Whoop Gets Social, Strava-style As Screenless Rivals Close In

Wearable makers have mastered data but have missed out on social fitness. Can Whoop’s new social media-like feed change that?

Whoop, the wearable technology maker, reports that its more than 3 million members access its app more than eight times a day — a fraction of the 186 times a day Americans say they check their phones, according to a Reviews.org survey.

However, the introduction of a new social media-like feature could boost user engagement as the company prepares for a potential IPO.

The Boston wearable maker rolled out Whoop Humans, a feed inside its app where members can follow friends and family, see whichever sleep, recovery and strain numbers those people choose to share and react or comment. 

A companion feature called Moments allows users to add photos from workouts and milestones, further giving the app a social media feel. Members choose which metrics to share, can remove followers and can flip on a Stealth Mode to go dark without changing their settings. Activities marked sensitive stay hidden by default.

Whoop founder and CEO Will Ahmed said the move is an antidote to a world becoming “increasingly artificial.”

“This is the most verifiably human network ever launched,” he said in an announcement, noting that every account represents a “real person with a verified heartbeat.” 

Reactions among members seem mixed, judging by Whoop’s community on Reddit. Some welcomed the social aspect, while others said they prefer simple metric tracking and would rather the wearable company focus on other improvements.

One Whoop user stated that the addition of Humans was what the app had been missing for a while, comparing it to the social fitness app Strava.

Strava, which has a loyal fan base among runners and cyclists, has significant ambitions of its own, including an IPO.

Of course, Whoop isn’t the first wearable maker to push for the social aspect. Fitbit built a following around step challenges and friend leaderboards and ring maker Oura launched Circles in 2023, letting ring wearers share their sleep, readiness and activity scores with small groups of friends and family.

The irony is that in a world of endless screens and notifications, Whoop put everything behind a faceless band and let the data do the talking. Now the app on the other end of its band is able to get followers, comments and a photo feed.

The timing makes sense, though, because the screenless category Whoop popularized is filling up fast. This year, Garmin launched its Cirqa band, while Google introduced its screen-free Fitbit Air.

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