Reward apps ask for more than a typical utility app — motion data, an advertising identifier, sometimes notifications. Most of those requests are legitimate. Knowing which is which takes about two minutes.
Start with the permissions
The useful question is not “is this app asking for a lot?” but “does each request match what the app actually does?”
- Motion and fitness data is necessary for a step-counting app. Without it there is no step count. On iPhone this data is handled by the system and you can revoke it at any time in Settings.
- Notifications are reasonable for daily streaks and reminders, and are always declinable.
- Tracking permission is the iOS prompt asking to track you across other apps and websites. Declining it is fine and should not break anything.
- Contacts, photos, precise location, or microphone have no obvious use in a step counter or a quiz app. Treat these as a question that needs answering.
What reward apps typically collect
Expect some combination of an advertising identifier, general device and app usage information, and whatever is needed for the reward itself — your step count, your progress, your coin balance. Payout requires a PayPal address.
None of that is unusual. What matters is whether the app tells you about it. A privacy policy that names the ad networks involved and explains your options is a good sign. A policy that is a page of generic text, or missing entirely, is not.
Advertising identifiers, briefly
Ad networks use a resettable identifier to decide which ads to show and to confirm that a rewarded ad was genuinely watched. On iPhone you can reset it, limit it, or decline tracking outright in Settings, and apps are required to ask before tracking you across other companies' apps and sites.
Red flags
- Permission requests with no relationship to what the app does.
- No privacy policy, or one that never mentions advertising.
- Any request for card details, a deposit, or a fee to withdraw.
- A developer with no website and no way to contact a person.
- Reviews describing redemptions that never arrive.
A reasonable checklist
- Read what the app asks for and check each request against what it does
- Find the privacy policy and confirm it mentions advertising
- Check the developer has a real website and a support contact
- Skim recent reviews specifically for payout complaints
- Decline tracking if you would rather not be tracked — it should still work
Where we stand
Our privacy policy sets out what our apps and this site collect, including advertising and analytics, and how to request deletion. If anything in it is unclear, the contact page reaches a person.