Get Paid to Share Your Location Data?

Miles is a brand new smartphone app that rewards you for sharing your location information.

They model it as “frequent flyer miles” for any sort of journey, whether or not you’re strolling the canine or flying throughout the nation.

Payouts are low, however it’s free money—relying on how comfy you might be sharing your location information.

On this publish, I’ll break down the professionals and cons of the Miles app and my expertise with it to date, so you may resolve if it’s value an an set up.

How the Miles App Works

After you download Miles and set up your account, the app will observe your location within the background. By analyzing your speed and GPS, it assigns your most definitely mode of transport to every journey.

The way you journey depends upon what number of miles you earn:

• Working and Strolling = 10x per mile
• Biking = 5x per mile
• Bus, Practice, Boat, or Snowboarding = 3x per mile
• Carpool or Experience Share = 2x per mile
• Automotive = 1x per mile
• Air = .1x per mile

I’ve run the app for the previous few months, and earned a mean of 600 miles a month. However then once more, I work from home and wasn’t taking any cross-country flights or street journeys.

For instance, right here’s how the Miles app tracked a pair brief drives in Seattle:

For the sake of illustration, let’s say you:

• have an average commute (16 miles every means) and drive your self
• stroll a mile in your lunch break
• go for a 5 mile run on the weekends

With no different journey, you’d earn round 1100 miles a month. (Extra under on what these miles are value.)

What’s the most miles you can realistically earn? If you happen to:

• ran a marathon each single day, you’d earn round 7,860 miles a month
• rode your bike 20 miles a day, you’d earn round 3,000 miles a month
• flew throughout the nation roundtrip each week, you’d earn round 2,400 miles a month
• drove 500 miles per week, you’d earn round 2,000 miles a month

If you happen to discover a Miles-tracked journey was mis-categorized, you may simply request to alter it to a unique methodology of transportation. (A few of my quick bike rides the place labeled automotive journeys, however I used to be in a position to get these modified to get 5x the miles.)

Most of my miles had been earned dropping off and selecting up my children from faculty, which is normally a motorbike or strolling outing.

(You may as well earn bonus miles by referring associates to the app.)

At press time, you may get 1,500 bonus miles when you sign up through my referral link.

How A lot Are Miles App Miles Price?

Within the Miles app, 5,000 miles are value $1-3. Which means each 1,000 miles is value $0.20-$0.60—so a typical consumer is likely to be promoting their 24/7 location information for lower than a greenback a month.

You possibly can redeem your miles in a number of alternative ways, however to get an estimate for his or her worth, it is smart to take a look at the present card redemption choices.

(At press time, withdrawal to PayPal or Venmo was not out there.)

If you happen to hit the Rewards tab, you’ll have the ability to see all of the choices to money in your hard-earned miles.

Most of those redemption provides—for lack of a greater time period—are full rubbish. They’re largely free trial or introductory provides you can simply discover exterior of the app. There’s no cause to spend any of your miles on them.

For instance, underneath “Meals & Drinks” I discovered this supply for HelloFresh: 16 free meals + 3 shock presents + free transport.

Sounds fairly good, and it’s solely 100 miles to redeem, proper?

Besides the very same supply is marketed on Google while you search the corporate’s title:

This kind of not-an-actual deal is fairly constant throughout a lot of the Miles app redemption classes.

How Does the Miles App Make Cash?

On the very least, Miles makes cash as an affiliate of HelloFresh and the opposite corporations listed as rewards choices. If Miles can get you to join an introductory supply or a free trial, these Third-party corporations pays them a referral payment.

It doesn’t value you something additional (besides perhaps a nominal cost in miles), you get to strive a brand new services or products, and Miles makes some cash for making the introduction.

There’s nothing shady about this—I’ve made the majority of my revenue from internet affiliate marketing for the final 15 years.

However simply pay attention to what’s occurring behind the scenes. The Miles app is a artistic strategy to get customers in entrance of affiliate provides.

The (doubtless) different means Miles makes cash is by brokering your location information to events.

