Inspire for a child

[SunsetRunner]

Hello, my daughter bought herself an Inspire with her savings and birthday money, she's 10. Must admit that I didn't research it thoroughly.

It seems that we can't set up a child account for her, is this correct? I.e. is the Inspire useless for her? Is the only other option to put in her data and then a different birth year?

[SunsetRunner]

Hi @SunsetRunner - Fitbit’s age restriction is there to comply with federal regulations. Is it too late to return the Inspire and buy the Ace 2 that will work with the family account? And perhaps let her choose one of the snazzy bands? 

[SunsetRunner]

Thank you for your response, I'm in Europe, so am not sure what federal regulation you are referring to is. For Apple family sharing children's accounts can be used on any Apple product, so without being an expert on US federal law, this seems more like a choice Fitbit has made rather than complying with legislation.

We have opened everything, so doubt that the shop will take it back, but I'll give it a try. In any case my daughter is not interested in snazzy bands, so that won't sway her.

[Rich_Laue]

@SunsetRunner is referring to USA federal requlations. 

Fitbit is aware that different countries have different requlations and they should take this into consideration. My thought would be to contact Fitbit. Explain yourself, preferably also pointing to your countries requlations with online accounts for children. This also might mean that your child will need an adult account. As Fitbit users we will only be able to explain why you are experiencing this behavior with Fitbit.

I did a quick search and find nothing from apple about children having an apple watch.. I see many instructions on how to setup an AW for a child 

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@SunsetRunner is referring to USA federal requlations. 

Fitbit is aware that different countries have different requlations and they should take this into consideration. My thought would be to contact Fitbit. Explain yourself, preferably also pointing to your countries requlations with online accounts for children. This also might mean that your child will need an adult account. As Fitbit users we will only be able to explain why you are experiencing this behavior with Fitbit.

I did a quick search and find nothing from apple about children having an apple watch.. I see many instructions on how to setup an AW for a child. 

This makes me think apple does not care about government rules. 

[Kristens1282]

I'm in the same boat Kalabala!  

If I'm understanding you correctly, it's the fact that you bought the Inspire not the Ace as the Child account is 'made' for ??  

[SunsetRunner]

Correct, @Kristens1282 . In order to add a child to a family account, that child needs the Ace 2.   

[DramaQueenDiva]

Hi all,

If anyone is interested more in the specifics of the COPPA ("Child Online Privacy Protection Act"), you can find it here.

The Ace and Ace 2 were designed to be in compliance with this law in the US, but I'm not sure what the international law is, so I would contact Support, as @Rich_Laue suggested.

[LiliyaFitbit · Accepted solution]

Welcome to the Fitbit Community @SunsetRunner and @Kristens1282! It's nice to see you around @Rich_Laue @SunsetRunner @DramaQueenDiva. I am sorry for the delayed response. 

@SunsetRunner I appreciate your daughter's interest in Fitbit trackers and understand that she used her savings and birthday money to buy a Fitbit Inspire.  As our friends @DramaQueenDiva @SunsetRunner and @Rich_Laue mentioned correctly, for purposes of child privacy and protection, Fitbit requires that all registered users be at least 13 years old. For the EU, the minimum age is 16 with some exceptions where the minimum age is 13 or 14. If, based on country of residence, a child isn’t eligible to create a Fitbit standard account, the app won’t allow an account to be created. I appreciate your efforts to check with the shop in order to exchange the device for the Fitbit Ace 2 tracker.

@SunsetRunner @Kristens1282 If you want to create an account for your child, please consider Fitbit Ace 2, which is designed for kids 6 and up. See www.fitbit.com/ace2 for more information.  

@Rich_Laue @SunsetRunner @DramaQueenDiva thank you for your support!

I'll be around if you need further assistance. 

[Kristens1282]

Thanks for the reply but  (1) It shouldn't be up to Fitbit what device parents/children choose to buy.  Fitbits are supposed to be about getting fit and encouraging healthy habits -this is by no means a 'toy' for my son!   (2) as I somewhat referenced at the end of point #1, sometimes there is a reason for having the extra functions.  (3) AND MOST IMPORTANT the device that a 6 year old wears should not be expected to be liked/wanted/worn by an older child!  My son flat out refused to wear the kids version!  

Parent privacy and protection could still be used on other versions of the FitBit, there is absolutly NO reason why parents should be FORCED to purchase a specific super stripped down model! 

[Rich_Laue]

@Kristens1282 you right it should not be up to Fitbit. 

What we said is that only the Ace line conforms to the COPPA regulations. . 

The other trackers do not have enough protection.

