Join smartphone users across the world and help fight coronavirus while you sleep
Introducing DreamLab - an award-winning app from Vodafone Foundation that enables thousands of people to help speed up vital health research while they sleep. DreamLab was developed in 2015 to support cancer research projects, and has already supported four world-first discoveries in cancer research, including anti-cancer properties in existing foods and drugs.
Now that collective processing power is also being used to help combat the coronavirus (COVID-19).
Charge
Download the DreamLab app, choose a project to support, and each time your phone is plugged in, charged, and connected to the internet, you’ll be helping speed up vital scientific research. (iOS users will need to press Power DreamLab).
Sleep
Charge your phone overnight and, while you sleep, DreamLab taps into its unused processing power to support vital health research.
Fight coronavirus
Alongside thousands of other DreamLab users, you’ll be using your phone to power a virtual supercomputer, capable of processing billions of calculations – and helping research into better ways to fight coronavirus.
How DreamLab is helping speed up vital health research…
Every time you use the DreamLab app, you’ll be supporting vital scientific health studies. The Corona-AI research project involves analysing billions of combinations of existing drugs and food molecules to identify how they can be adjusted to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of treatment for coronavirus. Learn more about the Corona-AI research project here.
The app has already supported four world-first discoveries in cancer research.
And the mobile data is on us …
If you’re a Vodafone customer, and using your phone while connected to our mobile network, we won’t charge you for the data to power DreamLab. The app can also be used across other networks, with users choosing how much data they wish to donate, or connecting via Wi-Fi. None of your personal data will be downloaded or processed from your device.
So you can sleep easy, knowing you’re helping to fight coronavirus, and it won’t cost you a thing. See our FAQs and Terms and Conditions for full details.
Frequently asked questions:
Android Users
How does it work?
Your smartphone is a small but powerful computer. When it's idle – like when you're asleep at night – that power goes untapped. DreamLab puts that power to good use to fast-track cancer research. When you power DreamLab, your phone will receive tiny problems to process and solve, and send the results back to the research team.
How do I start using DreamLab?
DreamLab will automatically start when your phone is plugged in and is at least 80% charged. You can also choose to press ‘Power DreamLab’ at any time.
How do I stop using DreamLab?
To stop using DreamLab, simply unplug your phone or press ‘End Session’ on the DreamLab app. To stop using DreamLab permanently, uninstall the app.
Will it access private information on my phone?
No. DreamLab does not access private information on your phone.
The app requests access to photos and media folders in order to store tiny research problems while they’re being processed and solved by your phone. However, DreamLab will only access the files it’s created in the file directories and won’t access any of your private information or photos. You can read the DreamLab privacy policy in the app settings.
Will it drain my battery?
DreamLab will work automatically when your phone is plugged in and has at least 80% charge. If you choose to use DreamLab when your phone isn’t on charge, then, like any application, it will utilise battery power.
Will DreamLab use data from my mobile plan, or Wi-Fi?
DreamLab needs data to download the research problems from the cloud, and send the results back.
If your phone detects that Wi-Fi is available, then DreamLab will work over Wi-Fi. DreamLab is automatically set to use unlimited Wi-Fi data, but you can change this any time in the app Settings.
If Wi-Fi isn’t available, then DreamLab will work over your mobile network. You can set a monthly data contribution limit (50MB, 250MB or 500MB), and it’ll only continue using data until it reaches that amount. If you don’t want DreamLab to use any mobile data, you can turn mobile data off in the app Settings.
Vodafone customers won’t be charged for any mobile data used by DreamLab in the UK or in our Roam-free destinations [PDF: 668KB] For roaming outside the UK and the Roam-free destinations you’ll be charged our standard data roaming charges for the country you’re visiting.
Vodafone Pay as you go customers must have credit on their account for DreamLab to work over our network (though it’ll still work over Wi-Fi).
If you aren’t a Vodafone UK customer, you’ll be charged according to your mobile price plan for the data you contribute.
Please note: Vodafone Enterprise customers using a non-Vodafone APN setting (for example, using their organisation’s APN setting or VPN) will be charged according to their mobile price plan.
