How to Compete with Friends on Apple Watch

* This article is from our Tip of the Day newsletter. . *

Monthly Apple Watch Challenges are automatically created based on your level of activity, while Limited Edition Challenges are available for holidays and special events. A great way to earn badges in the Apple Fitness app is via Competitions that let you compete with, encourage, and even smack talk with your friends and family!

Why You’ll Love This Tip

  • Competing with friends is a fun way to find fitness motivation.
  • Discover a new way to stay in touch with family and friends.
  • Learn how to add more Apple Watch activity badges to your collection.

How to Add Friends to Apple Watch Competitions

Starting an Apple Watch activity competition or exercise challenge is easy! All you need is someone with an Apple Watch to complete with. If you don't have friends or family who have an Apple Watch or who are brave enough to accept your challenge, you can always find strangers on dedicated Reddit threads or Facebook groups to compete with! Here’s how to start a competition on Apple Watch:

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  1. Open the Activity app on your Apple Watch.

    Open the Activity app on your Apple Watch - be my friend challenge
     
  2. Swipe from right to left to see the Sharing tab.

    Swipe left to see the Sharing tab - activity app
     
  3. Scroll down and tap Invite a Friend.

    Scroll down and tap Invite a Friend - invite and win
     
  4. Select a contact. The invitation will be sent and you will return to the Sharing tab.

    Select a contact. The invitation will be sent and you will return to the Sharing tab.
     
  5. They will need to accept your invitation within 48 hours.

    They will need to accept your invitation within 48 hours - add friends apple watch
     
  6. Once they accept your invitation, you can tap on their name in the Sharing tab.

    Once they accept your invitation, you can tap on their name in the Sharing tab.
     
  7. You will be able to see each other’s Activity Rings, steps taken, total distance covered, and flights climbed. This will not let them see your location or any personal information from the Health app.

    You will now be able to see each other’s Activity Rings - see all friends
     
  8. You can scroll down and tap Hide my Activity if you wish to stop sharing these.

    Tap Hide my Activity - what does badges mean on iphone
     
  9. If you wish to stop competing with others, you need to select their names and tap Remove Friend.

    Tap Remove Friend - fitness tracker compete with friends
     
  10. You can easily see who has won the most challenges by tapping on their name in the Sharing tab in the Activity app on your Apple Watch.

    Who won more - change goals on apple watch

Pro Tip: When you compete with someone, you can send them words of motivation or smack talk when they complete workouts. Just tap Reply and write something or tap one of the suggested options like, "Enjoy it while you can."

Related: How to Change Goals on Apple Watch

Apple Watch fitness competitions can be a lot of fun! To learn more about the various Apple Watch monthly challenges, change activity goals, and even how to win Apple Watch competitions, sign up for our free Tip of the Day newsletter. Next, read these tricks on how to win Apple Watch competitions every time!
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Author Details

Olena Kagui's picture

Author Details

Olena Kagui

Olena Kagui is a Feature Writer at iPhone Life. In the last 10 years, she has been published in dozens of publications internationally and won an excellence award. Since joining iPhone Life in 2020, she has written how-to articles as well as complex guides about Apple products, software, and apps. Olena grew up using Macs and exploring all the latest tech. Her Maui home is the epitome of an Apple ecosystem, full of compatible smart gear to boot. Olena’s favorite device is the Apple Watch Ultra because it can survive all her adventures and travels, and even her furbabies.