Activity tracking with Go Jauntly

How Go Jauntly tracks your steps and distance for walking challenges, what data we read on Android and iPhone, and how to fix it when your progress isn't updating.

 
 

How activity tracking works

Go Jauntly challenges are powered by your steps and distance. Here's where that data comes from, what we can and can't see, and what to do when something doesn't look right.

 

The short version

Go Jauntly doesn't track your activity itself. Your phone, your watch or your favourite tracking app does that, and stores it in the health platform built into your phone. Go Jauntly then reads your steps and distance from that platform.

Which platform depends on your phone:

If you use Google Health (the app formerly known as Fitbit), it feeds into both. Read the Google Health guide

 

What we read

We only ever read your activity data — Go Jauntly never writes anything back into your health app. And we only ask for the handful of data types we need to work out your challenge progress. We don't read heart rate, sleep, weight or anything else.

On Android, through Health Connect:

  • Steps

  • Distance

  • Exercise

On iPhone, through Apple Health:

  • Steps

  • Walking + Running Distance

  • Cycling Distance

  • Wheelchair Distance and Pushes (only if you use a wheelchair)

Steps and distance cover most challenges. We use exercise and cycling data on challenges like Walk to School, where we need to tell a cycle ride apart from a walk.

 

Where your data actually comes from

Your phone's health platform is a go-between — on Android it doesn't record any activity of its own. Something has to feed it:

  • Your phone itself. An iPhone counts steps and walking distance on its own, using the motion sensor, as long as you're carrying it. On Android, Health Connect does not count steps by itself — you'll need a tracking app.

  • Your smartwatch. Apple Watch, Fitbit, Garmin, Samsung and others.

  • A tracking app. Google Health, Samsung Health, Garmin Connect, Strava and so on.

If nothing is feeding your health platform, Go Jauntly won't see anything — so this is the first thing to check if your challenge progress is stuck on zero.

 

Past data and background data

As well as steps and distance, we ask for two extra permissions. Both are optional, but we recommend allowing them:

  • Past data — lets us count progress you'd already made before you joined a challenge. For example, you might start the annual Walk 2025km challenge in February rather than when it launched in January.

  • Background data — lets us check in on your progress without you needing to open the app. Without it, you'll have to open Go Jauntly for your challenge progress to update.

 

If your progress looks wrong

  1. Give it a little time. We check in on your activity periodically rather than the instant you take a step.

  2. Open the app. That triggers a fresh check straight away.

  3. Check your permissions. Follow the guide for your phone — Health Connect on Android, Apple Health on iPhone.

  4. Check your tracker is sharing. Your watch or tracking app needs permission to write into Health Connect or Apple Health as well.

  5. Add it by hand. Inside a challenge, tap Add Activity and then Add Missing Activity to enter the date, time, distance and steps for a walk we've missed.

 

Older connections

Go Jauntly used to connect to some services directly. Those connections have now been replaced by your phone's health platform:

  • Google Fit — retired by Google. You can no longer connect it, but if you connected it in the past you can disconnect it in the app under Settings > My Connections.

  • Fitbit — Fitbit is now Google Health, and its data reaches us through Health Connect on Android. See our Google Health guide.

 

Your privacy, your choice

Connecting your activity data is always your decision, and you can change your mind at any time. Go Jauntly reads only the data types listed above, only ever reads (never writes), and uses that data to work out your progress in the challenges you've joined.

To disconnect, go to Settings > My Connections in the app and pick your health platform.

 

Health Tracker Guides

  • Health Connect (Android) — installing Health Connect, granting permissions and changing your preferences.

  • Apple Health (iPhone) — connecting Apple Health, choosing what to share and keeping it up to date.

  • Google Health — the new Fitbit app, and how to get its data through to Go Jauntly.

 

Need more help?

Still stuck? Email us at hi@gojauntly.com and we'll help you sort it out.