Please note: DreamLab works on a calendar month, which might not be in sync with your billing cycle. You can see when your DreamLab monthly cycle will restart in the app settings. DreamLab will pause when you reach the monthly data limit that you’ve chosen. At this point, you’ll be given the choice to increase your data contribution or enable Wi-Fi. If you do nothing, DreamLab will simply resume again at the start of the next calendar month.
How do I only use DreamLab over Wi-Fi?
Go to the DreamLab app settings, and set mobile data to 0MB.
How much data will DreamLab use?
It’s up to you. On your mobile network, you can choose to give up to 50MB, 250MB or 500MB a month. For Wi-Fi, you can choose to give up to 500MB, 1GB or unlimited data each month. You can change how much data you contribute at any time in the DreamLab app settings.
As a guide, 50MB is about the same as uploading 25 photos to social media a month. 500MB is approximately equivalent to streaming a video for 1.5 hours a month. 1GB is similar to streaming a video for 3 hours a month. You can see how much data DreamLab has used and when your month restarts in the app settings.
I’m travelling abroad. What should I do with DreamLab?
If you use DreamLab when roaming, you won’t be charged for any mobile data used by DreamLab in our Roam-free destinations [PDF: 668KB] For roaming outside the UK and the Roam-free destinations you’ll be charged our standard data roaming charges for the country you’re visiting. In the app Settings, DreamLab is set to ‘off’ by default when roaming on a mobile network.
Please note: if you have Wi-Fi set to ‘on’ in the app settings, DreamLab will continue to work on Wi-Fi when abroad. To prevent this, you can turn Wi-Fi off in the app Settings.
How does DreamLab help fast-track cancer research?
One thing slowing cancer research is the limited access researchers have to supercomputers to crunch their complex data. DreamLab gives researchers access to a dedicated virtual supercomputer to accelerate research into cancers including breast, pancreatic, ovarian, prostate, lung, brain, sarcoma and melanoma. To find out about the projects that DreamLab currently supports, visit the Project Tab in the app.
How much will it cost me to use DreamLab?
For Vodafone customers, the mobile data to use DreamLab is free in the UK and in our Roam-free destinations [PDF: 668KB] For roaming outside the UK and the Roam-free destinations, you'll be charged our standard data roaming charges for the country you're visiting.
Vodafone Pay as you go customers must have credit on their account for DreamLab to work over our network (though it’ll still work over Wi-Fi).
If you’re also contributing to DreamLab over Wi-Fi, you may be charged depending on your home broadband package and usage. If you have Vodafone Home Broadband your data is unlimited, so you don’t need to worry.
If you’re not with Vodafone, you’ll be charged for the data you contribute each month according to the plan you have with your mobile phone or home broadband provider. Just be mindful, DreamLab works on a calendar month, which might not be in sync with your billing cycle. You can see when your DreamLab month will restart in the app Settings.
Please note: Vodafone Enterprise customers using a non-Vodafone APN setting (for example, using their organisation’s APN setting or VPN) will be charged according to their mobile price plan.
I’m with Vodafone. How do I know I’m not being charged for the mobile data DreamLab uses?
For Vodafone UK customers, the mobile data to use DreamLab is free in the UK or in our Roam-free destinations [PDF: 668KB] It won’t even appear on your bill. The data used to solve research problems is sent to a dedicated server that we tag with a unique rating group to ensure that customers are not charged for this data usage. It won’t count towards your monthly data allowance.
Vodafone Pay as you go customers must have credit on their account for DreamLab to work over our network (though it’ll still work over Wi-Fi).
For roaming outside the UK and the Roam-free destinations you’ll be charged our standard data roaming charges for the country you’re visiting. If you’ve chosen to also donate processing power over Wi-Fi with a usage limit, you’ll be charged according to that usage. If you have Vodafone Home Broadband, your data is unlimited so you don’t need to worry.
Please note: Vodafone Enterprise customers using a non-Vodafone APN setting (for example, using their organisation’s APN setting or VPN) will be charged according to their mobile price plan.
For more FAQs download the PDF [195KB]
iOS users
How does it work?
Your smartphone is a small but powerful computer. When it's idle – like when you're asleep at night – that power goes untapped. DreamLab puts that power to good use to fast-track cancer research. When you power DreamLab, your phone will receive tiny problems to process and solve, and send the results back to the research team.
