Toronto-based health and wellness app Carrot Rewards has shut down.
The closure seemingly comes with no prior warning to the publishing of today's blog post. When opening the app, users will be met with a message that says it can no longer be used.
In its blog post, Carrot confirmed that despite efforts to generate renewed investment in the free-to-use app, it was unable to secure the necessary funding to continue.
Carrot says any points earned up until now will remain in users' accounts. Overall, Carrot says more than one million people have used the app and walked more than one trillion steps altogether.
Carrot was founded in 2015 with initial funding provided by the Ontario government. The Carrot Rewards app first launched in British Columbia in March 2016 before rolling out to Newfoundland and Labrador in June 2016 and Ontario in February 2017. During this time, provincial and federal governments invested further into Carrot.
The app garnered a sizeable userbase by offering rewards for popular loyalty programs like Cineplex's Scene, RBC Rewards and Aeroplan. in exchange for hitting daily step goals. Users could also challenge friends to hit their daily step goals, with rewards being given for repeated mutual success.
Beyond step goals, Carrot Rewards also offered points for completing quizzes related to various health, educational and financial subjects.
While the base app was always free to use, the company introduced paid 'Carrot Plus' subscription tiers last November that gave users bonus points for hitting their daily goals.
MobileSyrup has reached out to Carrot for a statement regarding the shutdown, as well as confirmation as to what happens with customers who purchased memberships that would have otherwise still been valid for months to come. This story will be updated with more information when it becomes available.
For example, a 12-month Carrot Plus subscription could have been purchased at launch, which would have then been valid until November 2019. It's unclear if customers will receive any compensation for the remaining months in their subscriptions.
