Heather Allen

I’m always looking for extra ways to make cash!! Unfortunately, after using this app for a whole year, I have not earned enough to get the beloved prize of $1,000. I’m a couch potato by nature. I’m not an active person. Even with the motivation to potentially earn money, I didn’t really make an effort. I got this app because New York is a very walk-able city so I figured I would be earning coins without thinking of it. Turns out that it doesn’t really work that way.

How it Works:

You earn 1 Sweatcoin for every 995 steps. Coins can be redeemed in the Sweatcoin store for certain items. I was getting offers for fake tattoos, shaving supplies, discounts on bark boxes, and other bits and bobs from companies that basically look like Instagram ads (if you know, you know). The bigger “prizes” are for higher, almost impossible Sweatcoin amounts, for 20,000 Sweatcoin you can buy an iPhone X or get $1,000 cash through PayPal. That’s why I started using this app!!

The app tracks your location and connects to your phones step counter, but it only counts steps that are taken outside. There is an algorithm in place that allegedly can figure this out.

My referral code: sweatco.in/i/heather850697

Upsides:

The major plus is that this gets users active and walking outside. I’m sure this is a good motivator for some people to get prizes for walking around (I’m very clearly not one of those people). In theory, this could be a passive way to make money. The app is very easy to use and has a sleek design. If you don’t want to go for the big buys in the store, the other options could be of interest, but personally, I didn’t want to use my coins on them.

Downsides:

The app is always running in the background. For me, I didn’t notice that it was draining my battery since I was using the battery saver mode. But I am uncomfortable with the fact that it always has to be on? Like I spend a good amount of time indoors for work and also indoors for sleeping. It doesn’t make sense to keep it on all the time.

Sometimes the algorithm for counting steps is does not work that well. I think a majority of my walking is from my home to the subway then from the subway to work (and vice versa for the end of the day). It updates at strange times and I don’t know for sure that each outdoor step is counted toward the daily goal.

Also, if you’re actually diligent about it or just enjoy walking, there is a daily step limit of 5k. So you’ll only earn ~5 Sweatcoins per day.

Final thoughts:

After one year of use, I have only earned ~450 coins. I have not purchased anything in the store. I have used the option for daily bonuses, where you watch ads in exchange for Sweatcoins, but I did not do this consistently. There’s also a potential to earn more coins by inviting your friends and getting referrals. I also didn’t go out of my way to reach the daily limit or try to earn coins faster for the cash.

There is a battery saver mode for this app, but having it consistently running in the background is not something I enjoy. And if you do close it, the app sends you a chastising notification that says: ” Hi Heather, I was shut down and lost some steps. Do not force quit me if you want to generate Sweatcoins.”

My overall thoughts are this does not work for me. I don’t spend nearly enough time outside to earn the daily coin count, and I don’t feel comfortable with the app on all the time. I’m tempted to quit, and yet, there’s a potential for money! How do I turn away??

If anything I’ve said makes you want to try this out, use my referral code for 5 Sweatcoins to get started! sweatco.in/i/heather850697

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