How do I start using DreamLab?
To start DreamLab, press ‘Power DreamLab’ within the app, and place your phone down without pressing the lock or home button. If you press home, open another application, or use your phone, DreamLab will stop. You can start it again by pressing ‘Power DreamLab’. If you have auto lock set up on your phone, it will not be activated while using DreamLab.
DreamLab isn’t able to work in the background on iOS, so we recommend you set a reminder to power DreamLab each night.
Disconnect your phone from charge, or press ‘End Session’. It will also stop if you press home, open another application or use your phone. To stop using DreamLab permanently just uninstall the app.
Will it access private information on my phone?
DreamLab does not access any of your private information. DreamLab uses the processing power of your smart phone to solve research problems and allows you to remain anonymous while doing so.
You can read the DreamLab privacy policy in the app settings.
How much will it cost me to use DreamLab?
For Vodafone customers, the mobile data to use DreamLab is free in the UK or in our Roam-free destinations [PDF: 668KB]. For roaming outside the UK and the Roam-free destinations you’ll be charged our standard data roaming charges for the country you’re visiting.
Vodafone Pay as you go customers must have credit on their account for DreamLab to work over our network (though it’ll still work over Wi-Fi).
If you’re also contributing to DreamLab over Wi-Fi, you may be charged depending on your home broadband package and usage. If you have Vodafone Home Broadband your data is unlimited, so you don’t need to worry.
For everyone else, you’ll be charged for the data you contribute each month according to the plan you have with your mobile phone or home broadband provider.
Please note: DreamLab works on a calendar month, which might not be in sync with your billing cycle. You can see when your DreamLab month will restart in the app Settings.
Please note: Vodafone Enterprise customers using a non-Vodafone APN setting (for example, using their organisation’s APN setting or VPN) will be charged according to their mobile price plan.
Will it drain my battery?
Like any application, DreamLab will utilise battery power. DreamLab will only work when your device is charging, so your battery will not be drained
Will DreamLab use data from my mobile plan, or Wi-Fi?
DreamLab needs data to download the research problems from the cloud, and send the results back.
If your phone detects that Wi-Fi is available, then DreamLab will work over Wi-Fi. DreamLab is automatically set to use unlimited Wi-Fi data, but you can change this any time in the app settings if you have a limit on your monthly home broadband usage.
You can set a monthly Wi-Fi data contribution limit but you can’t turn off Wi-Fi completely. The minimum Wi-Fi limit is 250MB for iOS.
If Wi-Fi isn’t available, then DreamLab will work over your mobile network. You can set a monthly data contribution limit (50MB, 250MB or 500MB), and it’ll only continue using data until it reaches that amount. If you don’t want DreamLab to use any mobile data, you can turn mobile data off in the app settings.
Vodafone customers won’t be charged for any mobile data used by DreamLab in the UK or in our Roam-free destinations [PDF: 668KB]. For roaming outside the UK and the Roam-free destinations you’ll be charged our standard data roaming charges for the country you’re visiting.
Vodafone Pay as you go customers must have credit on their account for DreamLab to work over our network (though it’ll still work over Wi-Fi).
If you aren’t a Vodafone UK customer, you’ll be charged according to your mobile price plan for the data you contribute.
Please note: Vodafone Enterprise customers using a non-Vodafone APN setting (for example, using their organisation’s APN setting or VPN) will be charged according to their mobile price plan.
Please note: DreamLab works on a calendar month, which might not be in sync with your billing cycle. You can see when your DreamLab monthly cycle will restart in the app settings. DreamLab will pause when you reach the monthly data limit that you’ve chosen. At this point, you’ll be given the choice to increase your data contribution or enable Wi-Fi. If you do nothing, DreamLab will simply resume again at the start of the next calendar month.
How do I only use DreamLab over Wi-Fi?
Go to the DreamLab app settings, and turn mobile data to 0 MB.
How much data will DreamLab use?
It’s up to you. On your mobile network, you can choose to give up to 50MB, 250MB or 500MB a month. For Wi-Fi, you can choose to give up to 500MB, 1GB or unlimited data each month. You can change how much data you contribute at any time in the DreamLab app settings.
