N8 State

[[File:Photon water.png|thumb|right|165px|Plain old water that claims to reduce "[[water woo|oxidative stress]]"!<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20220119015257/https://n8state.com/products/photon-water/ Photon Water], n8state.com.</ref>]]{{pseudosciencenav}}
'''N8 State''' (pronounced as '''innate state'''?) is a [[science woo]] [[scam]] in the form of a mobile app for Android platforms that claims to protect the user's [[DNA]] from [[Electromagnetism|electromagnetic radiation]]. The brand also includes traditional science woo scam products such as body patches and [[Water woo|"specially treated" bottled water]].

According to the page, "N8 doesn't stop bad EMF, but works at the [[Quantum woo|subatomic level]] with the [[photon]] to protect the EMF field around every cell in your body to keep & progress cellular structure coherently." It also further claims that "N8 works by [[Bullshit|re-ordering photons]] within its range, returning [[Subtle energy|surrounding energy fields to their natural frequencies]]."

==Quackery==
[[File:Jimmy Houston.png|thumb|180px|left|Jimmy Houston representing his hood by flashing gang signs.]]
While certain types of electromagnetic radiation can indeed harm DNA, the ones people are regularly exposed to are of the {{wpl|Non-ionizing radiation|non-ionizing}} type, including hair dryers, microwave ovens, televisions, and [[WiFi]]. And while newer phones do have lower Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) ratings, an app alone cannot alter the amount of EMF radiation produced by the device.

As it appears, this is the latter-day digital equivalent of LED flashing stickers<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVmLyladBy8 How self-powered flashing phone stickers worked (with schematic)]</ref> sold in the late 1990s to early 2000s and used on {{wpl|Nokia}} feature phones like the {{wpl|Nokia 3310|3310|,}} which claim to offer protection against [[cell phone radiation]], something that has experienced a resurgence with the emergence of [[5G]] cellular technologies that the [[conspiracy theory|conspiracist]] community has (unsurprisingly) scapegoated to be the cause of [[disease]]s, including but not limited to [[COVID-19]]. Unfortunately, despite the fact that [[Google]] has cracked down on conspiracist apps on the Play Store (most notably [[InfoWars]]), N8 State hasn't been taken down for similar reasons; it was delisted for a while in 2021 only for it to resurface not long after.

The [[quackery]] isn't just limited to the Android app itself, as the N8 State company has also (apparently) sold similarly scummy products on their website, such as "photon patches" and "[[Photonic water|photon water]]" (also [[Appeal to celebrity|endorsed by celebrity]] outdoorsman and TV personality {{wpl|Jimmy Houston}} for some reason), all of them playing on the [[pseudoscience|pseudoscientific]] misconception about photons.<ref>[https://www.chem1.com/CQ/gallery.html Gallery of water-related pseudoscience]</ref>

Somehow, it also got the attention of the American news magazine programme {{wpl|NewsWatch (American TV program)|''NewsWatch''|,}} who reviewed the app on their "AppWatch" segment.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20170228080527/http://www.consumerelectronicsnet.com/article/NewsWatch-Recently-Featured-the-N8-State-Mobile-Application-on-National-Television-2924796 NewsWatch Recently Featured the N8 State Mobile Application on National Television]</ref> Whether N8 State {{wpl|Bribe|paid off journalists}} or not is everyone's guess.

===Investigation===
A blogger took to investigating the app and its stated claims by downloading an .APK package and performing a thorough decompilation of its code.<ref>[https://huckleberrypie57.blogspot.com/2020/12/snakeoilapk-aka-n8-state-app-and-why.html SnakeOil.apk, aka the N8 State app and why Google needs to screen their apps more]</ref> In a nutshell, the app is nothing more than a news feed app catered to [[alternative medicine]] if not outright quackery, if the <tt>com.n8zone.pushnotifications2</tt> reverse DNS identifier isn't any indication. What the "Protection" button actually does is merely spawn an invisible PNG overlay over the device's screen, and give out a notification that the user is being "protected" from radiation; none of the "photon re-ordering" [[Bullshit|malarkey]] could be found in the code at all. Not to mention that due to N8 State's use of the now-deprecated overlay API, a side effect of using the app is that running it on newer versions of Android may render the touch screen [[Pwned|inoperable]] unless you kill the app or restart the device. A Virus Total scan of the APK links the app back to Mobiversal, a [[Romania]]-based app developer with several legitimate projects under its belt. Further investigation traces the app to a certain Christopher Sterling, who was listed in a press release and trademark applications for N8 State [[bottled water]] and the app itself.<ref>[https://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/13/09/p3884767/new-mobile-app-protects-users-from-low-grade-electromagnetic-radiation- New Mobile App Protects Users from Low-Grade Electromagnetic Radiation; N8 App Now Available for 99 Cents]. PRWeb via Benzinga, 4 September 2013.</ref><ref>[https://trademarks.justia.com/880/82/n8-88082799.html N8 State - Trademark Details, serial number 88082799], justia.com.</ref><ref>[https://trademarks.justia.com/861/50/n8-86150823.html N8 State - Trademark Details, serial number 86150823], justia.com.</ref>

Also, a cursory Google search reveals that none of N8 State's other products have seen a retail release at all, despite the "photon water" drink having been endorsed by Jimmy Houston, making it seem like as though the whole operation is little more than a [[Ponzi scheme]]. One of the recent comments on Houston's video apparently reveals that he simply forgot who or what was he endorsing and was merely duped into shilling for a (non-existent) product; a [[YouTube]] user asked about the name of the water bottle Jimmy held, only for Houston himself to state that he "can’t remember".<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8veDCx_u7vY&t=819s 131 Pound Fish! WHAT A CATCH !]</ref>

===The final nail in the coffin?===
In 2022, Google announced that they will be further cracking down on apps that peddle health-related misinformation such as [[anti-vaccination]] and conspiracist media, among other changes to their Play Store guidelines,<ref>Conway, Adam. [https://www.xda-developers.com/google-play-store-policy-changes-july-2022/ Google announces Play Store policy changes to counter misinformation, limit ads, and tighten security]. XDA Developers. Retrieved 28 July 2022.</ref> The N8 State app was still available on Google Play and the Amazon App Store for a time until it got delisted for unknown reasons, thankfully enough. Their online store selling anti-radiation and photon patches does appear to be still operational, though.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
N8 State service active.png||But it works, right?
N8 State overlay notification.png|What the app actually does, as shown on a phone running off Android 12. <ref group="note">Specifically, it displays a dummy PNG image and overlays it over the screen, likely so that a persistent service could nominally operate while the phone is turned on and thus give the user a false sense of assurance</ref>
File:N8 State responds to criticism.png|They clearly enjoy using as much [[technobabble]] as possible.
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[PhoneShield]], a product with similar claims
*[[Power Balance]]

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20131108041847/http://n8state.com/ Official website]
*The company's social media channels on [https://twitter.com/N8StateOffical Twitter], [https://www.facebook.com/N8StateOfficial Facebook], [https://www.tiktok.com/@n8stateofficial TikTok] and [https://www.instagram.com/n8stateofficial Instagram]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20131116235039/https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.n8zone.pushnotifications2 Google Play Store listing]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

[[Category:Deceit]]
[[Category:Computing woo]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience]]
[[Category:Quantum woo]]
[[Category:Radiophobia]]
[[Category:Scams]]
[[Category:Shysters]]
[[Category:Water woo]]

Categories: Deceit, Computing woo, Pseudoscience, Quantum woo, Radiophobia, Scams, Shysters, Water woo