Data2Dao · How it works
Data2Dao is an iPhone app. Stand your phone up in front of you and the front camera recognizes your squats, side stretches and Up-and-Downs right on the device. Every rep you finish, your orange cat lands a hit on the monster. No wearable, no extra equipment.
Free to download · Subscription with free trial · iPhone & iPad · iOS 18.0 or later
Battling with your body is the way in. What to do today, when to rest and how you grow over time come from your body's state and your own long-term record.
Qi and Inner Demon
Sleep, heart rate and activity set today's Qi, and late-night scrolling feeds your Inner Demon—using Apple Health and Screen Time data only if you allow it. You can start without Apple Health, too.
One stage a day
Seven-day chapters with one stage a day, built around the goal you choose and lasting 3, 5 or 8 minutes. On a rough day, take a leave day or clear the stage with a meditation.
Camera battles
The front camera recognizes squats, side stretches, push-ups and more right on your phone, and every rep you finish is a strike from your cat. Camera frames are never saved or uploaded.
Full camera setup guide
Your Path
Workouts, meditation, moods, check-in photos and runs or rides from Apple Health all gather on one Path timeline. Days off are part of the path, too.
Skills
Longevity Arts, Body Tempering, Wall Angel, Baduanjin and Broadcast Exercise 8, with the cat leading every form. You can also pick moves by body part and build your own practice.
Everything worth checking before you download. Prices are from the App Store, checked October 2026; the in-app purchase screen is authoritative.
| Devices | iPhone and iPad; iOS / iPadOS 18.0 or later; portrait only |
|---|---|
| Equipment | Just the front camera—no wearable, Apple Watch, game console or other accessory |
| Space | Phone upright, you about 1.5–2.5 m (5–8 ft) away, visible at least from the knees up |
| Motion recognition | Apple Vision tracks body joints on the phone; camera frames are never saved or uploaded |
| Counted moves | Squats, side stretches, standing jump claps, high knees, push-ups, shoulder circles, heel raises, single-leg balance and more |
| Stage length & difficulty | 3, 5 or 8 minutes; Light, Standard or High; skip a move by holding an OK sign for 1.2 seconds |
| Health data | With your permission: sleep, resting heart rate, HRV and activity; works without it |
| App languages | English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese |
| Price | Free to download, and the introduction (including a camera trial) is free. Full practice needs a subscription: $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year in the US, with a 3-day (monthly) or 7-day (annual) free trial |
| Other regions (month / year) | China mainland CN¥38 / CN¥98 Japan ¥800 / ¥6,000 Hong Kong SAR China HK$38 / HK$288 Taiwan NT$150 / NT$1,290 |
| Compared with a gym | Annual works out to about $3.33 a month; the average U.S. gym is $45.19. Across 94 countries and regions, the annual plan's monthly cost is a median 9.3% of the local gym fee |
| Cancel & refunds | Renews automatically; cancel any time in Settings → your Apple Account → Subscriptions. Refunds are requested from Apple at reportaproblem.apple.com |
| Network | Needs a connection: accounts, subscriptions, leaderboards, voice transcription and the cat's voice use online services |
| Good fit | People who sit a lot, want a few minutes of movement a day, enjoy game-style feedback and have a small open spot at home or work |
| Not a fit | Android users; anyone who needs seated moves or landscape mode; anyone looking for medical diagnosis, treatment or rehab |
| Developer | Dongguan Tuesday Technology Co., Ltd. |
Where to put your phone, how far to stand, what each on-screen hint means and what to try when recognition misses.
Break up a long stretch of sitting between meetings with a short battle, a few shoulder moves and one round of breathing.
Camera apps, console fitness games, follow-along videos and smartwatches compared in one table—plus who Data2Dao is not for.
No. Camera battles only need the front camera of an iPhone or iPad running iOS 18.0 or later. If an Apple Watch or another device writes sleep and heart data to Apple Health, Data2Dao can read it to calculate your Qi; without that data, those metrics are missing or replaced by a simple baseline.
