App issues for Kids View/Parent View

[BoredDad]

The app is absolute trash for using it to sync to kid devices.  I'll explain why, what needs to happen to fix it, and give some suggestions, but first, a bit of background:

-I use a Garmin GPS running watch and do not use a Fitbit.  My newly created Fitbit account is solely as a parent of kids who have Fitbit devices.

-My three kids (ages 5-8) got the Ace 2 for Christmas.

-None of my kids (and this is absolutely critical) have devices such as smartphones or tablets that they can download the fitbit app and sync their watches to.  They all have Amazon Fire Kids tablets but - even if they could download the fitbit app - they don't use them enough to make that practical.

1.  The first problem is Fitbit's insistence that I sync the kid's watch to the kid's smart device (e.g., tablet).  I sort of understand this as it makes the user experience better, but Fitbit markets these watches for young children and they should have some sort of practical, useful solution the common parent use of syncing the watch to the fitbit app on the parent's smartphone (in my case, an Android running Android 10). 

2.  The experience of syncing data from the child's Ace 2 to the app is dreadful.  Here's the process:

-Open the app;

-Click on the "My Account" circle (little person) in the top left corner;

-Click on "My Family;"

-Find my child that I want to sync data from and clikc on "Switch to Kid View;"

-After it loads up, swipe down to sync the data;

-Then, click on the "My Account" circle again;

-Scroll down to the "Switch to Parent View;"

-Type in my secure (long) Fitbit password for my fitbit account;

-Click on the "My Account" circle in the top left corner again;

-Find the next child click on "Switch to Kid View;"

-Repeat.

That is arduous at best.  It's an exhausting process to simply get the data for my three kids onto the Fitbit app.

I understand that with 3 kids I will need to separately sync each Ace 2.  I'm fine with that.  I can live with that.  But, give me a break on this process.

Why make me enter Kids View to sync the data?  Why not just have a sync button by the child's name and allow me to sync it?

Why make me type in my long, secure password each time to get back to parent view?  I understand having this as an option when a kid may be using a device belonging to the parent, but in my case they are not.  Why not give me the option to not have to enter a password?  Why not get with 2019 (or soon to be 2020) and allow bio-metric password entry (e.g., fingerprint, face unlock, etc.)?  Why not let me tell the app the parent is the only user and thus not make me enter a password to switch in and out of kids view?

3.  The parent view has NO data.  My parent dashboard has nothing in it (because, see above, I don't use a Fitbit device).  But, to find out how many steps my kid got or to see how much sleep they got I have to go into Kids View (again, separately for each of my 3 kids).  Why?  Why not have a parent dashboard that tells me things like their steps, activity, and sleep?  Is it that hard to figure out that parents want this information?  If they are the type of parent buying this type of device for their child, they probably want to know this information.  Making it exceedingly difficult to get the information is not a way to endear support and make parents enthusiastic about getting these for their children.  I'm considering returning them and getting the kid's Garmin watches.  (Note: I'm aware I get weekly emails with their steps, etc. but I want that information more and I want to be able to easily access it whenever I want from the Fitbit app).

So, how do you fix this?  Either follow my suggestions above or make a dedicated "Fitbit Parent" app that overcomes some of these hurdles.

This must be changed.  I can't believe it took me a few minutes of using the app to figure this out and yet your programmers have made no improvement to the user experience to fix these problems.  Get on board, please.

Thank you.

[Rich_Laue]

Thank you for letting your fellow Fitbit users know of the frustration. A quick search will show that you are not the only one. 

I understand the reason for having to input the password simply to keep inside HIPA requlations. 

You do not sync the tracker to your phone but to the Fitbit account. 

Originally we where informed that a sync through the parents account will sync all family trackers if they are close enough. This has not been the case. 

Have you added your vote to any of the suggestions. 

Child to parent view without logging out

Family account usability upgrade

Family Profile

[Gmedgas]

I feel your pain.  I have 2 kids, and syncing them both to my phone is a 20-30m process. Everytime I switch back, I also get 99+ new messages/notifications.  Call it ocd if you want, but I can't stand to have the notification showing unread messages, so I must go clear them all.  Both of my kids want to log food as well, but that's another complaint all together.  

Anyway, all the frustration of the app aside...I'm fairly certain the password is required to prevent kids from accessing your adult account.  Fitbit app has an open social aspect to it.  Kids under the age of 13 cannot be exposed to that kind of environment, so they must have a password.  Prior to getting ace2s my kids had the Garmin Jrs.  They have a separate app, but the same frustrations as Fitbit.  Before getting mad at the programmers, thank all the parents who let their kids roam the internet without supervision, then thank all the pervo's out there trying to find them.

[BoredDad]

I totally understand why Fitbit requires a password, but they didn't put any thought into it. 

As I said, I sync to my phone which my kids do not access. There's absolutely no reason for me to have to put in a password. Simply adding an option to allow the parent to elect to use or not use a password would make it light-years better. (Most smartphones, after all, have the option to completely disable authentication...). 

Or, they could get on board with the times and allow fingerprint or biometric authentication. 

Really, this all boils down to poor thought by the app development team. They didn't think through stuff like this and elected for the easy approach of "sync to the kid's device" garbage.

[Melgenn]

I agree with this!

We should not have to jump from parent view, to 1st kid view, back to parent, then to 2nd kid view, back to parent view, etc. 

And a family view with more details is needed. Again switching back and forth to see their steps and sleep?

The friend list where you see the weekly total stat is not enough for family. You should offer the ability to see detailed stats to whoever you choose to be in this view. For example, husband, wife, kids. 

I thought the family competition would have been more fun. Unfortunately, I barely sync them because its a pain, my husband wants to see the kids stats but also doesn't want to have to login as each of them each time (especially because he doesn't even know if they have been synched recently), and their is no all on one page family view.

[peebsman]

Just got two Ace 2's for my two kids, and I also am a Garmin user, so I'm in exactly the same situation. It's maddening! Did you get any result? 

Also....Any idea how to convert steps to KM or Miles? The distance will be different for each child given their gait!

Thanks,