Frequently Asked Questions

MistyWay is a fantasy walking adventure RPG that turns your real-life steps into an epic journey. Every step you take moves your hero through a vast fantasy world, unlocking new biomes, treasures, achievements, and story chapters. Build walking streaks, complete weekly quests with narrative outcomes, and compete with friends on leaderboards. It's fitness meets fantasy gaming - available free on iOS and Android.

MistyWay is created by Nikolai Iakubovskii and friends - a small team of developers who love fitness and gaming. Our goal is to help people build healthy habits through the power of storytelling and gamification.

Download MistyWay from the App Store or Google Play and open it. You'll go through a quick onboarding: choose your motivation, grant health data access (Apple Health or Health Connect), pick a character and nickname, and set your daily step goal. That's it - just start walking! No email or account creation required to begin your adventure.

Yes! All your progress is stored on our servers and tied to your account. If you sign in with the same account (Apple or Google) on a different device - even switching from iPhone to Android or vice versa - your steps, streaks, achievements, friends, and adventure progress will all be there.

MistyWay doesn't have a standalone Apple Watch app, but it fully benefits from your Apple Watch. Steps recorded by your Apple Watch automatically sync to Apple Health on your iPhone, and MistyWay reads them from there. So your watch steps count toward your adventure - no extra setup needed.

Yes, indirectly. MistyWay reads steps from Apple Health (iOS) and Health Connect (Android). If your Fitbit, Garmin, Samsung, Polar, Suunto, or Withings device syncs its data to Apple Health or Health Connect, those steps will automatically appear in MistyWay. Just make sure your wearable's companion app is set to share data with your phone's health platform.

No, MistyWay only counts steps from Apple Health or Health Connect. This ensures a fair experience for all players on leaderboards. If you walked but your steps weren't counted, check that your phone or wearable was on you and that health permissions are properly configured.

iOS: Go to Settings → Health → Data Access & Devices → MistyWay and make sure "Steps" reading is enabled.
Android: Go to Settings → Health Connect → App permissions → MistyWay and make sure step data access is granted.
If you denied the permission during onboarding, you'll need to enable it manually from your device settings. The app checks for permission each time it opens.

No. MistyWay uses your phone's pedometer (step detector), not GPS. It only counts walking and running steps detected by your device's accelerometer. Driving, cycling, and other non-walking activities won't generate steps. Treadmill walking does count, since the step detector picks up your walking motion.

No. All your data - steps, adventure progress, streaks, achievements, friends, and settings - is stored on our servers. When you sign in on your new phone with the same account, everything is restored automatically. This works across platforms too (iPhone to Android and vice versa).

Your steps have been tracked and stored on our servers since the day you created your account. When you upgrade to Premium, the app recalculates your adventure distance using your full step history. There's nothing extra you need to do - just open the app after purchasing and your journey will update automatically.

No! All social features are completely free. You can add unlimited friends, view leaderboards, send and receive friend requests, and compete in weekly and monthly rankings without Premium. We believe social motivation should be available to everyone.

Yes, you can cancel anytime. Subscriptions are managed through your device's app store:
iOS: Settings → your name → Subscriptions → MistyWay → Cancel Subscription.
Android: Google Play → Payments & subscriptions → Subscriptions → MistyWay → Cancel.
You'll keep Premium access until the end of your current billing period. No partial refunds are issued for unused time.

If you were charged but Premium isn't showing, try these steps: close the app completely and reopen it, then check your profile screen for your subscription status. It can take a minute or two for the purchase to sync. If the issue persists, check the App Store or Google Play for any pending transactions. You can also contact us at [email protected] with your receipt and we'll resolve it for you.

No. MistyWay does not use GPS or request location permissions. We only read step count data from Apple Health or Health Connect. We have no idea where you walk - just how many steps you take. Your location data stays entirely on your device and with your platform's health service.

You have full control over your data. You can revoke health data access at any time through your device's settings. You can delete your entire account and all associated data (steps, achievements, friends, subscription records) from the app's Settings screen. You can also contact us to request data deletion. For more details, see our Privacy Policy.

You can unfriend any user to remove them from your friends list. There is no dedicated block feature yet, but you can report inappropriate notes left by other players - just tap the flag icon on the note and select a reason. Notes that receive multiple reports are automatically hidden. If someone is bothering you, contact us at [email protected] and we'll handle it.

No, absolutely not. We do not sell, share, or trade your personal data with third parties. Your step data is used solely to power your in-game adventure. We store it securely on encrypted servers for cloud backup and sync. No hidden tracking, no ads, no data brokers. Read our full Privacy Policy for details.

First, check that your steps appear in Apple Health or Health Connect - MistyWay reads from there, so if the platform shows 0, the issue is with your device or wearable. Make sure health permissions are granted (see "How do I make sure the app is connected" above). Try closing the app completely and reopening it. On some Android devices (especially Xiaomi/MIUI), battery optimization can kill background services - go to Settings → Apps → MistyWay and set battery to "No restrictions." If the issue continues, contact us.

MistyWay displays exactly what Apple Health or Health Connect reports. If you see inflated numbers, the issue is likely with your health data source. Check if multiple devices are writing steps to the same health platform (e.g., both your phone and watch counting separately). You can manage data sources in Apple Health → Steps → Data Sources & Access, or in Health Connect → Data and access → Steps.

You can delete your account directly in the app by going to Settings and tapping "Delete user." This permanently removes all your data - steps, achievements, friends, and subscription records. Alternatively, you can send a deletion request to [email protected]. For detailed instructions, visit our Delete Account page.

You can reach our support team at [email protected]. We typically respond within 24-48 hours. You can also reach us through the in-app feedback feature in Settings.