Comments on post “Fitbit Charge 2”
Jan Sapper
@jan_sapper
Fitbit hords your data and virtually kidnaps it, as they don't want to integrate with Apple Health Kit. A deal breaker here. Around 3300 votes for this in the Fitbit community and no answer since 2014. https://community.fitbit.com/t5/...
5sharetweet・
Chris
@chriscchan · Consultant, Capgemini
@jan_sapper That's why I like how Garmin does it. I can share my data with Tapiriik.com, which can then share with Runkeeper, Strava, and more.
1sharetweet・
H
Jeremiah Lee
@jeremiahlee · Web API, Fitbit
@jan_sapper Fitbit does not sell user data and has no incentive to "hoard" your data. For perspective, Fitbit has more than 16 Million active users and only a few thousand have requested this feature. Fitbit offers free data export to CSV, Excel, and TCX formats, as well as a free Web API that's used to power many third-party integrations. Some of the best integrations—like Strava, IFTTT, and MyFitnessPal—are listed at https://www.fitbit.com/partnership .
3sharetweet・
Tom Bielecki
@tombielecki · Cofounder, PrintToPeer
@jeremiahlee it would be okay if SyncSolver got hourly Fitbit data via your API, but they can't
1sharetweet・
Peter Böttges
@boettges
@jeremiahlee @jan_sapper Yeah, but neither does Apple's HealthKit sell my data. They remain on the device and allow me to exchange data between a variety of fitness/health-related devices.
The argument that out of "16 million active users only a few thousand" have requested this feature doesn't hold up as you didn't actively ask all of those 16 millions. You have to change your perspective on that. Users have to have the intrinsic motivation to sign up and search your messy support forums to find the request a feature section. This obstacle will let you lose more than 99% of your user base. And honestly the fact that a few thousand request this very feature would bother me.
5sharetweet・
Jan Sapper
@jan_sapper
@boettges @jeremiahlee Thanks Peter, that's exactly what I was going to answer here. Anytime I see someone using FitBit I recommend them to switch fast, as an island of data is useless if you can't put it next to each other. For example I can't make a correlation of my weight with my sleep quality... Aria, such a malinvestment. Withings should have been the reasonable option.
1sharetweet・
H
Jeremiah Lee
@jeremiahlee · Web API, Fitbit
Fitbit has multiple free and enthusiastically supported ways for people to export their data. There is no data lock-in, nor a business model that would motivate it.
Fitbit prioritizes development of features by how most people will benefit from them. While the feature set satisfies millions of people worldwide, Fitbit accepts that it might not have every feature every person will want.
I hope you find a product that helps you with your fitness goals, even if it's not made by Fitbit.
upvotesharetweet・
Travis Tedford
@airem23 · Digital Product Manager and Marketing
@jeremiahlee @jan_sapper @boettges I would also like to see Apple health integration but at the same time, it's been practically standard that all my fitness tracking apps integrate with Fitbit. I've run into more I couldn't track with my Apple Watch (sleep) than my old Fitbit. Nothing since my charge HR has come close to tracking stats as consistently. It is for that reason that I'm highly considering a Charge 2.
They had QA issues with bands on the first generation, and they don't directly integrate with Apple Health. Valid complaints, but certainly not a reason to write off a redesigned product or ignore their ubiquitous presence throughout other fitness apps.
1sharetweet・