Strava
Strava tracks your runs, rides, and workouts, then posts them to a social feed where friends can see your activity. The fitness tracking is clean; the social layer adds comparison.
Why this score
Leaderboards (segments), kudos (likes), and follower counts turn exercise into a public performance. You can see exactly how your pace compares to friends and strangers on the same routes.
Push notifications for kudos, comments, and segment achievements create re-engagement hooks tied to social validation.
The breakdown
- Attention Capture3.0
Mechanics designed to keep you in the app right now — infinite scroll, autoplay, variable rewards, and reactive swipe-tap loops.
- Habit Formation4.0
Mechanics designed to bring you back — streak coercion, default push notifications, and re-engagement of dormant users.
- Social Pressure6.0
How much the experience exploits social psychology — public metrics, profile curation, and status comparison against others.
- Time Theft3.0
Mechanics that steal more time than you intended to give — no stopping cues, short units, and 'just one more' loops.
- Cognitive Erosion1.0
Mechanics that replace your independent thinking, memory, or judgment — creating dependency on the tool to function.
- Cognitive Nourishment4.0
Whether the app actively strengthens your ability to think for yourself. Shown on the label, but it does not affect the score.
Recommended usage
Track workouts for your own data. The leaderboards and social feed are where fitness tracking becomes comparison.