Steppin is a new app that locks your social media apps until you go out and walk

App stores are full of different services designed to help you cut down on screen time and count your steps. A new iOS app he called Stepping combines these two ideas to help users do both at the same time to bridge the gap between physical and mental health.

Steppin blocks your social media apps if you don’t take a certain number of steps each day. By achieving daily step goals, you unlock time on your most used social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

The app was founded by Paul English, who previously launched the Kayak travel search engine Purchased by Priceline for $1.8 billion. Paul told TechCrunch that he came up with the idea for the app while on vacation in Spain with his son Michael English and fiancee Rachel Cohen.

They discovered that even though they were traveling in a beautiful landscape, they were constantly using their phones and browsing social networks. While they are aware of apps that block your social media usage, they thought of tying it to the amount of steps you take in a given day. They thought it would help people improve both their physical and mental health.

The app works by deciding how many steps you can take to earn a minute of screen time. You can be as aggressive or gentle as you like. For example, you can decide that you have to walk 100 steps to earn a minute on TikTok. If for some reason you need to access a certain app, you can override Steppin’s controls.

Steppin doesn’t just connect to social media apps, you can also reduce other apps that steal your time like Netflix or certain games.

While the app is marketed to Gen Z, Paul says the app can be useful for people of all ages, especially since he himself uses Steppin to reduce his social media usage.

“It’s really about everybody,” Paul said. “We’ve just found in talking to friends and family that a lot of parents say, ‘I want my teenager to be like this, my 12-year-old is addicted,’ and then some adults say, ‘Yeah, I have a problem, it’s just Gene. Not on Z, I find I talk on my phone too much and don’t get out of the house enough.’ Thus, we see interest from all ages.”

Initially, the app is free, but the company plans to offer it through an annual subscription in the future. While Steppin hasn’t finalized the price point, he expects it to be around $20.

Looking ahead, Steppin won’t just focus on steps, as you’ll be able to log things like a yoga class or other physical activities to save time on social media.

“We’re going to create a leaderboard so you can see who uses social media the least among your friends,” Paul said. “We will log how many days you successfully use the program. So this is something for parents. They can say to their child, “Hey, how’s Steppin? When the child opens the app, parents will say, wait a minute, you cheated three days ago. Otherwise, they will see that they have been using it for 30 days in a row without any tricks.”

Steppin has been available for download on iOS since Tuesday and will be available for Android users in the coming weeks.