The Finest Option to Redeem Your Miles

So if most Miles app redemption choices suck, what must you do with them as an alternative?

Present Playing cards

I are likely to go for Amazon gift cards, however redemption values could also be higher on Starbucks or Goal playing cards.

Not all present playing cards can be found always, and the very best provides are likely to “promote out” shortly.

For Amazon, I normally see present playing cards priced between 5,000 and 10,000 miles per $1. (Costs appear to differ week to week.)

Just lately I noticed you can get a greater bang in your buck (3,000 miles per $1) on Starbucks, Goal, and Nike present playing cards, however they bought out inside hours.

Due to that, I can see why the Miles app is likely to be irritating. It may be completely passive income, but when it requires day by day monitoring to seek out one thing worthwhile to redeem, that makes it exhausting to truly money in.

In actual fact, as of early 2023, I haven’t seen a present card out there to buy in months. All are instantly “bought out” upon posting, forcing Miles app customers to bid on them at inflated valuations as an alternative. Lame.

Raffle Drawings

The opposite attention-grabbing strategy to redeem your miles that is likely to be value a glance is Miles’ raffle drawings. For these, you employ your miles to purchase various entries to win the next worth present card—normally $25, however generally rather more.

At press time, they’d drawings for Walmart, Goal, Starbucks, and Amazon present playing cards. I’ve even seen drawings for as much as $250 direct to your PayPal account.

Let’s nerd out on this for a second. On this instance, they’ve 1 million entries for 3 $250 PayPal funds. (The app solely exhibits what number of entries are left, not what number of complete can be found, so it’s important to estimate.)

Odds of profitable: 1 in 333,333

However you may enter 200 instances for simply 3,000 miles, that are value anyplace from $0.33-$1 when redeemed straight for present playing cards.

Now your odds are 1 in 1,666.

If my math is appropriate, that provides your miles an anticipated worth of $0.15 every—lower than the direct present card redemption—however with the potential for the next payout. For the reason that direct present card values are so low, the prospect of profitable extra is likely to be interesting.

Donating Miles

You may as well “donate” your miles to charities just like the American Heart Association at a charge of 10,000 miles per $1. In February, Miles was additionally providing customers a $1 Amazon present card for each 10,000 miles donated.

Shopping for Miles

Miles lately launched the “alternative” for customers to purchase miles. Except you want lighting cash on hearth, it is best to by no means do that.

Miles Membership Tiers

Miles breaks out their customers into 3 tiers:

1. Silver
2. Gold
3. Platinum

What number of miles you earn within the present calendar month determines your tier standing for the following month.

Silver Advantages

If you happen to earned lower than 750 miles the earlier month, you’ll be within the “Silver” tier. Advantages embrace:

• 100 bonus miles every month
• 2,500 miles in your Miles app anniversary
• 2,500 miles in your birthday

Nevertheless it appears like they don’t simply dish these out in your account—you could must entry the app and declare them.

Gold Advantages

If you happen to earned 750-1,999 miles the earlier month, like our instance “common” Miles app consumer, you’ll be within the “Gold” tier. Advantages embrace:

• 200 bonus miles every month
• 2,500 miles in your Miles app anniversary
• 2,500 miles in your birthday
• Higher redemption charges for rewards

Platinum Advantages

If you happen to earned over 2,000 miles the earlier month, or redeemed no less than 2 rewards, you’ll be within the “Platinum” tier. I think about a semi-serious runner or bicycle owner might hit this beautiful constantly.

Advantages embrace:

• 400 bonus miles every month
• 1,500 miles in your Miles app anniversary
• 1,500 miles in your birthday
• Higher redemption charges for rewards
• Early entry to rewards

Diamond Advantages

Customers who redeem 5,000 miles in a calendar month — or log 300 journeys — obtain Diamond standing.

Diamond customers get:

• 500 month-to-month bonus miles
• 2,000 miles in your birthday
• 2,000 miles in your Miles app anniversary
• Accelerated in-app incomes
• Higher odds of profitable raffles
• First entry to present playing cards

Different Apps like Miles

If you happen to don’t thoughts sharing your location and step-tracking information, there are a number of different apps that function equally. And sure, you may stack all of those onto your machine to “double dip.”