As a guide, 50MB is about the same as uploading 25 photos to social media a month. 500MB is approximately equivalent to streaming a video for 1.5 hours a month. 1GB is similar to streaming a video for 3 hours a month. You can see how much data DreamLab has used and when your month restarts in the app settings.
I’m travelling overseas. What should I do with DreamLab?
If you use DreamLab when roaming, you won’t be charged for any mobile data used by DreamLab in our Roam-free destinations [PDF: 668KB]. For roaming outside the UK and the Roam-free destinations you’ll be charged our standard data roaming charges for the country you’re visiting. To avoid any charges, simply don’t press ’Power DreamLab’ in DreamLab whilst roaming.
Please note: if you have Wi-Fi set to ‘on’, DreamLab will continue to work on Wi-Fi when abroad. To prevent this, simply do not press ‘Power DreamLab’ whilst roaming.
I’m with Vodafone. How do I know I’m not being charged for the mobile data DreamLab uses?
One thing slowing cancer research is the limited access researchers have to supercomputers to crunch their complex data. DreamLab gives cancer researchers access to a dedicated virtual supercomputer to accelerate research into cancers including breast, pancreatic, ovarian, prostate, lung, brain, sarcoma and melanoma. To find out about the projects that DreamLab currently supports, visit the Project Tab in the app.
How does DreamLab help fast-track cancer research?
For Vodafone UK customers, the mobile data to use DreamLab is free on our network. It won’t even appear on your bill. The data used to solve research problems is sent to a dedicated server that’s tagged by us, with a unique rating group by to ensure that customers are not charged for this data usage. It won’t count towards your monthly data allowance.
If you use DreamLab when roaming, you won’t be charged for any mobile data used by DreamLab in the UK or in our Roam-free destinations [PDF: 668KB]. For roaming outside the UK and the Roam-free destinations you’ll be charged our standard data roaming charges for the country you’re visiting.
Vodafone Pay as you go customers must have credit on their account for DreamLab to work over our network (though it’ll still work over Wi-Fi).
If you’ve chosen to also give over Wi-Fi with a usage limit, you’ll be charged according to that usage. If you have Vodafone Home Broadband, your data is unlimited so you don’t need to worry.
Please note: Vodafone Enterprise customers using a non-Vodafone APN setting (for example, using their organisation’s APN setting or VPN) will be charged according to their mobile price plan.
How do I only use DreamLab over my mobile network?
The minimum Wi-Fi limit is 250MB for iOS – you can only set it to a minimum of 250MB. The only way to ensure you’re using DreamLab over mobile network only is not to press Power DreamLab unless you’re connected to a mobile data network
For more FAQs download the PDF [253KB]
Privacy terms
Will it access private information on my phone?
DreamLab does not access private information on your phone.
On Android devices only, the app requests access to photos, media, files permission in order to store the tiny research problems whilst they are being processed and calculated by your phone. DreamLab will only access the files it has created in the files directories. DreamLab does not need access to any of your private information or photos to be able to calculate these tiny research problems.On iOS devices, DreamLab does not access any of your private information.
DreamLab uses the processing power of your smart phone to solve research problems and allows you to remain anonymous while doing so.
You can read the DreamLab privacy policy in the App Settings or please see our DreamLab Privacy notice
What personal information does DreamLab collect?
DreamLab does not access any of your private information or collect personal information.
On Android devices only, the app requests access to photos, media, files permission in order to store the tiny research problems whilst they are being processed and solved by your phone. DreamLab will only access the files it has created in the files directories. DreamLab does not need access to any of your private information or photos to be able to solve tiny research problems.
On iOS devices, DreamLab does not need access to any of your private information. DreamLab uses the processing power of your smart phone to solve research problems and allows you to remain anonymous while doing so. You can read the DreamLab privacy policy in the App Settings or please see our DreamLab Privacy notice.
You can read the DreamLab privacy policy in the app Settings.
You can read the DreamLab privacy policy in the App Settings or please see our DreamLab Privacy notice
Terms and conditions
Vodafone Foundation, UK Registered charity number 1193984.
iPhone®, iPad® are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google LLC.