind the OnTheWay App?
- Negative OnMyWay App Reviews
- Is OnMyWay App Trustworthy?
- OnMyWay App Scam Review (Recap)
What is the OnMyWay App?
The OnMyWay App is a free mobile application that claims to allow drivers the ability to earn money by driving without texting or using your phone.
The app is said to activate immediately upon driving while the requirement on your behalf would be to keep your phone locked to earn rewards.
We’ll be upfront with you, the concept behind the OnMyWay App is hopeful and inspiring but the ability to capitalize on the concept is difficult, as member reviews will suggest (but more on that later).
How does the OnMyWay App Work?
Members are said too, “get paid $0.05 OnMyWay Cash for every mile you drive and don’t text.”
Emphasis on OnMyWay Cash – not US Dollar/cash.
Passengers of yours who happen to be OnMyWay users will also receive compensation.
After becoming an OnMyWay User those who have registered will receive $10 OnMyWay Cash.
OnMyWay Cash can be used to buy Marathon deals and instant offers.
$2 OnMyWay Cash bonus for every friend you get to sign up.
Earn $0.02 OnMyWay Cash for every mile driven without texting and driving.
Earnings be also be deposited via direct deposit.
How the OnMyWay App Works While Driving
The OnMyWay App automatically actives when users are driving over 10 MPH, text message and app alerts are said to be disabled.
(Phone calls can still be made if the phone is connected to in-car Bluetooth).
Applications such as Google Maps, Apple Maps, Pandora and Spotify will work if activated prior to driving or while stopped.
How is this all done?
Allegedly the OnMyWay App uses your phone’s built in functionality, so it will not drain your battery.
Whatever that means..
A shoot in the dark would have us believe that OnMyWap App gains significant access to your cellphones operating system (since it can detect when and where you’re located, how fast you are going, who the phone is registered under, a members IP address, whether your phone screen is locked or unlocked along with have entanglements with other mobile applications).
OnMyWay App Social
Positive OnMyWay App Reviews
Positive reviews regarding the OnTheWay App have mostly been confined to the App Store.
Out of over 6,600 ratings, the OnTheWay App reflected a 3.9 out of 5 star rating.
Shared below are 3 of the most relevant reviews we found:
Charisam – “It’s not a bad app really, I may have still gotten it even if I had understood what it actually is. My problem is the same as above, false advertising. The catch line is get paid to drive safe … but the only way to ‘get paid’ right now is one huge marathon deal (where $10,000 translates to $1000 —. Why not just call it $1000 to start? That would look more genuine. Even if drivers only make pennies a day with the ratio change.) or referring 250+ people. I would rather see a catch line of ‘get rewards to drive safe’ and a more honest explanation of how to Maybe turn it into cash. Truth is, getting $10,000 of safe driving dollars would take a very long time or is unrealistic for most people. WHICH! Many people would probably be interested in…Obviously you know how unlikely it is for folks, because you can’t afford to throw free money to all drivers, but I feel like I have not received the app that was advertised. Consumers don’t like being fooled, please change the advertising to build up a more honest product.”
Martinkm87 – “This app has such great potential. It has such a good concept that people want to sign up. Until they get to the screen that shows you have to make a purchase with one the retailers the app ‘suggests’ to use the money you earn. I am already over $25 within the 4 or 5 days I used it. I would love to be able to cash that money out. When you require someone to spend their own money and hope to be reimbursed, it just seems shady and scam like. The users are not earning anything at all and this app is just harvesting all kinds of information. I also did not like that the app required people to scan their IDs. What do you need that for? Nothing. I have signed up for other driving apps that never once requested that information. As for the customer service, it pretty much nonexistent. I emailed with an issue and got a reply that had nothing to do with what I emailed. I emailed again and was told the app updated so I needed to update. Which I did and my issue was not fixed so I emailed yet again. To get the same exact copy and paste reply of the last email. The issue I had – the app not registering my referrals! I had 2 people sign up and because the app was buggy, they had to close out and go back in, which did not link to me. I am not going to refer people to apps and then not receive the rewards I’m told I will receive because the APP is buggy. I’m over it and about to delete this app. And tell my friends to do the same.”
