Are you tired of paying continuous high subscription fees to use your activity tracker? An app called Noop aims to rectify this, at least in the case of the Whoop Band (or you can skip the Whoop altogether for one of these Whoop alternatives).
For the uninitiated, Whoop is a fitness band that’s been gaining a lot of traction recently, largely due to its fresh approach to health monitoring (and the fact that it’s one of the best wearables for sleep tracking). Entering a space dominated by Apple, Oura and Fitbit, Whoop stands out for its lack of screen, its provision of complex and cross-referenced analytics and its pure subscription (technically) with no purchase costs for the hardware.
That said, you don’t exactly get a Whoop group for free and then pay for a subscription independently. You pay an upfront fee that covers the subscription for a certain period of time, and although there is a free trial for the mid-subscription tier, if you cancel before the trial ends, you must return the group. At the end of the trial, you are automatically billed for 12 months.
While Noop can’t let you bypass upfront fees, it eliminates all recurring fees, while still providing almost all of the same features as Whoop itself, and some not. Here’s how it works.
How Noop works
Noop is offline and anonymous, an anonymity that extends to both its users and its developer (even tipping for the app is done exclusively via crypto). No account is required and all your data is stored locally in an SQLite database — your personal information never touches the internet. Noop works on macOS, Android and iOS, although, to maintain this anonymity, it is not available on the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.
It immediately begins collecting data in the same way as the proprietary Whoop app. Your heart rate appears immediately and Noop collects data on your recovery status, sleep quality and blood pressure over the first few days. You can also import existing data if you have used the bracelet before.
When it has enough data, it will start providing the same type of analysis as Whoop, like how much your body is recovering and whether you’re ready for another intense workout, or how much sleep you should be getting versus how much you’re actually managing. It even does things the default Whoop app doesn’t, letting you lock your Mac by double-tapping the strap or detecting when you remove the strap.
The developer claims that Noop is completely legal because, among other reasons, it does not contain any Whoop, firmware or active code and does not bypass DRM. However, it is done by reverse engineering Whoop hardware, which can be legally tricky if it is found to circumvent technical protection measures or violate Whoop’s terms of service.
Similar non-OEM services exist for other fitness products
Noop isn’t the only app looking to bypass expensive subscriptions on fitness tracking devices. Oura Ring has its own counterpart, an app called Cracked Oura. It also stores all your data in a local SQLite database and, like Noop, creates graphs, charts, and analyzes to display in easy-to-digest formats within the app. Cracked Oura can even rely on local AI models to analyze your data, and it’s completely free to download and use.
In fact, Noop isn’t even the only app that seeks to circumvent certain Whoop Group fees. A project called Goose is in the early stages of development and would also allow Whoop users to view their data without paying ongoing fees to Whoop. There is also a similar option specifically for Whoop 4.0 groups called Wearable.
Gadgetbridge is another philosophically similar project for Xiaomi, Amazfit, Pebble and Fitbit devices. It allows you to use your portable devices without having to download or install proprietary apps created by manufacturers and eliminates the need to store your data online in the cloud.
