FitBit Ace - Relax Feature is a must

[SunsetRunner]

This week, my 8 year old participated in an important all-day assessment. Leading up to the big day, she was experiencing symptoms of anxiety. We used my FitBit Charge 2 to help her monitor her heart rate and put her in charge of bringing that number down. On the day of the assessment, we let her wear the Charge 2 and taught her to use the relaxation breathing function on her own. It was an invaluable tool and gave her the confidence she needed to take on a scary day. 

I am thrilled to see that FitBit Ace will soon be released but sad to see that the relaxation function isn’t part of that device. Please add it!!! Today’s kids are more anxious than any previous generation and most of them already know the benefits of mindful breathing. 

Another optional function worth adding is a tool for add that would compete with the revibe device that is becoming so popular for kids that have teouble staying on-task. 

Adding those two features to the FitBit Ace would make it indispensable!

Moderator edit: format

[WendyB · Accepted solution]

Please add this to the features forum. Developers look there for ideas. If it gets the votes it could be added

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Feature-Suggestions/idb-p/features

Hopefully it will get the votes and be added.

Once added I would come back here and post the link so others can vote

[SunsetRunner]

Thanks for the suggestion, WendyB! Here’a the link to THAT post. 

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Feature-Suggestions/FitBit-Ace-Relaxation-Feature-is-a-MUST/idi-p/26...

[WendyB]

I voted for it! Hope it gets added!

[DramaQueenDiva]

I agree, I used to teach and have seen many kids with behavior issues that would benefit from this feature.

[SunsetRunner]

@DramaQueenDiva, can you go to this link abd upbote the suggestion on the Features board? Thanks! 

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Feature-Suggestions/FitBit-Ace-Relaxation-Feature-is-a-MUST/idi-p/26...

[KateFitbit]

@SunsetRunner thanks for sharing this story on the Ace forum and for taking @WendyB's advice and posting this in the feature suggestion boards. I can see it's already received several votes. 

At this time, heart rate tracking is not available on Fitbit Ace which would be needed for a relaxation feature. Currently, the goal of the device is to make fitness fun for kids and inspire the entire family to embrace an active lifestyle by building healthy habits together. Right now features include an active minutes goal of 60 minutes, fun kid-friendly step challenges, and a smaller/adjustable band that’s showerproof and designed for growing kids. 

This is our first tracker for kids, so the team will continue to evaluate potential new features. Thanks again for your feedback! 

[SunsetRunner]

@KateFitbit, even without heart rate tracking, I would still encourage FitBit to consider adding something similar that would provide a simple breathing rhythm (5sec inhale, 7sec exhale) that they could follow. Certainly, heart rate makes the feature better, but I don’t see how heart rate sensing is required for the feature. 

[KateFitbit]

@SunsetRunner that's a good idea and I'm glad you added it to your suggestion. Since you mentioned being interested in bringing a heart rate down as a feature in your post, I thought it was worth calling out. 

[SunsetRunner]

That makes sense! I think the heart rate is nice to have but she also loves the breathing circle thing with the “sparkles”! She steals mine even when it’s on MY wrist. The visual alone would be a great add! 

[Ade6827]

Just noticed this is marked as solved.  Please can you confirm how this is solved and if the relax feature is now available?

Can you please confirm how this was solved?  We just bought an ace today and the feature is not available?

Moderator edit: merged reply

[Julia_G]

Hi, @Ade6827, a forum post is marked as solved usually when the person who posed the original question feels their question was answered.

This does not necessarily mean that a feature was added or shown to work.

In this case it was confirmed that the relaxation feature is not available on the Ace Fitbit device designed for kids.  The person who wrote the "solution" suggested adding this to the Feature Request Forum, since the feature does not exist.  That is pretty much the only "solution" available in this case.

Subsequently a Fitbit reoresentative mentioned that the "relaxation feature" relies on detecting heart rate.  Since this is something that the Ace cannot detect, she mentioned that this is NOT a feature that could be added to the existing Ace, but it could be added if Fitbit developed a tracker for kids that included heart rate detection.

My understanding, from reading about the Ace, is that Fitbit is not currently focussed on an HR tracker for kids.  They are focussed on simply getting kids more active and allowing families to compete and compare their activity levels without being concerned about other factors like heartrate, breathing, and weight.

So it is also solved in this sense:

1. The feature is not available for the Ace

2. The only way of indicating that users would like to see it available is by creating, or voting for and commenting on, a feature request.

3. The Ace itself is not capable of adding this as a feature, because the device cannot detect HR.

4. The current focus of Fitbit is not on developing HR detecting devices for kids.

I appreciate that may not be the answer that you wanted, but I do hope it helps to understand why this question is marked "solved".

If you do have other questions about how the Ace works or what Fitbit offers, please do post again.  There is always someone here to help.

[SunsetRunner]

*****If you're here looking for the Relax Feature to be added to the Ace, please go to this page and upvote the suggestion, so that we can see in future versions of the Ace. 

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Feature-Suggestions/FitBit-Ace-Add-Relax-Feature-for-Kids-with-or-wi...

