NHS Active 10 Walking Tracker

I like the idea of this but I think there are some flaws that need ironing out. Full disclosure I use two other apps to log distance and pace and I wanted to try this one to see if it would work for my Mum because it’s a simpler interface. First issue this has recorded no brisk walking time for me, compared to the two other apps which show my entire walk was above 3.5mph. It didn’t record one at all and then recorded the second as 20 mins of walking with no brisk walking (30 minutes all at over 3.5mph). The real issue there is it isn’t very motivational is it? Let’s leave the fact that it can’t record my pace accurately for a moment, and think about someone using this to get active like my Mum, she can’t match my pace (nowhere near) so she would feel like a failure. It would be better if it showed actual pace and motivated people to keep going. It bummed me out and I know from my other two apps I was going a fair old whack. I think this is a fab idea by the way that’s why I’m providing feedback. With a few tweaks this could be fabulous for newbie walkers, but the total focus on brisk walking on day one or two isn’t good psychology. Most people if they’re new to walking likely won’t get to brisk walk so why not make a bigger fuss of the slower walking? All movement is good movement and improves strength, leading to faster movement.

I realise I’m a little late to the party but after a small wake-up call in August this year I decided to get serious about being more active and losing some (okay, lots of) weight. I’d tried Couch to 5K a couple years back but always ended up doing my Achilles tendons and the Covid inspired exercise bike was jus too boring. Someone suggested longer walks and Active10 so I gave it a go. I started off small with 1 x 10 minutes per day and as time has passed I increased to the max 5 a day which is now a minimum for me. I am really if a mindset if I miss today I’ll probably miss tomorrow too so I am driven to achieve an hour a day, every day now. The app itself works fine on my iPhone X and only once has it failed to record my activity, and no matter what I do I cannot get the last Target Chaser! badge but its a moot point now. If you consider what the app does, it does it very well. Don’t expect it to track every detail of your journey to better health, simply consider it to be a fun way of “stopwatching” your walks and you won’t be disappointed. Fancier and more focused apps are available (along with their obligatory upgrades and in-app purchases) for later. I recommend it as a great first step to a healthier lifestyle.

This app is a good idea and I like the way it shows when you are walking briskly. However, I am not over happy with location services being on all the time and would prefer "whilst using" setting to be allowed. Only used it one day so far so accuracy cannot comment on but what I seen looks correct. It is a basic app though as today I cannot find anyway of seeing what I did yesterday only a graph showing I did 40 minutes above my 10 minute brisk walk goal. This app needs some work on it to give it more features. I have used a different Public Health England app before and that was also rather basic! This app is an excellent idea but I don't think it will be on my phone long if updates are not forthcoming in the very near future to change location services option and giving it a few more features. ********************* Thanks for responding to my review. I have now upgraded to 4 stars as having used it daily now I can see that the accuracy is correct. I also appreciate that Location Services do need to be on to track my daily activity and also I know now that it is not draining my battery too much which was one of my concerns for this. I would though still like to have some history of my previous days/weeks/months with detail as some other Apps do. On the whole it is a good App and I really like the fact I can see when I am walking briskly. Will now keep on my phone for a bit longer and look forward to seeing future updates.