With the Moves App shutting down for good, this article explains how you should advise your members to replace it without missing a single step.

Facebook (who owns the Moves app) announced that they will be shutting it down for good on July 30, 2018, and because it syncs with the Nudge platform you may have members who need to find a replacement and fast.

The goal of this article is to advise you on the best and easiest apps to replace the benefits Moves app was providing to those who were using it.

Moves App

People found the Moves app so valuable because it made it easy to track your daily steps and activities with nothing but a smartphone.

All you would have to do is download the app and it tracks your movement throughout the day in a simple timeline format. And for the purposes of syncing valuable steps and activity data into the Nudge app, that made it an ideal option for many people who did not want to invest in a wearable activity tracker.

So here are the key benefits we need to replace for any members you have using Moves app to sync their movement data into Nudge:

1. Ease of use - Passive (automatic) steps and activity tracking.
2. Low-cost - as in you get the basic automatic tracking of a wearable without having to shell out $75-$300 to buy one.

Luckily, with the continued advancement of passive movement tracking apps for iOS and Android these benefits will be easy to replace. But it will be up to you to get the word out!

So here's what we suggest, first for Android phones.

Our Android Recommendation...

Google Fit

Google's health tracking app Google Fit probably more closely resembles the Moves app experience than anything else we've seen, and that's why it's my #1 recommendation for Moves app users looking for a new app on their Android phones.

I've been personally testing it on my Pixel 2 over the past several weeks, and I think only two things need to said about it...

1. It delivers the same dead simple experience, just sign up and it automatically tracks your daily steps and activity in much the same way as moves, and
2. The timeline view is incredibly similar to the standard daily view in the Moves app.

Now, if you've been using our coaching platform for a while now you may be thinking...

That WAS true. It didn't until now.

Product Announcement:

Nudge platform now syncs steps and weight data from Google Fit!

How to transition from Moves to Google Fit (without missing a step)

1. Open the Play Store app on your Android phone.
2. Type Google Fit into the search bar at the top.
3. Install the app and open it.
4. Set up your account (use your Google account if you already have one).
5. Now, open the Nudge app.
6. Select the "Profile" tab and tap "Connected Apps".
7. Tap on Google Fit in the list.
8. Make sure you choose the account you used for the Google Fit account.
9. And tap "Allow"

That's it. You should get a success message and data should begin syncing into Nudge within the next several hours.

*** You do not need to unsync or uninstall the Moves app. Nudge is smart enough to consolidate the data from both Google Fit and Moves App and will not "double count" any of your daily steps.

Our iOS Recommendation...

Apple Health

For your members with iPhones we recommend keeping it even more simple by replacing the Moves app with Apple's Health App which comes already installed on all new iPhones.

This is the easiest move because your members don't need to do any searching in the app store, they simply need to sync the built-in app with Nudge if they haven't already, and just like Moves, Apple Health will automatically track their daily steps and activities throughout the day while running in the background of the phone.

How to transition from Moves to Apple Health (without missing a step)

1. Open the Nudge app.
2. Select the "Profile" tab and tap "Connected Apps".
3. Tap on Apple Health in the list.
4. Choose the data you want to sync into Nudge.
5. And tap "Allow"

That's it. You should get a success message immediately and data should begin syncing into Nudge within the next several hours.

*** You do not need to unsync or uninstall the Moves app. Nudge is smart enough to consolidate the data from both Apple Health and Moves App and will not "double count" any of your daily steps.

An Alternative Recommendation (iOS and Android)...

Fitbit (MobileTrack)

A good alternative if you have a member who for whatever reason would prefer not to use Google Fit for Android or Apple's Health App for iPhone is the Fitbit App.

Although they don't advertise it much, you can use the Fitbit app to track your daily movement using just a smartphone (no wearable required).

This is made possible by a feature buried within the Fitbit app called "MobileTrack." But don't worry, it's easy to find if you know where to look.

***IMPORTANT NOTE: MobileTrack is not available in the Fitbit app on any Samsung phones as far as we can tell, so this will not be an option for ALL Android users.

How to transition from Moves to Fitbit App (without missing a step)

1. Search "Fitbit" in the App Store or Google Play. 
2. Install the app and open it.
3. Create your account or sign in.
4. Tap the icon in the upper right corner to go into Account settings.
5. Tap "Set up a Device"
6. And at the bottom tap where it says, "No tracker yet? Your phone tracks the basics."
7. Agree to the Terms and boom, you've enabled Fitbit's "MobileTrack" feature.
8. Now, open the Nudge app.
9. Select the "Profile" tab and tap "Connected Apps".
10. Tap on Fitbit in the list.
11. And tap "Allow"

That's it. You should get a success message immediately and data should begin syncing into Nudge within the next several hours.

*** You do not need to unsync or uninstall the Moves app. Nudge is smart enough to consolidate the data from both Fitbit and Moves App and will not "double count" any of your daily steps.

Post in the comments below, we'd love to get your thoughts and questions on this update! If you'd like to learn more about Nudge solutions schedule a 15-minute intro call here.