Step Count

Step Count is one of the three universal metrics MoveTogether reads (alongside Exercise Minutes and Active Calories). The Step Count scoring method awards points per step taken across the competition window.

Not every connected source hands MoveTogether steps. WHOOP counts steps in its own app, but our WHOOP integration reads strain, calories and workouts instead, so no step data reaches us. Strava activities don't include step counts. For mixed-device competitions that include WHOOP or Strava users, MoveTogether recommends Workout Based or Percentage of Goals scoring instead. It also enforces this for WHOOP: a WHOOP-only account is refused at every way in to a competition scored on steps alone, whether creating it, joining a public one, or accepting an invite.

The iPhone alone is enough to participate in Step Count competitions, the M-series motion coprocessor counts steps whenever the phone is on you.

Steps are the most portable number in fitness, which makes them a good default and a poor absolute. Carrying your phone in a bag rather than a pocket costs you steps. Pushing a stroller or a shopping trolley costs you more, because your arm is not swinging. A treadmill desk can inflate them. None of that is cheating, it is just an accelerometer doing what it can. So if a competition comes down to a few hundred steps, treat it as a tie. If you want a measure that is harder to distort by accident, Workout Based scoring counts only logged sessions.