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Track your steps with Google Health on your phone

Use the Google Health app to track your basic activities directly from your phone. These activities include steps, distance, and calories burned. This is helpful if you don’t have a Fitbit device or if you leave your tracker at home.

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Set up your phone to track your steps

If you don’t have yet have a Google Health account:

  1. Download the Google Health app .
  2. Tap Join Google Health.
  3. When asked which tracker you're setting up, choose Just the app.
  4. Follow the instructions to set up your phone.

If you already have a Google Health account:

  1. Open the Google Health app .
  2. At the top, tap Connections .
  3. Under "Devices," tap Phone.
  4. Tap Agree and your phone should be ready to track your steps.
Start a workout using your phone

Important:

  • Google Health will not track your steps unless you’re logged into the app.
  • Your phone’s location doesn’t affect your step count.

You can start a workout on your phone without any device paired.

  1. Open the Google Health app and tap the Fitness tab .
  2. Go to "Start a workout" and select an exercise.
If you have a Fitbit device or Pixel Watch connected, you may not find the option to start a workout on your phone. To check the option to track a workout using only your phone, you must unpair your device.
Understand how Google Health tracks distance

Your distance is estimated by your stride length. By default, stride length is calculated using your height and sex. If you feel that your distance estimate isn't accurate, you can adjust your stride length by following the instructions in How does my Fitbit device calculate my daily activity?

Understand how Google Health estimates calories burned

Google Health estimates your number of calories burned based on your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate), which is calculated using the height, weight, age, and sex you provided when setting up your Fitbit account. For more information, go to How does my Fitbit device calculate my daily activity?

Learn how long your phone stores data

Your phone always stores data for the last 7 days, including today. If you don't have an internet connection for weeks or even months, your phone stores your data until you connect to the internet and sync your data.

Sync step data to the Google Health app

Low-power step sensors inside your phone track your steps and send the data to the Google Health app. When you open the Google Health app, your data syncs automatically. If it doesn’t sync, you can try to sync your data manually.

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