Your Oura Ring offers the ability to detect your exercise, workouts, and other movement using Automatic Activity Detection (AAD). AAD is available for:
- Gen2
- Gen3 and Oura Ring 4 with active membership
- iOS
- Android
What Is Automatic Activity Detection?
How to Use AAD
Most Popular Activities Detectable by AAD
More Information
What Is Automatic Activity Detection?
AAD automatically reports all detected physical activity captured by your Oura Ring—suggesting the time, duration, type, and intensity of activities you take part in. The Oura Ring uses a 3D accelerometer and pre-trained algorithms to track your daily movement and identify activity patterns.
With AAD, you have the option to edit or confirm each of the detected activities, ensuring that the time, duration, type, and intensity are correct, or you can choose to dismiss activities altogether.
The calorie value associated with an AAD or Activity Heart Rate-recorded session is calculated from the selected activity type, duration, and intensity (based on heart rate). If heart rate is not available during the session, the intensity defaults to "moderate" and the calorie value is calculated based on average calorie burn rates for that type of activity. Activity intensity cannot be edited for AAD or Activity Heart Rate sessions.
For manually added activities, the calorie value is calculated from the selected activity type, duration, and intensity (easy, moderate, or hard, as selected by the user). Manually added activities can be edited afterwards to adjust their intensity levels.
The more activities you confirm over time, the more actionable guidance you'll receive from Oura. As you continue to use AAD and confirm activities, your detected workouts and their details become more precise. Detected activities contribute to your Activity and Readiness Scores.
AAD tracks activity 24/7. There currently is no way to disable Automatic Activity Detection.
How to Use AAD
There is no action required on your part to start or stop tracking activities with Automatic Activity Detection. Oura can identify particular activity types, such as cycling, soccer, tennis, or use of an elliptical machine.
- Activities must be at least 10 minutes long to be detected by AAD. AAD is accurate to within one minute
- Any automatically detected activities will appear in a card at the top of the Oura App's home screen including the type, time, duration, calorie burn, and heart rate (if available)
-
Confirm the detected activity, or tap "Edit" to ensure the time, duration, and type are correct
- If you think an activity has been inaccurately detected, you can tap the "X" to dismiss it altogether
- If the activity is not confirmed within two days, it will not be added to your timeline list of activities. However, any movement data will still be applied to your Activity Score contributors
- If confirmed (including after an edit is complete), the activity will be added to your full list of activities on the app's home screen. A list of activities is also located on your Activity screen
- Tap on a confirmed activity to view more details, including route and distance (if applicable), heart rate, and heart rate zones
If you want to record route and distance details, make sure that location services are turned on before you begin your activity, and take your phone with you. Otherwise, you can leave your phone at home and the ring will still record your Activity Heart Rate.
To conserve Oura Ring battery life, you can turn off heart rate tracking with AAD:
- Select the
menu in the upper left of the Oura App's home screen
- Select Settings
- Select Activity
- Select the toggle next to Activity heart rate
- When the toggle is off, AAD information will still be shown in the app, but will not include heart rate information.
For more information on Activity Heart Rate, see this help center article.
If you already track your activities using another device, Oura can identify when the same activity has been detected and will present it only once to prevent double counting. Manually added activities take precedence, followed by activity imported via third-party devices, and then activity added through AAD.
If you completed an activity and AAD couldn't detect it, you can add it manually using the + menu in the lower right of the app's home screen. All manual activity entries count towards your daily activity goal.
AAD will continue to detect activities even while your Oura Ring is in Airplane Mode. However, your detected activities will not be visible in the Oura App until Airplane Mode is turned off and your data has been synced. If more than two calendar days have passed since you turned on Airplane Mode, only detected activities from the current and previous day will be shown.
Note: Activity added between midnight and 4 AM may appear in the Oura App as a previous day's activity. This is a known issue due to the discrepancy between the app timeline, which runs from 12 AM to 12 AM, and the activity detection timeline, which runs from 4 AM to 4 AM.
Edit or Delete Activity
To edit or delete an activity in the Oura App:
- Tap on the activity in the Timeline on the app's "Today" screen or from the list of activities in the Activity screen
- Scroll down and select Edit activity at the bottom of the screen
- Edit the type of activity, and its time started or duration as needed
- Select Done to save changes
Activities can also be deleted from the Edit activity screen. Deleting an activity will remove its impact on any of your scores and contributors.
Activities can be manually added, edited, or deleted at any time on any day, including previous days. Note that activity imported from a third-party app can only be removed or edited through the app it was recorded in (for example: Strava or Apple Health).
Most Popular Activities Detectable by AAD
Here is a list of the most popular activities that can be automatically detected by the Oura Ring. This is not a comprehensive list of all activities Oura can pick up. If you're unsure if a certain activity is detectable by Oura, you can test it by wearing your ring while completing your activity and then checking the Oura App home screen for an AAD card.
Badminton | HIIT | Strength Training |
Barre | Hiking | Stretching |
Basketball | Horseback Riding | Surfing |
Boxing | Housework | Swimming |
Core Exercise | Kettlebell | Table Tennis |
Cross Country Skiing | Martial Arts | Tennis |
Cross Training | Motorsport | Trampoline |
Cycling | Pickleball | Volleyball |
Dance | Pilates | Walking |
Downhill Skiing | Rowing | Water Fitness |
Elliptical | Running | Yardwork |
Fitness Class | Snowboarding | Yoga |
Flexibility | Soccer | |
Golf | Stair Exercise |
Keep in mind: this list is separate from our list of 50+ activities you can add manually in the Oura App.
More Information
Oura's Automatic Activity Detection: More Accurate Than Ever
Location Services for Activities
How to Use Apple Health with Oura