How can we help?

When you first open WakaPals, pick Start a crew, give it a name and tap Create crew. Later you can start more: on the Race tab, tap your crew’s name at the top, then Create crew.

Open the Crew tab and tap Add pals. You can share the invite code or link, show the crew QR code, or add someone by their username. Anyone with the code or link can join; a username invite waits until they tap Join in their notifications.

Codes look like WAKA-7F3K. On the Race tab, tap your crew’s name at the top, then Join crew, and type or paste the code. Capitals and spaces don’t matter.

New to WakaPals? Pick Join with a code when you first open the app.

It depends on the plan of the person who runs the crew: up to 5 on Free, 10 on Crew 10 and 50 on Crew Max. Joining is always free.

On Free you can run 1 crew and be in 2. On Crew 10 you can run 3 and be in 10. On Crew Max you can run 10 and be in 25. Crews you run count towards the total.

Whoever has the most steps when the day ends. If two people tie, the one who joined the crew first wins. A crew needs at least 2 walkers, and the winner needs more than 0 steps.

At midnight, 5 am or 6 am, whichever the crew’s organiser picks, in the crew’s own time zone. The crown is settled 10 minutes after the day ends, so late steps still count.

From Apple Health on iPhone, or Health Connect on Android (Samsung Health and Google Fit pass their steps into it). Without them, your phone’s own step counter can count while WakaPals is open. Typed-in steps never count.

Every few seconds while WakaPals is open. When it’s closed, every 15 minutes to an hour, depending on your phone.

iPhone: open Settings › Privacy & Security › Health, tap WakaPals and turn on Steps.

Android: open Health Connect, tap App permissions, then WakaPals, and allow Steps.

Then in WakaPals open Me › Settings › Steps and tap Sync now.

Some phones stop apps in the background to save battery. Change this once:

• Tecno, Infinix: Phone Master › Battery › App launch › WakaPals › Manage manually
• Xiaomi, Redmi, Poco: Settings › Apps › WakaPals › Battery saver › No restrictions, and turn on Autostart
• Google Pixel: Settings › Apps › WakaPals › App battery usage › Unrestricted
• Other phones: Settings › Apps › WakaPals › Battery › Unrestricted

No. Your phone is enough. If you wear a watch, its steps reach WakaPals through Apple Health or Health Connect, and the same walk is never counted twice.

Your crew sees the steps from the phone you first used WakaPals on. To switch, open WakaPals on the other phone and tap Count my steps on this phone. If your step phone sends nothing for 24 hours, the other phone takes over by itself.

Only the person who runs a crew. Everyone they invite joins free and gets the plan inside that crew. Crews of up to 5 are free for good.

In the app: Me › Settings › your plan › Change plan. You pay through the App Store or Google Play. To cancel, go to iPhone Settings › your name › Subscriptions, or Google Play › Payments & subscriptions › Subscriptions.

In Nigeria, yes: on wakapals.com/plans by card or bank transfer, using the email you sign in to WakaPals with. A card plan renews by itself (cancel with the “manage subscription” link in your Paystack email). A bank transfer pays once, and we email you 3 days before it ends.

Yes. Yearly costs the same as 10 months, so 2 months are free.

See Refunds.

A bit of fun: splat a crewmate with 1 tomato (they walk 200 steps to wipe it off) or freeze them in ice for 30 seconds with 2. Steps never change. You get 2 free each week by walking 3,000 steps in a day; they last 24 hours. Bought tomatoes don’t expire. Organisers can turn tomatoes off for their crew.

Looks for your runner: a cap, black sneakers, a backpack, colour packs for sneakers, shirts, hair and trousers, the Pup, and a Full look set. Items are paid once through the App Store or Google Play, and stay yours on every phone you sign in to.

A photo or a 10-second video from your walk. Only the crews you pick can see it, it’s gone after 24 hours, and location data is removed. On Free you can post 1 video a day per crew; on Crew 10 and Crew Max, up to 10.

Tap their runner or name, then See their week › Report, and pick what happened. You can block them at the same time. On a walk moment, use the ⋯ menu. They won’t know you reported them, and a person at WakaPals reviews every report within 24 hours.

Not in the app? Use Report a concern.

Yes. Me › Settings › Notifications lets you choose passes, cheers and nudges, end-of-day results and walk moments.

Me › Settings › Delete account. You leave every crew and are hidden straight away. Everything except payment receipts is deleted after 30 days. Signing in within those 30 days keeps your account. Paying in the App Store or Google Play? Cancel there too.

Yes. Email hello@wakapals.com from your account’s email and we’ll send it.

People aged 16 and over. The app is in English, Dutch, French and German.