Recognition runs on the phone with Apple's Vision framework, tracking joints such as shoulders, elbows, hips and knees. Squats, side stretches, standing jump claps, high knees, push-ups, shoulder circles, heel raises and single-leg balance are all counted. Most moves need your shoulders, hips and knees in view, push-ups are done side-on, and you'll want good light with no bright window behind you.
The app doesn't ask for an exact distance—it goes by what the camera sees. Stand the phone upright so the front camera captures your whole body, or at least everything above the knees; for push-ups, turn side-on. Most people fit in the frame at about 1.5–2.5 m (5–8 ft). Too close and you'll see “Step back a little”; too far and you'll see “Step a little closer”.
With Apple Health access, Data2Dao reads sleep and deep sleep, resting heart rate and HRV—compared with your own baseline—plus activity, training and meditation time to work out today's Qi. With Screen Time access, late-night scrolling builds up your Inner Demon. In the morning you can mark anything that hurts on a body map; higher joint-load moves that work that area are held back until it eases. Mood check-ins only change how advice is worded; they never lower your scores.
Yes. Without access, the app plans your practice from your onboarding answers and a simple baseline. Camera battles, meditation and follow-along routines use the camera, not health data—only the sleep and heart-rate parts of Qi can't be calculated. You can change access any time in Settings or the Health app.
No. Frames used for pose, eye and camera heart-rate detection are processed on the phone and are never saved or uploaded. The only video the app keeps is from Record Battle Highlights: you're asked at your first battle whether to turn it on, and if you do, a roughly 7-second clip is created on the device after a win, kept for 7 days by default and saved to Photos only if you choose. See the Privacy Policy for other features such as voice notes.
Downloading is free, and the introduction—including a camera trial—is free. Full practice requires a subscription: $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year in the US, with a 3-day free trial on monthly or a 7-day free trial on annual (once per Apple Account). Other regions: China mainland CN¥38 / CN¥98 · Japan ¥800 / ¥6,000 · Hong Kong SAR China HK$38 / HK$288 · Taiwan NT$150 / NT$1,290 (month / year); the in-app purchase screen is authoritative. Annual works out to about $3.33 a month; the average U.S. gym is $45.19. Across 94 countries and regions, the annual plan's monthly cost is a median 9.3% of the local gym fee—see the Pricing page. Subscriptions renew automatically and can be canceled any time in your Apple Account settings; refunds are handled by Apple at reportaproblem.apple.com.
Ring Fit Adventure needs a Nintendo Switch and accessories such as the Ring-Con, is played in front of a TV and offers a much bigger game. Data2Dao only uses the front camera of an iPhone or iPad, needs nothing to buy, runs 3–8 minutes a stage and uses sleep and heart data from Apple Health to plan what to do today and when to rest. If you have a console and want long play sessions, pick the former; if you have a phone, a few minutes and a small open spot, pick the latter. For a full comparison of four ways to work out at home, see “Working out at home with an iPhone: how to choose”.
Rest. Every 7-day chapter includes two leave days that cost no Qi, or you can do a short meditation and count the day's stage as a meditation clear. Stop immediately if you feel pain, dizziness or chest tightness, and contact a medical professional if discomfort is severe, persistent or recurring. Data2Dao supports everyday exercise habits and does not provide medical diagnosis or treatment.
Yes. Each stage can be 3, 5 or 8 minutes at Light, Standard or High difficulty. If there's a move you can't do, hold an OK sign to the camera for 1.2 seconds to skip it. Leave enough space to move safely and go at your own pace.
Meditation runs 1–5 minutes with guided 4-7-8 breathing (in for 4, hold for 7, out for 8); turn on the camera to detect closed eyes for a bonus, and the session is saved to Apple Health as mindful minutes. The Skills tab holds follow-along routines—Longevity Arts, Body Tempering, Wall Angel, Baduanjin and Broadcast Exercise 8—and the later ones unlock as your Dao grows. In “Choose practice” you can pick moves by body part or routine and set the time per set and rest between sets; finish a full day's worth and today's stage counts as cleared. Moves have to be learned in Skills first. Workouts, meditation, moods, check-in photos and runs or rides from Apple Health all gather on your Path timeline.
iPhone and iPad running iOS or iPadOS 18.0 or later, in portrait orientation. The app is available in English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Japanese.