danni_ree21 – “I downloaded this app and like every other person here was misled into thinking you could cash out to your account or pay pal etc. The majority of the people who downloaded this I’m sure only did so because like everyone in this economy we are hurting for money. who would want to earn a little bit of cash back for driving safe? The incentive for this app is good, to encourage people not to text and drive but is the only thing you reward them with is percentages off certain advertised things. It’s not worth it, you can find any of these deals on coupon sites and the marathon deals are only by referrals and as you get higher referrals, certain mileage and purchases. I also don’t understand why you need to scan your license, if you need a DOB and address you could have just put it where you register for a new account. I’ve forgotten about this app the last couple since I’ve realized that you get nothing from it other than the possibility of money only if you get 250+ referrals. May be deleting soon and definitely not recommending this to anyone unless you can make it so your able to cash out the money you earned even if it’s only at a certain amount or even if you charge a percentage to cash it out (like 8% to a dollar). If this was an option this app would definitely have more users and referrals”
Additional reviews may be found at Reddit.com.
Who is Behind the OnMyWay App?
We were unable to find an About Us, mission statement or any identifying information regarding who may be behind OnMyWay App on the sites homepage.
It wasn’t until we visited the site’s Terms of Use that we came across:
OMW Mobile Security, Inc. (“OnMyWay,” “we,” “us,” “our”) provides its services (described below) to you through its websites located at onmyway.com
Found disclosed on the Support page of OnMyWay.com would be OMW Mobile Security, Inc. in big, bolded letters along with the support email address support@onmyway.com.
OMW Mobile Security, Inc. did not have a Better Business Bureau profile registered during the time of our investigation.
OnMyWay App Complaints
OnMyWay App reflects a heavy pool of complaints at AppGroves.
Out of 12,000 reviews, 74% of reviews are negative.
That is nearly 9,000 negative reviews!
Shared below are 5 of the most recent complaints we found:
“Another disappointment!! The deals will not activate!! I can tell they are trying to make improvements but come on!! Says, to earn towards deal, click “get deal” to activate and every time something pops ups saying Im not qualified!! Andddd, you put in a request through their site to customer support and you get the same generic email back every single time. So annoying!! The advertising is definitely misleading. Like every other person has commented , you do NOT get cash back for not texting while driving. I love that someone wants to give out incentives to help encourage people to stop texting and driving. I can get behind that idea! It has absolutely helped me to be more mindful of not touching my phone while driving so kudos for that! BUT the actual incentives are bogus and crap. To put it nicely. The offers are absurd and unreachable and the deals are basically percentages off, which you can pretty much find a coupon for anywheres. If it was more like Ibotta or DOSH apps (people download those apps) they actually pay out CASH, this app would be AMAZING! It’s just not. So, if you’re looking for cash back, keep moving. This app is not for you. But, if you’re looking for accountability while driving, to become less distracted, this app is okay. I’m going to continue to use it in hopes that they change things and start to offer REAL incentives like gift cards or cash back!!”
“They mislead you into believing that you will get the cash you earn, they even have you add your PayPal or Venmo whichever you choose to the app for “payouts” but it’s made clear based off of comments and responses and personal experience from this app that is completely untrue. I’m completely displeased to say the LEAST. I’m a single mom and struggle to make ends meet so when I heard about this app I was very excited to know that I could earn cash to drive safely and maybe have a couple extra bucks to buy things my kids or myself might need. Well after believing these lies for almost 2 weeks I looked into it, there’s videos plastered everywhere stating that they only cash out every two weeks so I waited, and waited some more and here I am 3 weeks in still waiting and pretty irritated to find out that they falsely advertised their app to make more people use it, only what they don’t realize is people aren’t going to use it for much longer once they find out that it’s all a SCAM. I want the almost $80 I earned! Is this even LEGAL?! waste of time I say. I would have cashed out for a gas card or a Walmart card but you never can because their always “sold out” which is complete Bull****. Whoever made this app had good ideas but horrible intentions. Don’t start an app and claim you’re gonna pay people when that is NOT what you plan to do. Trash.”
