You can share your daily step count with your coach by connecting the health app on your phone. This article covers how to connect it, what the app reads, and how to stop sharing.
Before you start
- This is for clients. Coaches don't see the option in the Coaching app.
- On iPhone, the app reads from Apple Health. Your iPhone counts steps on its own, and so does an Apple Watch if you wear one.
- On Android, the app reads from Health Connect. If your phone doesn't have it, install Health Connect from Google Play. Whatever counts your steps, such as Google Fit, Samsung Health or Fitbit, needs to be sharing them with Health Connect.
- If the app says 'App update needed', update the Coaching app from the App Store or Google Play and try again.
Connect your health app
- Tap your account button at the top of the Home screen to open 'Manage account'.
- Tap 'Connected apps'.
- Turn on the Apple Health or Health Connect toggle.
- Read the 'Share your steps?' message and tap 'Share steps'.
- When your phone asks, allow the app to read your steps.
You can also start from the Steps card on your Home screen by tapping 'Connect'.
Once you're connected, your steps from the last 14 days appear in the app, and your coach can see them.
How syncing works
Your steps sync each time you open the app. You don't need to keep it open, and you don't need to do anything else.
- To sync straight away, tap 'Sync now' on the 'Connected apps' screen.
- The app checks for new steps at most every 15 minutes and refreshes the last 14 days each time, so steps from a watch that syncs late are picked up next time.
- If you're offline, your steps are saved on your phone and sent when you're back online.
- Steps from an iPhone and an Apple Watch are counted once, not twice. Apple Health removes the overlap before the app reads the total.
What we store
We store one step total per day. We don't store individual workouts, locations or the times you walked.
Your coach can see your daily steps while you're connected. Your coach can also:
- set a daily step target, which shows as a line on your steps chart
- turn steps off in your app. Your steps still sync and your coach still sees them, but you won't see them in your app until your coach turns them back on.
If no steps show up
If the app says 'No steps found', it reached your health app but found no steps for the last 14 days. Check these in order.
- Permission. On iPhone, open the Health app, tap your profile picture, then 'Apps', then Coaching, and make sure Steps is on. On Android, open Health Connect, tap 'App permissions', then Coaching, and allow Steps.
- Your step counter. Check that your phone or watch is recording steps in Apple Health or Health Connect.
- Sync. Open the app again, or tap 'Sync now'.
On iPhone, the app can't tell whether you allowed access. iOS shows a refusal to the app as 'no steps', so permission is always the first thing to check.
Stop sharing your steps
Open 'Manage account' > 'Connected apps', turn off the toggle and tap 'Stop sharing'.
Steps that have already synced stay visible to you and your coach. Nothing new is synced from that phone.
Turning off the toggle stops the app syncing, but your phone still allows the app to read your steps. To remove that permission too:
- iPhone: in the Health app, tap your profile picture, then 'Apps', then Coaching, and turn off access.
- Android: tap 'Open Health Connect' on the 'Connected apps' screen and remove the app's access.
Using the Nutrition app too
If you connect a health app in the Nutrition app as well, your steps aren't counted twice. Both apps save to the same place, and each day keeps a single step total.
Your step data is health information, and we only record it with your consent. Our Privacy Policy has the full details on how we handle it, and deleting your account explains how to remove it along with the rest of your data.