Fitbit Challenges With Friends: How to Still Do Them

How to Do a Step Challenge With Friends Now

Fitbit challenges are gone, and Google Health only has a weekly friends leaderboard. You do not need new hardware: Google Health can write Fitbit steps to Apple Health and Health Connect, and Upkeep reads steps from both. For what changed and when, see Fitbit challenges in 2026.

1. Every friend connects Google Health. On iPhone, open Google Health and tap Connections, then Apps and services. Under “Add connections”, tap Apple Health and allow Steps. This needs iOS 16.4 or later and an adult Google Account. The full steps are in our guide to sync Fitbit steps to Apple Health. On Android, open Google Health and tap Connections, then Partner apps. Under “Add connections”, tap Sync your favorite health apps, then Set up, and allow Steps.
2. The host creates a challenge in Upkeep, sets the daily step target and the length, and shares the invite link.
3. Friends join free from the link, on iPhone or Android. On Android, a friend picks Google Health as the step source in Upkeep (Step Data Source) if Upkeep did not pick it automatically.

Friends without a Fitbit can join the same challenge. A phone, an Apple Watch or another watch counts when its steps reach Apple Health or Health Connect.

Why Upkeep Is the Natural Successor to Fitbit Challenges

Upkeep was designed with one goal: bring back the simple, friend-based step challenge format that Fitbit popularized, then make it better. The core experience will feel immediately familiar to anyone who used Fitbit Challenges. You create a private group, invite friends via a link, pick a step goal, and compete. The leaderboard updates in real time. Any host can turn on auto-roll, so a new round with the same people starts when the challenge ends.

But Upkeep does not just replicate what Fitbit had. In any step competition, someone eventually posts a number that looks too good to be true. Upkeep handles this. Steps sync from Apple Health or Health Connect, and manually entered steps do not count. Upkeep checks synced days. A day that does not look like real walking can be removed from a challenge result.

Fitbit Challenges also lacked any long-term progression system. You could win a hundred challenges and have nothing to show for it beyond temporary trophies. Upkeep introduces the Consistency Score, a persistent reputation number from 0 to 100 that tracks how close you get to your step goal, day after day. Every day earns credit for the share of your goal you hit, never zero. Your score tiers range from "Getting Started" to "Legendary," giving you a tangible, long-term reason to stay consistent beyond just winning this week's challenge.

The other major upgrade is flexibility. In Upkeep, the host sets a daily step target, meaning groups with mixed fitness levels can find a goal that works for everyone. A group of parents with toddlers might pick a lower target. A group of hikers might pick a higher one. Everyone in the challenge competes against the same target.

Device Freedom: No Lock-In Required

Most friend groups are mixed. One friend wears a Fitbit, another wears an Apple Watch, and another just carries a phone. A weekly leaderboard inside one brand's app does not bring that group together.

Upkeep reads steps from Apple Health on iPhone and Health Connect on Android. A watch or band counts when its app writes steps to Apple Health or Health Connect. You can even use just your phone's built-in step counter with no wearable at all.

So the Fitbit friend, the Apple Watch friend and the phone-only friend are on the same leaderboard when their steps reach Apple Health or Health Connect.

The Consistency Score: What Fitbit Never Had

Fitbit Challenges were purely transactional. Win a challenge, get a badge, move on. There was no compounding reward for showing up week after week.

Upkeep's Consistency Score changes that dynamic entirely. Every day you meet your step goal, your score increases. Fall short, and it dips gently. You still get credit for the share of your goal you hit, and your rest days are free. Over time, your Consistency Score becomes a visible marker of your long-term commitment to walking. It is your fitness reputation, and it is visible to everyone in your challenge groups.

This creates a fundamentally different motivation structure. Instead of just trying to win this week, you are building something permanent. A Legendary Consistency Score takes months of sustained effort. It cannot be faked, bought, or shortcut. When your friends see your score climbing, they know you have been putting in the work. That kind of social proof is what turns a challenge into a lasting habit.