Data-collection networks · Record-and-earn data app
Shift
Shift is the contributor app of MicroAGI, a German robotics-data company. You film short first-person videos of everyday physical work (cooking, cleaning, organizing, carrying things, using tools) at home or on the job, submit them in the app, and are paid for footage that passes its quality check; the footage is sold to robotics labs. Shift says more than 25,000 people in 15+ countries have earned over $5 million. In May 2026 it also began free home cleanings in New York, filmed by cleaners wearing cameras.
Outside reports
Is Shift legit?
Researched October 2026 · 9 sourcesMostly. Shift is a real app from MicroAGI, a German robotics-data company with $55M in funding, and it pays people weekly to film their tasks, but it publishes no rate and reviewers say its AI check often pays for only part of a clip. The main risk is filming hours that pay little: an automated check decides how much of each clip counts, reviewers say it marks normal movements as idle time, and you give Shift exclusive, worldwide rights to your footage. It pays Not published; $20/hr offered in May 2026.
Joined through its own application (it publishes no job postings)
Shift is MicroAGI's contributor app. Its terms are with microagi GmbH of Aachen, Germany (managing directors Yoan Iliev, Bercan Kilic and Nico Nußbaum), and its App Store seller is MicroAGI, Inc. In July 2026 The Next Web reported a $55M seed round led by Hummingbird and that Shift sells the footage to robotics labs. Shift's site says 25,000+ people have earned over $5M in 15+ countries.
Its site, read October 28, 2026, gives no rate: you earn per accepted hour of footage, more for higher quality, at a rate shown in the app. In May 2026 Ars Technica saw it offering $20 an hour plus bonuses. Its FAQ says accepted recordings from Monday to Sunday are paid the next Monday, through its payout provider.
App Store (US) 2.5/5 (36 ratings). Read October 2026.
Shift says it pays people in 15+ countries; its sign-up site has versions for the United States, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Bulgaria, Georgia and Turkey. 18 and over, with an iPhone on iOS 18.6+ or an Android 12+ phone; tasks and rates vary by country.
We found no documented scam using Shift's name as of October 28, 2026. The app is free and its terms say any hardware it lends costs nothing, so anyone asking you to pay to join, for a strap or to release pay is not Shift. Many unrelated apps are called Shift: the real one is 'Shift | MicroAGI' from MicroAGI, Inc.
What people praise
- September 2026 App Store reviewers say payments have been smooth, and one that their clips get high approval, rejected parts are marked with the reason, and support answers quickly.
- Its FAQ sets a weekly schedule: recordings accepted from Monday to Sunday are paid the following Monday, and the app shows each submission's review status and accepted footage.
- Its EU terms fall under German law with no arbitration clause, and let you ask Shift to delete a recording before it is de-identified and placed in a dataset for its customers.
What people complain about
- An August 2026 App Store reviewer says the automated scoring marked reaching for soap as inactivity, cut their quality score to 20% and paid for little of 15 minutes of work, with only bots in support.
- Other August reviewers say every recording was rejected while Shift kept the footage, an hour of video sat in review for over a week, and a 2-minute clip scored 99% but only 1 minute was accepted.
- One reviewer (August 2026) says a payout promised in two days took a week, support is email only, and the rest of their balance could not be withdrawn until the first payout cleared.
- Under its EU terms you give Shift exclusive, worldwide rights to your recordings, its ads included, and consent to your likeness in clips with no time limit; lent hardware not returned is taken from pay.
What has gone wrong
- May 2026. On May 28, 2026 Shift began offering New Yorkers free home cleanings by cleaners wearing cameras, to collect robot-training footage. Ars Technica reported that the same app recruits people to film their own tasks for $20 an hour plus bonuses, and that its privacy policy did not say whether hosts could have their footage removed from datasets.
- July 2026. On July 16, 2026 The Next Web reported that MicroAGI had raised a $55M seed round led by Hummingbird, that Shift had paid more than 20,000 people across 15 countries, and that it was starting free private-chef visits in San Francisco.
Best for: Adults with a recent phone who already cook, clean or do hands-on work and want small weekly pay for filming it, in a country where Shift's app is live. Not for: Anyone who needs a known hourly rate or steady income, or who does not want to give a company exclusive rights to footage of their home, workplace and hands.
Honest catches
- Pay here is outside reports, not measured live from a job feed, so treat it as a benchmark rather than a guaranteed rate.
