A walk-away is when the shield comes down and you close the phone instead of answering. No question, no unlock, no scroll.
This is the best possible outcome, and Tollgate treats it that way. The shield itself tells you so: “Walking away counts as a win. We keep score.”
Every time the shield appears, that is a gate. Every gate ends one of two ways: you pay the toll, or you leave. Walk-aways are the gates you left. You will find them:
The ★ is not decoration. Of all the numbers Tollgate tracks, this is the one that means the machine is working: the gate came down, you looked at it, and you chose your evening instead.
Does walking away keep my streak alive? Not by itself. Streaks count days with at least one correct answer, so a day of pure walk-aways is a great day for you but a quiet one for the streak. The streak measures learning, the walk-away count measures restraint. They are different muscles.
Does the shield stay up if I walk away? Yes. The gate holds until a toll is paid. Come back in an hour and the same shield is waiting, question ready.
Is there a penalty for lots of walk-aways? No. There are no penalties anywhere in Tollgate. Some apps would send you a guilt notification about it. We would rather buy you a drink.