Getting your steps in could do more than just lift your mood: walking is linked to lower rates of depression and anxiety; better cardiovascular health; and improved memory. The NHS says just 10 minutes of brisk walking a day is enough to make a difference.
And alongside health benefits, your steps could also earn you rewards such as coffee and other small treats, thanks to a growing number of apps that turn your footsteps into freebies.
The government is looking at whether financial incentives could encourage more people to increase the amount they walk and improve their diet. It is now reviewing the results of an official pilot scheme in Wolverhampton where people were given fitness trackers and earned rewards such as money off their supermarket shop.
In the meantime we tested some apps that let you swap your steps for stuff.
Paace
If you are looking for immediate, tangible rewards, Paace is the most straightforward of the bunch. It will not tell you exactly how many steps equal a point, but the points you earn can be exchanged for offers such as money off your coffee, sandwiches, or even a packet of smoked salmon at independent cafes and restaurants (mostly) in London.
The app has had more than 98,000 downloads and there are now more than 200 Paace partner vendors.
The app sets a daily target of 8,000 steps. It took me about a week to earn enough points to get my first reward – an iced latte for £1 and 90 points – a discount on the £3.70 the cafe normally charges. For this, I walked an average of 14,000 steps a day over that period (I was on a city break for part of it), which gave me just under 100 points.
To make a purchase, you add the items to your basket and swipe to “unlock” the reward. Be careful: you only have 15 minutes to use the voucher after you have unlocked it, so do not make the mistake I almost made and open it too early.
In total, I have saved £15.10 and spent just under 500 Paace points (that is the maximum you can store without upgrading and paying for Paace+ at £29.99 a year, or £4.99 a month).
When signing up, you have to share personal information, including your name, email address, and phone number. It is also recommended you share location data so you can see what is available locally. You can turn this off in settings and still search for places near you in the map feature, but some features may not work.
Jack Blackwell, the owner at Debbie Jo bakery in west London, says Paace has helped increase footfall and attracted new customers to his business. “I liked the idea of getting people moving. For me, that’s always something to encourage,” he says.
“But it’s also great for customer acquisition. If someone comes in, you’re hoping that customer is finding out about your cafe and coming back. It’s definitely driven traffic.”
The app has also brought a new kind of customer. “Paace definitely brings a younger audience, especially people in their 20s, people who are active,” Blackwell says.
He adds that businesses can customise the rewards available “as much as we like”, which can help on days where it tends to be less busy.
“On a weekday, if it’s quieter I can shift my offering on Paace, which is great for getting people in,” Blackwell says.
Sweatcoin
You must be at least 13 to sign up to this app, which rewards your steps with its own digital currency (Sweatcoin) that you can then spend on offers in its in-app marketplace.
The marketplace mostly features promotional offers, such as free trials or “just pay postage” deals on anything from discounted protein bars and socks to money off yoga subscriptions and fitness gear, rather than straightforward rewards you can claim without a catch.
You can also earn daily rewards (up to 21 coins if you build a streak) for watching adverts.
Sweatcoin sets a 12,000 steps-a-day target, a goal I usually failed to reach. And unlike Paace, the rewards are not local or particularly immediate. There is also a whole separate crypto-element – “Sweat”, a token you can earn if you opt into its blockchain-based version of the app. I didn’t.
After a month using the app, I was able to get various free trials, including: a week’s supply of magnesium glycinate (though I had to cover the £3.95 postage); free discounts on HelloFresh and Green Chef; a one-month audible free trial for 25 sweatcoins; and 10% off full-priced items at Nike for 130 coins.
You can get more if you upgrade to the Premium account for £24.99 a year, or £4.99 a month, which can earn you extra Sweatcoins for your steps. You can also earn daily rewards (up to 21 coins if you build a streak) for watching advertisements.
Sweatcoin does not require much from you. Like Paace, it runs in the background, logs your steps and every so often you remember it exists and check how many coins you have got. Whether you will ever actually use them is another matter.
Users must input their mobile phone number for verification, and their email address. Sweatcoin says it may also collect data about your contacts, photographs and payment information.
