Why only the Ace can by used by a child?

[KJSmith06]

My daughter chose to buy a Fitbit with her birthday money; we ended up buying an Inspire. When we got home, I downloaded the app and logged into my account (which I have not been using). I was excited to see a family account option, but am super disappointed to see I cannot let her use the Inspire. I called Fitbit, and don’t understand why only the Ace is allowed for a child? It sounded like it was only a matter of what could be accessed by the app; which doesn’t help me understand why the device selection is limited. Especially when the feature differences are very minimal (I was actually told on the phone it was sleep times, but the Ace still tracks that, so I was told wrong.) 

I just really want to know why it would be recommend she not use the inspire?

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[DramaQueenDiva]

Hi @KJSmith06,

It's to be in compliance with COPPA regulations, from what I understand.

[JuanJoFitbit]

@KJSmith06 Welcome to our Fitbit Community! Regarding your inquiry, the information that shared @DramaQueenDiva is correct.

Please don't hesitate to get back if you have more questions.

[KJSmith06]

That is my question though - I understand COPPA, but everything I was told had to do with the app, not the device. What is the difference between the Ace and Inspire that protects my child’s privacy? Nothing from what I can tell. So as long as she is using the child-version of the app, why can’t she use that device?

[JuanJoFitbit]

@KJSmith06 Thank you for getting back! I'm sorry for the late response. However, in regards to your inquiry, since the Ace tracker tracks limited stats, is more oriented to kids activities and this information can be controlled by their parents. This is the reason why the Fitbit platform only allows the Fitbit Ace to be set up on a child account.

I appreciate your understanding and patience with this. Let me know if more assistance is needed.

[JacksFanInNeb]

I have the same issue. My daughter (11) chose the Inspire. When going through the set up and trying to add it to my family account, the Fitbit app said to add it to her account, but add it as an Ace. But the app cannot find the device (I assume, because it is searching for an Ace). I guess the workaround is to lie about my daughter's age, and then add her as a friend, rather than a member of our family account?

[JuanJoFitbit]

@JacksFanInNeb I'm sorry for the late response. However, I appreciate your participation in our Fitbit Community! Regarding your inquiry, the Family account only allows the Fitbit Ace or Fitbit Ace 2 since these trackers are designed for kids.

For more information, please refer to @DramaQueenDiva's post for more information about this.

I really appreciate your understanding and time with this.

[Stella.at]

I have no clue why that is that because I have one and it works fine

[JuanJoFitbit]

@Stella.at thank you for joining us in this thread and our Fitbit Community! I'm glad to hear that your Fitbit device is working fine. Thank you for sharing your feedback.

I'd like to invite you to visit our Discussions board where you can share your experiences, meet people and create new topics.

Hope to see you in our Fitbit Community more often! 

[BBOS]

This is just silly.  We don’t live in the USA so COPPA does not apply to us.  We bought Charge 3’s for our kids (the Ace’s were too limited so would have NEVER considered them) but we can’t register our children as children and be their guardians.  They too will have to lie about their ages.  Thanks for the tip about adding as friend.

[BBOS]

Oh I see that COPPA does apply to us.  Still can’t the collection of such data just be an option (automatically based on age)?