It is clear to me that Fitbit has no intention of considering it as an update to the existing device. I don't know why Fitbit is not hearing us when we are saying, "WE DON'T NEED HEART RATE for a kid-friendly Relax Feature"! We must not be shouting it in the right direction. That has been a very frustrating part of both this thread and the thread on Features Suggestion. I will not buy an Ace for either of my kids until this is added. 

[Julia_G]

Hi, @SunsetRunner, the Relax Feature, as currently written, relies on heartrate to work.  I am not a computer programmer, but I can't really work out how the Ace, which is at base a pedometer (although a very sophisticated one!) , would be able to detect when you were relaxed -- as opposed to still -- it can definitely detect that.

I just don't see how it could be an update to an existing device.  I feel it would need to be a different device with different sensors.  Currently I don't know a fitness sensor from any brand that is able to detect breathing without detecting heartrate.  I don't really know how it could work... just worn on your wrist.

Do you know of one?

[Ade6827]

Hi Julia,  thank you for your response.  As a mother to 7 and 8 year old girls which I presume this watch is targeted at and both have been given the watch over the last couple days I think you a missing a huge selling feature.  I don’t need to track their heart rate - they don’t want to track their heart rate.  They don’t need the watch to trigger a relax function based on their heart rate.  Anxiety is common in kids these days and how powerful would it be if they could swipe their watch and get it to inhale 1,2,3 exhale 1,2,3.  It’s a prompt to get them to control their breathing not get the watch to figure out when they need to breath.  I have an apple series 4 watch - this has a breath function as i have outlined - it is scheduled based on time but I can’t also open it at any time.  I was misinformed about the Fitbit ace as I thought it had this feature - the main reason I purchased it - I already know the girls get enough daily Exercise.  PLease can you think outside the box on this and not try to replicate whatever is in an adult version.  Given rising anxiety and depression in our children I think helping them have tools to manage their own emotions is very powerful and also a huge selling feature for your product. 

Sorry predictive text - the apple series 4 watch does let me open the breathe app at any time.  Useless to be based on heart rate as who wants to relax when they are being active! 

Moderator edit: merged reply

[Julia_G]

Hi, @Ade6827, I don't work for Fitbit, so I am not repsonsible for any decisions they make and I don't have any influence, or speak for Fitbit in any way.

As for your post, I am pretty sure that the Apple 4 watch, which has the breathing relax feature that you describe, is based on heart rate.  The sensors to detect breathing simply are not included in the Ace, so I cannot see any way that what you want could be provided with a software update to existing devices.  It would need a new device.

I am not disagreeing with you on what kids need. Frankly I think, with the obesity "epidemic" in American and British children, Fitbit should also consider allowing access to weight features as they do on some of the adult devices.

However, aspects like anxiety and weight loss is currently not the focus for Fitbit kid-friendly devices.  Fitbit kid-friendly devices are currently focussed on the simple goal of getting kids more active.

I totally understand that from parent perspective you might want something more, or different, but currently I do not think you will find anything like this on ANY kid-focussed device of any brand (but please correct me if I am wrong).  I expect adding the features you would like would open a whole can of worms once Fitbit entered into that sort of stuff for kids, so I can appreciate their reluctance.  After all, it is only a. few months since they introduced their first kid device.

It isn't that Fitbit doesn't want kids to be fit.  Quite the contrary!  Or want them to be free from anxiety and at a healthy weight too -- but these are complex issues.

There's a lot of evidence that being active can be a good first step in combating anxiety, depression, and obesity.  I am guessing this holds true for kids as well as adults.

The Fitbit Ace is designed to help kids get active, and to gain the other "side effects" from a good, healthy life style.  For the moment, that is what the company is focussed on.

[Ade6827]

Sorry to labour this point but given the breathe app works when the watch is not on my wrist or connected to any devices or myself in any way I am 99% sure that it has nothing to do with heart rate - unless my bed mattress has a heart rate I dont know about.   It relates to time.  1 minute of breathing in and out slowly either when I turn it on or at a preset interval throughout the day.  It doesn’t know if I’m breathing in or out or not it’s a trigger to remind you to do it not monitor when and if you actually do it.

Could  someone from Fitbit please respond to my email.   

[Julia_G]

Hi, @Ade6827, the breathe app is trying to read your HR.  It "works" on your beside because you have the HR turned on on your Fitbit.  But it isn't working properly, because it can only do that by detecting your heartrate.  It may give you results, but they will be nonsense...

If you would like to be sure of a fitbit response, you will need to get in touch directly at contact.fitbit.com.  This is a peer-to-peer discussion meaning mist of the answers you get will be from other users.  The moderators do answer some threads, but not all.

[Ade6827]

Thanks Elisabeth I have voted and also 100% agree with you that this should not be linked to heart rate.  Just a mechanism for kids to trigger (not the watch triggering for them) to help to slow their breathing down and take a moment from whatever the situation might be.  I’ve emailed Fitbit and don’t expect a response but will keep trying - should have bought them a $5 pedometer as it would do the same thing! 

[JuanJoFitbit]

@Ade6827 I really understand how you feel about this and I appreciate your feedback and comments since this helps us to keep improving.