PepStep Support
The quickest way to reach me is email: contact@barnhillsoftware.com. Tell me what you were doing and which iPhone you have. I read every message.
Counting steps
Where do my steps come from?
From Apple Health, so the count matches the Health app, with steps from your iPhone and Apple Watch counted once. Between Health updates, your iPhone's motion sensor keeps the count moving with each step.
My steps aren't showing up.
In the Health app, tap your picture, then Apps under Privacy, then PepStep, and make sure Steps is turned on. In the iOS Settings app, check Privacy & Security › Motion & Fitness too. Steps from an Apple Watch appear once the watch syncs with your iPhone.
Why didn't my earlier steps count?
PepStep starts counting when you tap Start Counting in setup, so everyone starts fresh. Steps from before that, even earlier the same day, aren't imported.
When does a new day start?
At midnight where you are, the same moment Apple Health starts a new day. Your character goes back to the starting line, and yesterday's total is kept in your calendar.
Coins, the shop and the trail
How do I earn coins?
Every 1,000 steps earns 100 coins. Only steps your iPhone or Apple Watch counted earn coins: steps typed into the Health app, or added by other apps, still show in your count but don't earn.
What can I buy?
Tap your coins on Home to open the wardrobe's shop: clothes, hair, extras, walking and standing styles and more, tried on your own character before you buy. Every 24 hours there's also a free mystery box.
What are the towns?
Two or three towns stand along each day's trail, the same for everyone. Their shops open while your character is in town: cafés, sweet shops and bakeries sell treats that boost your score, boutiques sell clothes you can't get anywhere else, and now and then a pet shop has a new friend for you to adopt.
What's my score?
Your steps today, plus a bonus for walking in more hours of the day, treats and the optional weather bonus. Friends are ranked by score.
Friends and mischief
How do I add a friend?
Open Profile › Friends and turn on Walk with friends. Then send an invite, or add someone by their @username. Once they've added you back, they walk on your trail with their steps over their head. You can add Game Center friends there too.
What do friends see?
Only your steps today, your score and your character. Nothing else passes between players. See Friends and usernames in the privacy policy.
How does mischief work?
Buy pranks in the shop's Mischief section, or find them on the trail as you walk. Use one from a friend's row in Profile › Friends: it takes points off their score today, and they and their friends get to watch. Mischief only reaches friends added by username.
I don't want mischief notifications.
Turn off When You Get Hit or When Friends Get Hit in Profile › Reminders & Notifications.
Coin bundles
How do I buy coins?
Tap the jar of coins beside your balance to visit the Coin Cottage. Bundles are bought through the App Store with your Apple Account.
I bought coins but they didn't arrive.
Keep PepStep open for a moment, or open it again: coins from a purchase that was interrupted arrive the next time the app starts. If they still haven't, email me with the date of the purchase.
Are my coins and items backed up?
They're saved on your iPhone, so they come back when you restore an iCloud or computer backup. Deleting the app removes them, along with everything else PepStep has stored.
Everything else
Can I put my steps on the Lock Screen?
Yes. Add a PepStep widget to your Home Screen or Lock Screen, or show today's steps in a Live Activity from Profile › Lock Screen & Widgets. You can also ask Siri for today's steps.
How do I turn off the sounds?
Tap the speaker button at the top of Home. It turns off the world's sounds and the app's sound effects together. Silent Mode turns them off too.
Things move around too much.
Turn on Calm Motion in Profile › Accessibility, which also follows Reduce Motion in the iOS Settings app.
How do I delete my data?
See Deleting your data in the privacy policy.
Still stuck? Email contact@barnhillsoftware.com and tell me what you were doing when it happened.