Different Background Apps

We give so much of our data away for free already, however there are just a few corporations that can pay greater than Miles for it.

For instance, Nielsen rewards you for sharing Web utilization behaviors on as much as 3 gadgets — your pc, smartphone, and pill. The app is non-intrusive and doesn’t decelerate your gadgets. Customers report incomes as much as $50 a yr.

Equally, Mobilexpression pays you in alternate for information out of your cell phone.

Download their app and permit it to work within the background, recording your searching habits. Realistically, Mobilexpression is in all probability value round $20 a yr, and also you’ll earn a free $5 present card after your first week.

Tapestri

Tapestri is a brand new location-sharing money rewards app, that turns motion into. Tapestri pays you in actual {dollars} and also you earn the identical whatever the mode of transportation you’re utilizing.

That is value $5-25 a month relying on how a lot you progress round city.

You receives a commission mechanically as soon as your account hits a $10 steadiness.

Evidation

Evidation is an app that pays you for monitoring your steps and finishing health-related surveys by way of the app. It doesn’t observe driving or different modes of transport.

Each 10,000 Evidation factors are value $10. If you happen to do a number of strolling, I feel this might fairly be value $10-20 a yr.

StepBet

A pal of mine reported incomes round $150 a yr with StepBet, which gamifies your strolling objectives with group step challenges.

Guess on your self to satisfy your strolling objectives. If you happen to hit your individual step objectives each week for all the recreation, you divide the “pot” with the opposite winners. Which means you win again your individual funding plus revenue.

If you happen to miss your weekly objective, you’re out of the operating.

HealthyWage

If you happen to’re severe about shedding pounds, you may truly win cash for doing it by way of HealthyWage. Enter what number of kilos you need to lose and your timeline into their “prize calculator” to see how a lot you may win.

Right here’s our full HealthyWage review for extra info.

Sweatcoin

Sweatcoin might be probably the most related “get paid to walk” app to Miles. It tracks your steps and provides you Sweatcoins, which you’ll then redeem for merchandise contained in the app.

Nonetheless, most redemption provides are merely affiliate intro provides, identical to Miles. There are not any choices to redeem for money or present playing cards until you’re an “influencer” and refer different individuals to the app.

Miles App Options

Miles delivers what it guarantees, nevertheless it gained’t be an enormous cash maker. If that you must make more money a little bit quicker, listed here are another side hustles to contemplate.

Market Analysis Research

You could find a number of corporations that facilitate online and in-person consumer research studies and focus groups.

My private favorites are:

Flea Market Flipping

Facet Hustle Present visitor Stacy Gallego reported incomes thousands of dollars a month flipping secondhand products like bike sidecars, skateboards, and even Sleep Quantity Beds.

It’s a super-inspiring interview and showcases how there actually is revenue to be discovered nearly in all places.

Cell Notary Service

Some Facet Hustle Nation group members have reported incomes as much as $8,000 a month of their mobile notary business.

Cell notary mortgage signing brokers journey to borrower’s houses and stroll them by way of their new mortgage paperwork.

If you happen to’ve received a powerful consideration to element, this versatile gig typically pays $50-150 per appointment.

The Miles App: Your Expertise?

Have you ever downloaded the Miles app? What did you assume? Go away your individual Miles app evaluation within the feedback under.

Continuously Requested Questions

Is the Miles app legit?

Miles is a legit money-making app, however it could actually take a very long time to earn sufficient miles for any significant revenue. The common consumer could earn $1-5 a yr, which could not be value sharing your location information 24/7.

How a lot does the Miles app pay?

By monitoring your pace and GPS location, Miles provides you “miles” based mostly on how far you journey and the way you get there. (10x for each operating or strolling mile; 1x for each automotive mile, for instance.) Each 5,000-10,000 miles is value $1 in Amazon present playing cards, so the app is greatest for lengthy commuters, frequent flyers, or severe runners or cyclists.