Activity Groups have been closed

[MatthewFitbit]

Fitbit Update 6/14/19: We have removed the web-based activity groups from Fitbit.com. Our enhanced community features within the Fitbit mobile app provide users with a significantly better experience by allowing them to access fitness-related news and local events, connect and message with friends, discover public groups of like-minded individuals, and create their own private groups.

User-created groups on the Fitbit app also allow members to track their progress through group leaderboards and cheer each other on, just as they could through the web. The Fitbit mobile app is available for Android and iOS.

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As of 6/13/2019, Web Activity Groups have been deprecated and will no longer be accessible.

We know that many of you have used this space to connect with friends and fellow Fitbit users, and we recommend considering the in-app Fitbit Community to continue those conversations. Along with topical public threads where you can discuss personal health goals, the Community also offers closed groups with many advantages - including space for up to 2,000 members, and leaderboard statistics.

For more information on joining and inviting your friends to these closed groups, check out this article. We know that this kind of transition can be difficult, but we are confident that you'll find lots to love in the new Fitbit Community!

[RedondoWalker]

Bosco253, expressed very well.  I work in tech, as a QA engineer.  Believe me, server space today is not as pricey as in the past.  AWS comes to mind.  I too would like to know the rational for this radical disenfranchisement.  Fitbit, you're turn to explain.

[klamana-finn]

Bosco,

Thank you for your message to Matthew.  You are so articulate and clearly stated what we are all feeling. As an educator, I too agree with what you said, we have been abandoned.

All my best,

Kim 

[Bosco253]

@bkeller  But it wasn't a problem or glitch of any sort. It was an intentional removal of something that a large segment of their users want retained. The only "fix" that could possibly be coming would be if they acquiesce and give us back what we once had. This happened 15 months ago. It was intentional then, too, but they acted like it was a software engineering issue. Eventually they gave us back what we wanted. I'm not sure how confident I am that they'll return it to us this time because they knew how upset we were the last time and did it to us again. They are trying to force everyone to migrate to the new mobile app. I still haven't received a response to my query as to why both platforms cannot co-exist and what the rationale is for rescinding something that they know customers desire.

[Bosco253]

@RedondoWalker   AWS - Amazon Web Services? Not sure I understand

[Badengineer]

Per your comment about inviting to groups: How can we invite to groups on
facebook? If I could post an invite in the specific fb groups I am in then
I think it would be a great way to help rebuild what was lost.

[Bosco253]

@klamana-finn    Thanks for the compliment, Kim.  I thought I was on the right track when I interpreted the backlash due, at least in part, to feelings of abandonment; I'm glad that you agree with my assessment of the situation.People really have cared about this company, but are tired of being disrespected and ignored. I imagine this is a lot like what it would feel like if one were married to a narcissist.

[WendyB]

@Drainman  Please read above. Moved your post here  so you can see what is going on

[Dajjer]

Dang. I invested money into this company thinking they were smart and that they were leading the way as far as trackers. Time to talk to my broker.

[SunsetRunner]

@MatthewFitbit thanks for the clarification and the lack of consideration of your customers.

I am now done with fitbit.

[tinyg]

So fitbit have closed the activity groups. so is this now making a fitbit a step counter I can use my phone to do this so will not be getting a new fitbit. very sad 

[Bosco253]

@UnicornJean 

Wow! Thank you for an extremely cogent and well-stated comment, as well as one without vitriol, which I have not always kept out of my comments. 

I have posted a reply that I originally sent as a PM to moderator @MatthewFitbit , in which I drew an analogy between customer push-back regarding this decision and the acting-out behavior ofpeople who have been abandoned by people they love whom they want and need to have love them in return. Your comparison to grief stages is also, in my opinion, very appropriate. Thanks! I really hope Fitbit listens.

