WHOOP just changed its step algorithm and it could change your WHOOP Age

WHOOP has rolled out a new step-counting algorithm for WHOOP 5.0 and WHOOP MG. The biggest improvement is aimed at situations where your arm is not swinging normally, such as walking a dog, pushing a stroller, holding a phone or keeping your hands in your pockets. But this could have a knock-on effect on some of your other metrics.

WHOOP is trying to fix missed steps

WHOOP counts steps using movement data from the accelerometer inside the tracker. No surprise there. That works reasonably well when your wrist moves naturally while walking, but becomes harder when your arm stays relatively still.

WHOOP says the new model was trained using both laboratory and real-world data. It compared results against a research-grade pedometer worn at the ankle, where individual foot strikes are easier to detect accurately.

The company says the updated algorithm improves results when walking with reduced arm movement, including while pushing a stroller, holding a leash or carrying a phone. It also says the improvement applies whether WHOOP is worn on the wrist or bicep.

That addresses a problem users have been complaining about. Recent reports on social media include people seeing thousands fewer steps than expected during walks, particularly on treadmills or when their arms were not moving much.

WHOOP also warns that not everyone will suddenly see higher numbers. Some users may see fewer steps if the old algorithm was incorrectly counting other movements as walking.

WHOOP only started adding step counts to the app in 2024. Before that, the company focused much more heavily on Strain as its measure of daily activity. Steps have since become more important because they now feed into WHOOP’s broader longevity metrics.

Your WHOOP Age could eventually change

Daily steps are one of the inputs used for WHOOP Age and Pace of Aging. Other factors include sleep, VO2 max, resting heart rate, time spent in different heart-rate zones, strength training and lean body mass.

So if your WHOOP has been consistently undercounting walking, improving that data could eventually shift your WHOOP Age. The effect will not be immediate because Healthspan uses longer-term trends rather than reacting heavily to a single day.

WHOOP Age is based on six-month averages, which means any impact from the new algorithm should appear gradually. The direction could go either way depending on whether the old system was undercounting or overcounting your movement.

The update is limited to WHOOP 5.0 and MG

The new algorithm only works on WHOOP 5.0 and WHOOP MG. Older WHOOP hardware does not get the improvement. Which is a bit strange. Perhaps an update to those devices will be rolled out soon.

Granted, step counting is still one of the more basic functions WHOOP offers. But once the company started feeding it into Healthspan, getting those numbers right became more important. A few thousand missing steps here and there can matter if the data is being averaged over months and used as part of a broader health score.