“I downloaded this app with the false hope that they actually pay out for the “cash earned” in the app. They make it some what difficult to understand right away which can be very misleading. The only way you can actually earn money is ALMOST unobtainable. You can only earn actual money by referring 250+ people to the app (who the heck knows 250 or more people that they can convince to sign up for an app?), personal miles you drive (referral earnings do not count for this from what I’ve read) and spending money on their in app shopping (spend money to make money?). There is no such thing as customer service. I emailed multiple times asking questions and received nothing but a non informative automated response that answered absolutely none of the concerns I asked about. I feel like they make the information hard to understand and they incentivize people with “earnings” that don’t actually mean anything in order to get traffic through their app to maintain funding. I feel like the idea of trying to get people to drive safely and off of their phones is a great idea, but these are pretty close to impossible tasks to actually get the rewards they say are easy to get. Chock that up as a waste of time.”
“If I could give zero stars I would… The idea of this app is awesome get paid for driving safe. However all I’ve seen is a bait and switch, I researched how the app worked thinking this was too good to be true and before Oct 6th I would have believed the app to be great. But after reading the terms of use before Oct 6th and after I saw a crucial change. The cash that earned by driving and through referrals is now useless and means nothing unless I get some ungodly amount of referrals or miles. Yes they updated the app and added the gift cards but they have shown sold out every day since the update and if I click the get deal icon the pop up says I’m not even qualified even though I have earned over $100 on my own not to mention the referrals. Despite the count of redeemed deals at 190+ I still have no way to actually receive something from my driving considering there is now way to tell when the gift card deals get restocked if ever. All in all I was on board with this app at the beginning and was successful in getting referrals however considering the change making my efforts useless I have started to recommend to everyone I know to not get the app or waste their time with it.”
“No one is actually saying they expect “large amounts of cash” even though that would be great, we only want the money we’ve earned as the app suggests when you are referred and download it. I see that recently there are small gift cards that can be purchased with $25, $50, $100 that don’t have referral expectations, but they were sold out as soon as they became available because everyone is trying to get something for what you promised people, in a realistic timeframe and because you don’t let people cash it out. If you can get a $25 “gift card” send straight to your bank, what’s the difference if you just allow everyone to be able to cash out at $25? Why the hassle of purchasing a gift card? My friends thought I was an idiot for referring them due to the horrible comments and even worse response to them. And I thought I could help other people and myself. No need to respond, because I expect to be treated as a person by a person, some a generic “you can receive large sums of marathon money if you find 10,000 people to refer” it would be a lifetime marathon for me to reach ANY of the marathon goals!”
These complaints were pulled from AppGroves in their entirety.
More negative reviews can be found at the Google PlayStore.
Is OnMyWay App Trustworthy?
If you were to conclusively weigh the volume and severity of negative user reviews compared to positive member experiences we believe the answer speaks for itself.
Out of over 12,000 reviews at AppGroves only 26% of submitted reviews were “positive.”
At the App Store for iOS devices, OnMyWay: Drive Safe, Get Paid reflects a 3.9 out of 5.0 star rating out of roughly 6.6k ratings.
While the reviews, as a whole, taken from the App Store does not appear bad overall, the ratings at the Google PlayStore reflect a different story (1.8/5.0 Stars out of 3,362 reviews).
Cumulatively there is roughly 10,000 more negative reviews regarding OnMyWay App than there are positive reviews (pulled from these 3 sources).
OnMyWay App Scam Review (Recap)
The concept behind the OnTheWay App is remarkable but is it working?
Users reviews, when taken as a whole, do not make us believe so.
However, that does not mean that you still cannot earn money by using their free mobile application.
Before signing up with the OnTheWay App we suggest that you visit the consumer review portals embedded in our review above and evaluate recently submitted member reviews.
Do you have an OnTheWay App experience to share?
We ask that you share any feedback, negative or positive, with us in a comment below!
Hi
I am the legal representative of cbdamericanshaman.com. I have tried to contact you via your official company email, but have not had a reply thus far.
I am contacting you because it has come to our attention that you are misusing our trademark on your website (scamfinance.com) for commercial benefit.
I request that you immediately remove all our images, name and any content that belongs to us from scamfinance.com.
Failure to comply with this request within 7 days will result in us bringing a legal matter against your company for damages.
Please could you advise us of your registered company address to which we should serve our claim form.
I look forward to your response and timely compliance.
Yours faithfully
Carmon Cate
Dear Carmon Cate. Sure, please let us know which content is infringing and we’ll remove it ASAP. Thanks.
Did I read this correctly? Using this “free” app requires sending them a pic of your driver’s license?