Sources for this review
- Shift: home page (25K+ people earning, $5M+ paid out, 15+ countries), read Oct 28, 2026
- Shift: Earn page (paid for every recorded hour, more for higher quality), read Oct 28, 2026
- Shift: FAQ (weekly Monday payouts, only accepted submissions paid, no minimum earnings), read Oct 28, 2026
- Shift: Operator Terms and Conditions, EU version 1.0 (microagi GmbH, Aachen), effective Jun 24, 2026
- Shift: Legal notice (microagi GmbH, Aachen; managing directors), read Oct 28, 2026
- App Store (US): Shift | MicroAGI by MicroAGI, Inc. (2.5/5, 36 ratings) and its reviews, read Oct 28, 2026
- Ars Technica: Robot-training startup will send humans wearing cameras to clean your home (May 29, 2026)
- The Next Web: MicroAGI's $55M seed round and Shift (Jul 16, 2026)
- FTC: That job offer text is probably a scam (Apr 30, 2026)
What Shift pays
Outside reports · updated 2026-10-28Researched rate card (outside reports), updated 2026-10-28
Shift's site says you earn for every hour you record and that better quality pays more per hour, with the rate shown in the app or task card; it publishes no figure. In May 2026 Ars Technica reported the app recruiting people to film their own tasks for $20 an hour plus bonuses. App Store reviewers say its automated check often counts only part of a clip, and that cooking footage is accepted most often.
| Role | Work type | Researched pay |
|---|---|---|
| Film your own chores and hands-on work (first-person) | Egocentric Capture | Per accepted hour; $20/hr offered in May 2026 |
Wondering where a number comes from? Read how researched rate cards are sourced and graded.
Live Shift roles
Shift does not publish a public job feed.
Applications go through Shift's own site, and once you have an account it matches you to work.
Join Shift (opens the job details)Some links here are referral links: when you join an employer through one, RobotTraining.jobs may receive a commission. It costs you nothing, and the employer pays you exactly the same.
Get new Egocentric Capture roles by email
Shift keeps no public job board for us to read, so we'll send you new Egocentric Capture openings from employers that do, each with its posted pay. No cost, and you can stop any time.
Kinds of work at Shift
Open any of them for the day-to-day tasks, every employer hiring for it and market-wide pay.
First time doing this kind of work? Read the beginner guides or line up pay at every employer.
From the forum
Ask the people doing Shift work what only they can tell you.
Frequently asked questions
Is Shift legit?
Mostly. Shift is a real app from MicroAGI, a German robotics-data company with $55M in funding, and it pays people weekly to film their tasks, but it publishes no rate and reviewers say its AI check often pays for only part of a clip. The main risk is filming hours that pay little: an automated check decides how much of each clip counts, reviewers say it marks normal movements as idle time, and you give Shift exclusive, worldwide rights to your footage.
Is Shift a scam?
No. Shift is a real company. We found no documented scam using Shift's name as of October 28, 2026. The app is free and its terms say any hardware it lends costs nothing, so anyone asking you to pay to join, for a strap or to release pay is not Shift. Many unrelated apps are called Shift: the real one is 'Shift | MicroAGI' from MicroAGI, Inc.
Does Shift pay?
Yes. Run by microagi GmbH of Aachen, Germany (App Store seller MicroAGI, Inc.), which raised a $55M seed round led by Hummingbird in July 2026 and sells task footage to robotics labs. Payouts: Weekly: its FAQ says accepted recordings from Monday to Sunday are paid the following Monday through its payout provider, and US contributors file a W-9 in the app once paid more than $600 a year. One App Store reviewer said a payout took a week to arrive.
How much does Shift pay?
Not published; $20/hr offered in May 2026. Shift's site says you earn for every hour you record and that better quality pays more per hour, with the rate shown in the app or task card; it publishes no figure. In May 2026 Ars Technica reported the app recruiting people to film their own tasks for $20 an hour plus bonuses. App Store reviewers say its automated check often counts only part of a clip, and that cooking footage is accepted most often.
Is Shift worth it?
Pay at Shift: Not published; $20/hr offered in May 2026. It works best as flexible, project-by-project income, since each project sets its own pay, equipment and eligibility. Worth knowing: App Store (US) 2.5/5 (36 ratings).
How does Shift pay out?
Weekly: its FAQ says accepted recordings from Monday to Sunday are paid the following Monday through its payout provider, and US contributors file a W-9 in the app once paid more than $600 a year. One App Store reviewer said a payout took a week to arrive.
Where is Shift open to workers?
Shift says it pays people in 15+ countries; its sign-up site has versions for the United States, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Bulgaria, Georgia and Turkey. 18 and over, with an iPhone on iOS 18.6+ or an Android 12+ phone; tasks and rates vary by country.
How Shift stacks up against similar employers
Wear an Insta360 X5 on your head and film ten-minute stretches of your ordinary day (cooking, cleaning, errands) for an hourly rate set per country.
$95–$115/hrTypical pay, live
Wear a headstrap with your phone, press record, and go about your day: paid per accepted hour of first-person video for robot training.
Paid per accepted hour of footageStated by the employer
Remote freelance work for TELUS Digital's AI Community, including a robot teleoperation and wearable-capture role at $32 to $45 an hour, open to applicants in any country.
$32 to $45 an hour on its robot teleoperation role, stated per postingStated by the employer
A European expert network whose robotics program pays remote annotators to describe what robot and human hands do in short video clips.
$5–$15/hr once placedStated by the employerSorted by what an application there is likely worth to you, with a referral lift for employers that pay us a referral fee; your pay is never affected.
Hiring for Shift? We find the people (you contract them yourself) or we run the project (we deliver the robot data).