Doomstep

Terms of Use

Last updated: September 28, 2026

These terms describe the agreement between you and the Doomstep operator listed below for using the Doomstep app and website. The published version takes effect on its stated effective date. Our Privacy Policy explains how information is handled.

Using Doomstep

Doomstep helps you put movement before screen time. It reads permitted step data, converts steps to minutes under the rules shown in the app, and uses Apple’s Screen Time features to restrict apps you select. You are responsible for your account, device, permissions, and how you use the service.

You must be at least 13 years old to use Doomstep, and legally able to agree to these terms or have permission from a parent or guardian where required. Do not misuse accounts, interfere with the service, impersonate others, or attempt to manipulate step or subscription records fraudulently.

Steps, minutes, and app restrictions

Earned minutes are an app feature, not money or property. They have no cash value, can’t be bought, sold, exchanged for money or transferred to anyone else, except that they move into a shared bank in Together as described below. They are not a promise of a particular result. Rates, bonuses, daily ceilings, carry limits, and unlocking windows are shown in the app and can affect how much time a walk earns. A first-walk bonus can be used only once under the applicable rules.

Step counts and restrictions depend on device capabilities, permissions, Apple services, and operating-system behavior. Counts may be delayed or unavailable. We cannot guarantee that every step is recorded or that restrictions will work without interruption. Keep access to essential communication and emergency services. Walk only when it is safe and appropriate for you.

Projections and wellbeing

Time-back estimates and walking-distance projections are illustrative calculations based on your inputs and stated assumptions. Extra steps, bonuses, changes in use, and permission settings can change the result. Doomstep does not guarantee less screen time, a particular distance walked, or a health outcome, and does not provide medical advice.

Together

Together is optional. It pairs you with one friend at a time. Each of you needs your own Doomstep subscription or eligible trial. A friend’s subscription doesn’t give you access, and joining doesn’t change either person’s subscription.

Invites. An invite link or code works for one person and expires after seven days. Share it only with the person you mean to invite: anyone who has it can see your name and promise and ask to join. You can cancel an invite or make a new link.

The shared bank is shared. When you both agree that “Either of you can use the minutes either of you earns,” the minutes you have available leave your own bank and move into one shared bank, and the minutes either of you earns afterward go into it. Either of you can then use any of those minutes for a break, without asking the other. Only agree with someone you trust. We don’t settle disagreements between friends about how shared minutes were used. You each still choose your own apps and control your own phone. Nobody can see or change the other person’s app choices or locks.

Breaks and limits. Starting a new shared break needs an internet connection. A break that’s already running always finishes, and ending one early returns the unused time. While you’re offline, your steps still count and sync later. Each person can use up to 180 shared minutes a day for breaks, a limit we may adjust. Each of you can carry up to 60 earned minutes into your next day, and bonus minutes expire at the end of the day they were earned.

Pausing, leaving, and blocking. Either of you can pause sharing, leave or block at any time, without the other’s approval. When shared minutes stop, the minutes each person added that are still unspent go back to that person’s own bank. Minutes already used aren’t returned, and any eligible refund from a break that was running settles afterward. Returned minutes appear the next time your app connects. If you leave while offline, your leave finishes when you’re back online, and shared minutes already online may still be used until then. If one person deletes their account, the other gets their own unspent minutes back, and the deleted person’s unspent minutes expire. To share again after a pause, you both agree again.

Social features and acceptable use

Cheers, walk invites, “I’m in”, walks together, postcards, reactions, names, invite promises and walk photos are for walking with a friend who wants to walk with you. When you use them:

You can report or block from Together at any time, and report a photo from the postcard it’s on. You can also email us. We review reports. If content or behavior breaks these terms or the law, or puts someone at risk, we may remove content, end a pair, limit features, or suspend or close an account. Where it’s reasonable and safe, we’ll tell you why and give you a way to respond. We may report illegal content to the authorities where the law requires it.

Public leaderboard names must not be offensive, hateful or sexual, or impersonate anyone. We have zero tolerance for abusive names: we may change or remove any name, and remove anyone from the public leaderboard.

Feature requests are public and anonymous. They must follow these rules too. We check them automatically, you can report a request or block the person who posted it, and we may hide or remove any request.

