Overview
Learn how to set an activity cap and why you may want to consider including one in your next challenge
What is an activity cap?
Activity caps limit the total number of daily steps, distance, or active minutes that will be scored into a particular challenge module. Activity caps can be set on a per challenge module basis, which means that each cap is applied to only one challenge module.
For example, if a challenge includes both a Leaderboard module and a Streak module, there may be an activity cap for the Leaderboard module, and a separate activity cap for the Streak module. You may also have a challenge that contains one module with an activity cap, while the other activity module does not have one at all.
When should you consider including an activity cap?
Including an activity cap in a challenge can discourage cheating and can help even the playing field among participants. Activity caps can also provide a more engaging competition for participants who may feel discouraged when compared to the higher activity counts of others.
We especially recommend applying an activity cap to the following challenge modes because they are the most competitive challenge modes available on Wellbeing+:
- Leaderboard
- Virtual Race
- Team Leaderboard
- Team Virtual Race
We also highly encourage using an activity cap if you have the activity converter enabled for your organization. We generally see higher totals for challenge participants when the activity converter is enabled. This is because participants are able to count additional activities toward their step, distance, and active minute totals (e.g. yoga, cycling, rowing, etc.), including data that typically is not tracked by a device and counted toward challenge totals.
How to set an activity cap for a challenge module
You can set an activity cap when creating your challenge or while editing a module on the challenge dashboard.
When creating your challenge, you'll be able to add a cap here by toggling the option to set a daily activity cap "On" and entering your cap below:
If the challenge has already been created, head to the challenge dashboard and then scroll down to the particular challenge module where you'd like to set an activity cap. Select the pencil icon shown below to edit edit the challenge metric and add an activity cap:
You can also update or remove the activity cap even after your challenge has started. Just edit your challenge goal from the challenge dashboard to access these options. After making any adjustments to your activity cap, your challenge will be rescored automatically to reflect the new updates.
Activity Cap FAQs
What daily activity limits should I set for an activity cap?
The defaults we include are based on population trends we see in our app across thousands of users. We typically find it is uncommon for the average person to achieve over 40,000 steps/day, 200 active mins/day, or 20 miles/day (32km/day).
How are activity caps applied?
Activity data from participant accounts will only be scored into a challenge module up to the activity cap that's been applied. This means all challenge scores will only show data up to the activity cap set for that challenge module. Although participants will not see their higher totals reflected in the challenge, they will still see still this data on their dashboard and in their personal trends and insights.
For example, if you're running a Leaderboard challenge module with an activity cap of 40,000 steps, participants can receive credit for up to the max of 40,000 steps. Any additional data in a participant's account for that day will not be reflected in the challenge module.
Will personal account data be affected by activity caps?
Personal account data will not be affected by participating in a challenge with an activity cap. All daily activity, personal trends and insights, Friends leaderboard, Badges, and any other challenges will not be affected by participating in a challenge with an activity cap.