Frequently Asked Questions

A slip doesn't erase your progress. Your coins, badges, and tier stay exactly where they are. We never take them back. Your day count starts again, and BetterStep quietly switches to a few gentler steps to help you through the next day. Coming back is part of recovery, not a failure. Just open the app and check in.

There's a crisis button at the top of your screen, always one tap away. It opens tools to help you get through an intense craving or a hard moment right now. If you're in immediate danger or thinking about harming yourself, contact your local emergency number or crisis line straight away. In the US you can call or text 988 (the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline), which is free, confidential, and available 24/7.

Missing one day won't undo your progress. If you have a streak shield (you earn one for a week of check-ins, or buy one with coins), it automatically covers a missed check-in so your streak keeps going. And if life pulls you away for longer, your streak doesn't vanish. It pauses, and a few check-ins when you come back bring it right where it was. Your tier and badges are always safe.

No. BetterStep supports your recovery alongside professional care. It doesn't replace a doctor, therapist, or treatment program. Every exercise in the app was developed together with professional therapists to make it genuinely effective, but it's built to work with your care, not instead of it. If you're in a medical or mental-health emergency, contact your local emergency number. In the US, you can call or text 988 any time.

BetterStep tracks it for you. Every daily check-in builds your streak, earns coins, and moves you toward your next tier and badges. Open the Home screen any time to see your streak and an overview of how far you've come.

Milestones are moments worth marking, like reaching a 7-day, 30-day, 90-day, or one-year streak. Each one earns you a badge that's yours to keep forever. We'll celebrate with you when you hit one.

You earn coins by showing up: completing your daily check-in, your core exercise, and the other daily steps. Your balance shows at the top of your Home screen. Right now you can spend coins to get money back on your subscription (through Recovery Rewards), or to buy a streak shield that protects your streak if you miss a day. More benefits you'll be able to spend coins on are being added over time. Every coin you earn is yours to keep, and we never take them back.

BetterStep supports recovery from ten addictions: alcohol, opioids and painkillers, stimulants, depressants and sedatives, cannabis, psychedelics, nicotine, gambling, pornography, and gaming (for people whose gaming has become compulsive). If you're working on more than one, you can track each separately.

Go to Profile > Recovery Journey > My Motivation to update your quit date and recovery goals. Changing it adjusts your day count, and it never affects the coins, badges, or tier you've already earned.

Go to Profile > Health Data and tap Connect. BetterStep works with Apple Health, Samsung Health, Fitbit, Garmin, Oura, and Whoop. Grant the permissions we ask for so it can read your activity, sleep, and heart-rate data. This powers your daily heart-rate check and the coins you earn for it.

After you sign in, follow the in-app widget guide. You can re-open it any time from Profile > Home Widget. The widget shows your current streak, your tier, and your day count at a glance.

First, open Settings > Notifications inside BetterStep and make sure they're on. If they still don't arrive, open your phone's own settings, find BetterStep in the app list, and turn on its notification permission there too.

Yes. Your data is encrypted and stored securely, and we never sell it. We don't share your personal information with anyone without your permission. Addiction-recovery information carries extra legal protection, and we follow those rules (including HIPAA and GDPR).

Only if you're connected to a clinic or care team that uses our clinician dashboard. A clinic can send you an invite link, and if you approve it you'll be added to that clinic, so your care team can see progress information to support you. If you signed up on your own and haven't approved any invite, no clinician has access to your data.

Yes. Sign in with the same email on each device, and your streak, coins, notes, and settings stay in sync automatically.

You can ask us to delete your account and personal data at any time. Open your Profile settings to start, or contact us at info@betterstep.io. Once deleted, your data is permanently removed and can't be recovered.