Photos and content you share

You keep all rights to the photos and other content you share in Together. You give us a limited, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, transmit and display that content only to operate Together: to show it to you and your friend, to keep it for as long as our Privacy Policy says, and to review reports and enforce these terms. The license ends when the content is deleted from our service. We don’t use your photos for advertising or any other purpose, and we never make them public. You confirm that you have the right to share what you share, and that sharing it doesn’t break these terms or anyone’s rights.

Subscriptions and trials

A subscription is required for paid access. The plans are $4.99 a week, $9.99 a month, or $39.99 a year in US dollars, plus any applicable tax. The plan, price, billing interval, and any free trial are shown before you subscribe, and App Store prices in other countries are shown in local currency.

Where you subscribe. You can subscribe in the Doomstep app through the App Store, and Apple takes the payment. In the United States you can also pay by card through Stripe, our payment processor: the app opens Stripe’s secure checkout page in your browser, and you pay there. Either way, the subscription belongs to your Doomstep account.

Free trial. Each Doomstep account can have one 7-day free trial, whichever way it subscribes. A returning subscriber, or an account that has already had a trial, pays from the first day. App Store trials also depend on Apple’s eligibility rules. If a trial applies, you aren’t charged during it, and it converts to paid access at the price and interval shown when you subscribed unless you cancel before it ends.

Renewal and canceling. Subscriptions renew automatically at the end of each billing period until you cancel. You can cancel anytime in Doomstep Settings › Account & billing. An App Store subscription can also be canceled in your Apple Account’s Subscriptions settings. Canceling stops the next renewal, and you keep access until the end of the period you paid for. Deleting the Doomstep app does not cancel either kind of subscription.

Deleting your account. Deleting your Doomstep account cancels a subscription bought through Stripe immediately. No further charges are made, and the current billing period isn’t refunded unless the law requires it. If Stripe can’t confirm the cancellation, your account isn’t deleted. Deleting your account does not cancel an App Store subscription.

Refunds. Payments for a subscription bought through Stripe aren’t refunded for a partial billing period, except where the law requires it. The free trial lets you try Doomstep before you pay, and canceling stops the next charge. If you think you were charged by mistake, contact us. Apple manages billing, cancellation timing, and refund requests for App Store subscriptions under Apple’s terms. Any mandatory consumer cancellation or refund rights remain available.

Your account

Apple or Google sign-in connects your identity to your Doomstep account. You must protect access to your sign-in account. Shared progress can be delayed, and Together does not guarantee that another person reaches a goal.

License and availability

Subject to these terms, you receive a limited, personal, nonexclusive, nontransferable right to use Doomstep for its intended purpose. Doomstep’s software, design, and branding remain the property of their owners. Your statutory rights to use software where applicable law permits are unaffected.

Doomstep will change over time. We may add, change or remove features, including Together, the shared bank, photo sharing, notifications and leaderboards, or pause them for everyone, for example to fix a problem. If we pause or end the shared bank, each person’s unspent minutes go back to them as described above.

We may update the service or suspend access for material misuse, security issues, or legal requirements. Where reasonably possible, we will provide notice and a way to address the issue. If a material change affects a paid service, applicable notice, cancellation, and refund rights continue to apply.

Responsibility and consumer rights

The service is provided subject to the technical limitations described above. To the extent permitted by applicable law, we do not promise uninterrupted operation or particular personal outcomes. Nothing in these terms excludes liability or limits a warranty or consumer right that the law does not allow us to exclude or limit.

These terms do not remove mandatory protections under the law where you live. They do not require arbitration or waive class-action rights. Apple’s standard license below governs the license to the iPhone app.

Apple’s role

Apple operates the App Store and payment services but is not the operator of Doomstep. Your use of Apple products and services remains subject to Apple’s terms. Where applicable, Apple’s standard Licensed Application End User License Agreement also applies to the app.

Apple, the Apple logo, Apple Watch, iPhone and App Store are trademarks of Apple Inc.

Changes to these terms

We may update these terms and will provide notice of material changes as required. The updated effective date will appear at the top of this page. Contact us with questions before accepting a change you do not understand.

Contact

Doomstep is operated by Eric Johnson.
Support: support@doomstep.com
Privacy requests: privacy@doomstep.com