I think I may be moving from the bargaining step directly to resignation. Maybe my first 4 steps happened so quickly and in concert with each other (well, perhaps except for the second step, as I'm still incredulous). It is very sad that the consumer base seems to have been ignored, because this happened last year. Fitbit DID restore access to groups last year when they knew how much we wanted to retain them, but now they've pulled the rug out from under us again. Even if they do restore the groups, shouldn't our trust be shaken enough to be skeptical, knowing that they did it once, knew we hated it, gave it back but then did it again. To use yet another analogy, it's like the partner who repeatedly cheats on you. How many times do you keep going back and when do you recognize that it is time to leave because you are not being valued? 

Oh, I initially forgot to say that I hope that you receive the support you need throughout the rough anniversaries that are coming up. May you have peace during those times.

[johnnypit]

I did a search for group walking competition and found many software options.  Many will do multiple devices. Any recommendations?

[klamana-finn]

Exactly like a narcissist Bosco! I teach psychology and this is narcissistic behavior! And I also teach Organizational Behavior and Management, so thank you Fitbit for giving me a lot to talk about when I discuss organizations not seeing the "big picture".  

Sent from my iPhone

[JaneEll]

@MatthewFitbit  your apology for not providing advance notice is meaningless.

Many others have said most of the things I had in response, so I'll simply ask again:

Why on earth would we bother recreating groups on a different platform when this company has shown itself willing to delete our work without notice?

[JaneEll]

@johnnypit I'm on the lookout as well - I'll email you if I find one with a lot of great reviews, would welcome emails from anyone else on the topic.

So far I've looked into Garmin, Countit, Walker Tracker, Stridekick... Still googling. 

We used FitRankings last year but found there were data discrepancies, and like fitbit their customer service was nonexistent for free users.  Wouldn't say no one should use it, but we switched to Fitbit community groups because of the issues.  And didn't that work out well.  😛

[johnnypit]

@JaneEll I noticed that mentioning another brand name gets your post deleted.  Third party software is the answer to this problem.  It also allows migration to one of the "other" data collection devices. 

[enpiwo]

The article link that is provided discusses how to set up groups in the app. However, the instructions do not match up with the app. For example, I cannot request joining a group or accept an invitation. There is not an inbox icon on my app. It appears that my ability to be a part of any group is now gone.

[elliquinn]

Agreed!   This change has totally tanked our company's wellness program which was based around the Fitbit web group leaderboard.  We did activities around steps, active minutes and even distance, just to switch it up!

All gone!  So frustrating.....

[KJLSeattle]

Unfortunately, since there was no notice that the activity groups were closing, there was no opportunity to message the group and prepare for the change. Can we take a step back and try another path?

1. Maybe open those groups again for a period of time to allow contact?

2. Could a list of usernames in the former activity groups be provided to someone willing to set up a new closed group so they could be contacted and invited to join the replacement group?

I belonged to the Bend, OR group and I'd be happy to start a closed group in the new version.  Part of the attraction of the prior group version was the anonymous participation versus competing with friends.  Friends don't necessarily compete at the same levels and competing with friends is not always a positive.  

Not sure what is driving the change so I fully realize I'm not aware of the challenges for your team, just trying to find a way to make the new functionality more interesting without losing the anonymous competitive component that was motivational in the prior version.  Thanks! 

[ceraffen]

I would like to add my voice to the chorus of disgruntled FitBit users concerning the removal of the community groups. I was first introduced to FitBit back in 2014 when my company hosted a 2 month long fitness challenge. I'm very active and run ultramarathons regularly, but that year I was letting myself get out of shape. The fitness challenge re-energized my training and I participated actively in the community group we setup for my workplace challenge. When the challenge was over I continued to use that community group to motivate and push myself to try and stay at or near the top of the leaderboard. I also joined a couple of other groups that served as additional motivation. In the case of these groups there was little to no discussion, but I can see how other groups may have been more social. As others have stated, there is no way to replicate those existing community groups and I don't see the value in attempting to. And additionally, I'm also in the software development field and have a hard time understanding the justification for removing this platform entirely. Was it a maintenance issue? That's hard to believe...

All in all, this decision seems to have had the effect of alienating your most loyal customers - and to make it without any notification at all is incomprehensible. Bad move, bad move indeed FitBit...