Scrambly

Is The Macadam App Legit

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Last updated
Cartoon character walking with coins around and text saying ‘The app that pays you to walk,’ promoting a walking rewards app with over 1.3 million users.

Walking-for-rewards apps have become a familiar little industry: they promise a tiny financial nudge for habits people already do, and they can be fun motivators. Macadam is one of the newer names you might see popping up in app stores and on review blogs.

Below, I’ll explain what Macadam is, how it works, give a balanced verdict on whether it’s legitimate, and discuss privacy/security considerations.

Cartoon character walking with coins around and text saying ‘The app that pays you to walk,’ promoting a walking rewards app with over 1.3 million users.

What Macadam Is and How It Works

Macadam bills itself as a “walk-and-earn” step counter that converts physical activity into coins you can redeem for vouchers, cash transfers, or donations. The company presents the product as a simple proposition: install the app, link it to your phone’s health data (or to Google Fit / Apple Health), let the app count your steps, and accumulate coins as you hit daily step thresholds. The official website and store listings emphasize features such as daily step caps, occasional challenges or bonus events, and a rewards catalog.

Earning mechanics are straightforward on paper: a fixed number of coins per set of steps (with daily caps), plus optional ways to top up coins, such as watching short ads, completing surveys, or participating in in-app mini-tasks.

Many user reviews and independent write-ups describe the app as similar to other “move-to-earn” products with modest earnings, a gamified interface, and the ability to cash out when you reach a minimum balance. Integration with Apple Health / Google Fit is commonly noted, which both simplifies step-tracking and makes the app dependent on system-level fitness permissions.

Is the App Legitimate?

Short answer: yes, Macadam appears to be a legitimate app rather than an outright scam, but with important caveats. Multiple reputable app-review writeups and user reports (both positive and negative) indicate the app does track steps and that users have been able to redeem rewards; industry reviewers typically call it legitimate while cautioning that payouts are small and the experience varies by country and by individual technical circumstances.

That said, legitimacy doesn’t mean it’s flawless or that everyone will have a smooth experience. Public reviews show a mixed picture: many users praise the concept and some payouts, while others report frustration with withdrawal delays, verification hiccups, or account issues that blocked cashouts.

Trustpilot and app-store reviews include both 4–5 star testimonies and one-star complaints describing problems with cashout or account verification. In short, it’s real, but don’t expect meaningful income, so treat any money earned as a small bonus for activity, not a reliable side income.

Advertisement for a walking app that pays users for steps, showing a smartphone screen with 12,345 steps recorded and text saying ‘Make money when you walk’.

Security and privacy Concerns

Because Macadam relies on fitness data and (for withdrawals) payment details, privacy and data handling matter. The company publishes a privacy policy that states compliance with European data-protection laws (GDPR) and says it does not rely on GPS tracking for steps, and that some data is processed anonymously.

They also declare the data controller (a Spanish company) and outline legal bases for processing personal data. Those are positive signals, because having a clear privacy policy and an EU-based controller is better than nothing.

Still, practical risks remain. First, any app that requests access to Apple Health / Google Fit and to your email or payment method requires careful permission review. As such, be sure to give only what’s necessary and confirm the app’s communicated use matches what you allow.

Second, customer service and payout problems reported by users can feel like security or trust issues, even when they are operational bugs; always check recent user reviews for reports of account lockouts or withdrawal delays before investing a lot of time.

Finally, if you live outside the app’s primary markets, reward options and payout partners can be limited. While that’s not a security threat, it could still affect the real value of the app and your decision on whether to use it.

Bonus: Scrambly

Here is a bonus for you: the app Scrambly recently added a walking feature that lets iOS users earn points for their daily steps in addition to its usual surveys and mini-games. After connecting a step counter or fitness tracker, the app rewards movement with redeemable points for PayPal cash or gift cards.

Similar to Macadam, the earnings are small but steady, making it an easy way to collect bonuses while staying active. It’s a casual all-in-one rewards app that now gives a little extra credit for every step you take.

Scrambly.io home page.

Take Away

Macadam is best understood as a legitimate, small-scale “step rewards” app: it does what it promises in broad strokes (count steps and award coins), but it’s not a path to significant income, and user experiences vary.

The company publishes an EU-centered privacy policy and maintains an app-store presence, which is reassuring. Yet, mixed reviews about payouts and account issues mean it’s wise to set expectations low and to protect your personal data by keeping permissions minimal.

If you enjoy gamified nudges to be more active, Macadam can be a fun supplement. Just remember to treat earned coins as a tiny bonus rather than dependable money.

Portrait photo of Khanh Le
Written by Khanh Le

Content Writer

Self-proclaimed tech nerd with an unhealthy obsession with all things gaming and gadgets. When he's not buried in the latest tech news, you'll find him glued to his PC or phone, chasing whatever game has caught his attention that day. He's been writing about video games since 2017 for various popular outlets, such as SlashGear and MobyGeeks, and he’s showing no signs of stopping anytime soon (much to everyone's relief or dismay). Khanh joined the Scrambly.io team as a writer in 2025, where he now spends his time hunting down the platform's trickiest mobile challenges and writing articles showing other people how to do the same.

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