# Motion & Fitness on iPhone: what it is, where it is · Angel Step > Motion & Fitness is the iPhone setting behind step counting: where it is, what Fitness Tracking does, why an app says it is off, and what an app gets. Canonical: https://angelstep.app/motion-and-fitness Language: en Updated: 2026-10-19 Whole site in one file: https://angelstep.app/llms-full.txt This file is the markdown twin of the page at the canonical address above: the same words, without markup. Cite the canonical address, not this file. --- Motion & Fitness is the iPhone setting behind step counting. It is in Settings → Privacy & Security → Motion & Fitness. At the top is Fitness Tracking, the switch for the whole phone; below it is a list of the apps that have asked to read your motion data, each with its own switch. With Fitness Tracking off, the phone stops counting your steps, and step counters show zero unless an Apple Watch is adding steps of its own. Angel StepCute Pedometer, Daily StepsFree · In-App Purchases · iPhone Scan with your iPhone camera ### Where to find it Open Settings, tap Privacy & Security, then Motion & Fitness. Apple's guide describes the same path: you tap a category such as Motion & Fitness, and a list appears showing the apps that requested access, where you can turn access on or off for each one. Older guides put it under Privacy. On current iOS the section is called Privacy & Security, and Motion & Fitness inside it is the same. Each app's own page in Settings can carry the same switch — the Life360 help page, for one, sends you to Settings → Life360 → Motion & Fitness. ### What Fitness Tracking does Under the switch, iOS explains it in one sentence: Motion & Fitness Tracking stores data on your device which can be used to estimate your body motion, mobility, step counts, stairs climbed, and more. Turn it off and the phone stops keeping that record. Step counters then get nothing from the phone and show zero, unless an Apple Watch adds steps of its own, and features built on the same data stop as well — in Health, iOS says Walking Steadiness is not available because Fitness Tracking has been turned off in Privacy settings. If your steps stopped and you want the whole checklist, it is on step counter not working on iPhone, with a 20-second video of this switch. ### When an app says Motion & Fitness is off Apps that use movement check this permission and tell you when they can't read it. There are two switches to look at. First the app's own switch in the Motion & Fitness list; then Fitness Tracking at the top. If the app's switch is on and it still says off, it is usually the top one: while Fitness Tracking is off, the phone keeps no motion record for any app to read. Life360 is the app people ask about most. Its help page says motion data enables its driving analytics, Driving Safety features, and Crash Detection, and gives the route Settings → Life360 → Motion & Fitness. ### When an app isn't in the list The list builds itself. In iOS's words, Apps that have requested access to your motion and fitness activity will appear here — so an app shows up only after it has asked. If one is missing, open it. The first time it reaches for motion data, iOS asks: “App name” would like to access your Motion & Fitness activity. Once you answer, either way, the app is in the list and you can change your mind there. ### What an app gets, and is it safe Two kinds of data. From the pedometer: step counts, distance traveled, and floors climbed up or down. From activity tracking: whether you are walking, running, in a vehicle, or stationary. The system collects it; an app asks for it. Every app that asks has to say why in the request — Apple requires a written reason, and an app without one can't touch the data at all. Motion & Fitness is a separate permission from Location Services, which is where your whereabouts live. Still, the kinds of movement laid out in time order come close to a diary of your day — when you walked, drove, or sat. Allow it to the apps that need it for something you use. ### How Angel Step uses it We make Angel Step, so take this as ours. It asks for motion access so the number moves as you walk while the app is open. The day's total it reads from Apple Health, so it shows the same number as Health. With Fitness Tracking off, the phone adds nothing to that total — for Angel Step as for any other step counter. ### Questions #### What is Motion & Fitness on iPhone? A setting in Settings, under Privacy & Security. At the top is Fitness Tracking, the switch for the whole phone; below it is a list of every app that has asked to read your motion data, each with its own switch. #### Where is Motion & Fitness in Settings? Settings, then Privacy & Security, then Motion & Fitness. Older guides say Privacy; on current iOS it is Privacy & Security, with the same contents. Each app's own page in Settings can carry the same switch. #### What happens if I turn off Fitness Tracking? The phone stops recording motion data, so step counters get nothing from it and show zero, unless an Apple Watch adds steps of its own. Features built on the same data stop too: iOS says Walking Steadiness is not available when Fitness Tracking is off. #### Why does an app say Motion & Fitness is off? Either its own switch is off in the Motion & Fitness list, or Fitness Tracking at the top is off for the whole phone. Check both. Life360, for example, asks for this permission for its driving features and crash detection. #### Is it safe to allow Motion & Fitness? It is a separate permission from Location Services, and the data is counts and kinds of movement. Laid out in time order, though, it sketches your day, so allow it only to apps that need it. ### Sources - The path, and the list of apps that requested access: Apple, iPhone User Guide, Control access to information in apps on iPhone, read 19 October 2026. - The wording under Fitness Tracking, the list footer, the access request, and the Walking Steadiness message: iOS 26.3 Settings and Health text, English. - Steps, distance and floors: Apple Developer, CMPedometer. Walking, running, vehicle, stationary: CMMotionActivityManager. The required reason: NSMotionUsageDescription. - Why Life360 asks, and its route: Life360, Life360 Permission Settings, read 19 October 2026. Updated 19 October 2026 one switch, and the count comes back. Angel Step reads the same total Apple Health keeps — with Fitness Tracking on, the number on its sky is yours.