Can an app that reads your motivation make you move more?
NCT ID NCT07812766
First seen Sep 10, 2026 · Last updated Sep 11, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
Researchers are testing whether a mobile app called iMovin' can help adults exercise more when its features are matched to each person's reasons for working out. Participants wear a wrist activity tracker and use the app, which syncs with the tracker to record daily steps and active minutes. The study compares a personalized version of the app, where nudges and layout are tailored to a person's motivation type, against a standard version with all features turned on for everyone. Participants also answer questionnaires about their exercise habits and motivation at the start, during, and end of the study.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- a personalized mobile app called iMovin' paired with a wrist-worn activity tracker
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward app designs that match nudges to each person's reasons for exercising, helping adults build lasting physical activity habits.
- What could go wrong
- The trial is small and short, so any boost in step counts may fade or not hold up in larger groups. App-based nudges often show modest effects, and participants who volunteer for a fitness study may already be more motivated than most people.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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108 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Mar 2019
- Finished
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Oct 2021
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * NUS Students (Include undergraduates and postgraduates) who are current students for the two semesters of AY2019/2020 (For Phase Two only) * Generally healthy (e.g. do not have chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases) * Owns a smartphone running at least iOS11 or Android 8.0 (API Level 26) 4.4 * Has access to mobile data or WiFi * Preferably, owns a Fitbit activity tracker (however, if the individual does not own a Fitbit, a wireless activity tracker was loaned to him/her) Exclusion Criteria: * All individuals who do not meet the inclusion criteria
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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School of Computing
Singapore, Singapore
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.