BetterPoints
This app rewards active commuting, with points for walking, cycling, taking public transport and, in some cases, recycling or attending exercise classes. You can exchange points for vouchers to use on Amazon, Argos and New Look. You can also choose to donate them to charities including Air Ambulances UK and Cancer Research UK.
However, there is a catch: BetterPoints only works properly if the local council or a partner organisation is running a programme in your area. Participating councils include: Newham and Southwark in London; Sheffield; York; Oxfordshire, Leicestershire, and East Dunbartonshire, Wrexham and Deeside.
If you are in an active area, you will earn points for specific activities – such as tracking a walk with GPS (rather than steps), scanning a QR code on a council recycling bin, or checking in at a participating gym. In other parts of the country, you can still track your activity in the app, but you will not earn redeemable points. You may still be able to enter prize draws.
You can turn on tracking so it logs your trips automatically, but it is not always accurate. For example, it recorded a cycle on an e-bike as a car journey, and you cannot edit it after the day is done – so it is worth checking regularly if you are trying to earn points. Unfortunately, my borough is not on the scheme, which means all I could do was track my walks without benefiting financially.
When signing up, you share your name, email address, year of birth, location, and postcode. You have to allow location tracking, and must be at least 13 years old.
What about your data
All of the apps ask for – and collect – information about you.
Dr Maryam Mehrnezhad, a reader in the information security department at Royal Holloway, University of London, says that the tradeoff is simple: you are paying for the app’s free rewards with your personal data.
“These companies may use it for various things. For instance, your data – like where you walk and how often – is used for targeted ads. Or when you redeem a reward or a discount from a brand, the app gets paid a commission,” she says.
“They can also sell large amounts of potentially anonymised data to other companies. This helps those companies understand big trends.”
Mehrnezhad says users should be wary of how their health and location data is being used.
“While apps claim to use anonymised data, it can often be re-identified to reveal sensitive information about your routines, like where you live and work.
“This data is highly valuable and can be used to create detailed profiles for targeted advertising or other commercial purposes, and it also creates a risk of a data breach, which could expose your health information and personal locations to hackers,” she adds.
Users can limit the data that walking apps collect by managing their phone and in-app settings.
“One effective way is to adjust app permissions on their device, such as setting location services to ‘Only While Using the App’ to prevent background tracking,” Mehrnezhad says.
However, she notes that this may affect the usability of the app.
“You must decide if the benefits are worth these risks. I personally have a problem with any app that wants to know my location at all times,” she says.
The best of the rest
Other apps and companies also offer rewards for getting fit and staying healthy. They include:
• The health insurer Vitality, which offers policyholders the chance to earn points when they get active – such as when walking every day or going to the gym. Points unlock weekly and monthly “Active Rewards”. For example, earn 12 activity points in a week and you can choose either a weekly “reward” at Caffè Nero (a free drink or 50% off one, depending on the plan you have), plus 25% off a meal at Itsu; or 50% off an Odeon or Vue cinema ticket. A workout at a participating gym could earn you five points, a 5km parkrun earn you eight. You’ll need to download the app and connect your phone or fitness tracker.
• The retailer Decathlon lets customers earn points and turn them into vouchers for use online or instore. On top of 10 points for every £1 you spend at the retailer, you can earn 150 points a week by taking part in 150 minutes of sport. This involves logging your sport activity via a connected app such as Strava, Garmin or Kiprun. You can also earn points by sharing product reviews on items you have bought. For 2,000 points, you get a £3 Decathlon voucher, while 6,000 gets you a £10 voucher.
• Biscuit is an app for dog owners that lets you earn points – called Biscuits – by tracking your dog walks and completing “wellbeing badges” (for preventative care such as flea and worm treatments and vaccinations) and challenges. You redeem your points for vouchers at brands such as Costa Coffee, Tesco, Amazon and Nando’s. The basic version of the app is free, but the paid-for version (from £3.99 a month) “unlocks 5x faster Biscuit earning”. A spokesperson says a user of the paid-for version can earn enough points for a coffee “in as little as 23 days” by tracking their walks.