The alternative would be to downgrade a different model so that it will conform  

[Kristens1282]

@Rich_Laue  and why doesn’t it conform?   Not because of the features it was made with .... 

because of the way fitbit set up the child account system! 

[Rich_Laue]

Fitbit has not mentioned why the other trackers do not conform. 

The family account is the first step that was needed to conform. 

[GraceGFitbit]

Thank you @Rich_Laue, for those explanations. 

Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback with us @Kristens1282. 

As mentioned before Fitbit created the Family account not just to set up a Fitbit Ace or Ace 2 devices but also because the kids security is very important for Fitbit, we're willing to help parents to control who the kids connect with in the Fitbit app and see how active they are each day. You and your child can see their daily stats including step count, active minutes, and sleep patterns under kid view in the Fitbit app.

Also, through the kid's view in the Fitbit app, children can see their daily stats and sleep patterns, interact with other members of the family account, and participate in challenges. That allows parents to block other adults to have interaction with their child. Offering security and protection to parents and children.

At this moment there are no plans to implement all the different models of Fitbit trackers for the kids. However, as we're constantly striving to improve Fitbit products and services, and we very much appreciate all of the input we receive from our customers. The best place to make your voice heard is the Ideas board on our Feature Suggestion section.

Read your comments it's very important for us. If you have any further questions, please let me know!

[Rich_Laue]

I would start by voting for this suggestion. 

Allow More Fitbit Devices than Ace to Family Accou...

[LiliyaFitbit]

It's great to see you around @Rich_Laue. I am sorry for the delayed response. 

Thank you for your support and sharing the link with the suggestion to add more devices to Family Account. The users can comment and vote on the idea to show their support. The FAQ contain the information about how that board works.

See you around!

[MrChiefD]

I am very disappointed with fitbit’s decision to not allow child accounts on any device. It is the account that needs to meet standards, not the advice. There is nothing written on the Inspire packaging that states you cannot use these for children that are responsible enough to have the device. My packages are open, and I cannot return them. 

[TedHoward]

Their lawyers surely tell them not to tell the public exactly why children can only use an Ace. They don't have to do what the lawyers say, but they are anyway.

Since all data to & from the watch flows through their phone app and child privacy laws are all about data and PII(*), the phone app could easily be modified to disable non-compliant features (e.g. phone notifications on Inspire).

(*)
Personally Identifiable Information

[LiliyaFitbit]

Welcome to the Fitbit Community @MrChiefD. It's nice to see you around @TedHoward. I am sorry for the delayed response. 

@MrChiefD I am sorry for any disappointment and appreciate your feedback. We're constantly working on improving our devices and user experiences. Similar to many online services, our Terms of Service don’t allow customers who are under the minimum age to create standard Fitbit accounts. The minimum age is 13 (customers in the EU may have different minimum age guidelines based on their country). I understand your concern since you've opened the packages. Fitbit has a 45-day return policy, so anything purchased directly from Fitbit can be returned for a refund for any reason within 45 days of shipment even if the package is open. If you've purchased from a retailer, you'll need to return your product directly to the retailer, following their return process. This is generally printed on your receipt, though you can also find it on the retailer's website. Note that we're unable to influence retailer policies. Thank you for understanding. 

In this case you're unable to return the product, any friend or family member who meets the age requirement can pair the device to a unique email address. 

@TedHoward thank you for the input. 

If you have any questions, feel free to let me know.

[sportjohan]

I am in a similar situation and my kids have the Fitbit Inspire.

What a lot of nonsense to use the law argument and the "for purposes of child privacy and protection" to explain why you can't connect any Fitbit device.

What will happen is easy to predict: by limiting the devices that can be used in the family account normal accounts are going to be used instead with no "child privacy and protection".

Would it be difficult for Fitbit to change this?
I don't work at Fitbit but I would like to bet that it would be extremely easy to change this. It would be easy since the limitation to only alow the Ace and Ace2 is a software limitation. 
If child privacy and protection is important (it is important) you limit the data you track for accounts used by children and I am sure this is what is already happening...  

The main reason for the limitation I guess is that Fitbit wants to sell the Ace 2 device instead of the Inspire - which is a lot cheaper (50%) where I live - and also to avoid people passing on their old devices to the kids. 
What is the difference between the Ace 2 and Inspire?  To quote a reviewer "To create the Ace 2, Fitbit has essentially taken the Inspire and tucked it into a new wristband." 

[Rich_Laue]

@sportjohan if that was so, no one would want to purchase the more expensive Inspire over an Ace. To answer you no the Inspire has more technology than the Ace and unfortunately not every company is able to ignore federal regulations without having to pay fines.