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!

[SD_Beaker]

The part that weird is Matt’s silence. If there is a true technology reason why then he should provide. IE written in a no longer supported software, has a security leak, etc. the true lack of feedback is odd. 

Matt can’t possible like his job right now with all this bashing and no power to help us. 

Heck if he even said he was trying to talk to management then we would feel like we are being heard. Instead he’s just watching us melt away, and likely his stock options transition to worthless. 

Hmmmmm

[Vincenza]

Honestly? Are you sure Matt is a real person? And not just a “persona” invented by Fitbit. That possibly “Matt”  is actually a made-up ‘’digital”  person or perhaps a boy in the back office who’s tasked with checking out this site from time to time to calm the “the old biddies”  in exchange for a bit of extra pocket money.  Some of the reassuring replies do sound suspiciously repetitive and automated at times.

Sorry, I may be getting on a bit, but I’m not stupid.…yet, I hope. 

Today I went to my grandchildren’s school fete. I’m in U.K. by the way.  I was sent a text early this morning by Ruairi (9yrs) asking me to bring his mum’s old Fitbit, a Charge HR which I had because Mum lost interest ages ago - she’s a physio, slim and very athletic and doesn’t need a Fitbit to monitor her fitness levels. I charged it up. In the end 11yr old granddaughter got it because it’s got a cool purple strap. ( you can’t change the strap on the Charge HR ) and  Ruairi wants the one I’m wearing! The Charge 2 with the bigger display. They’re cool. All his friends have them. He’s a champion - he’s very sporty and competitive and ran off wearing mine to show his friends.  But he doesn’t want the white strap I was wearing today (having a heatwave here hence the white strap)   I said I have at least ten other coloured straps -all bought on Amazon. I’m clearly going to have to upgrade now, before this one breaks. And it’s  going to have to be the Charge 3. I’m in loads of challenges with other Fitbit wearers. What happens to those challenges if I buy another brand? I loose touch with all those people? I want another Fitbit. I love my Fitbit. I want the 3. . Fitbit KNOW this. They are actually NOT  some benevolent grandfather figure, much as I tend to think they are, along with my other best chum, Amazon, You have to all believe this. . they’re just huge corporations.  They don’t care about individuals. Our posts on here? No! Their only concerns? Their shareholders. 

There’s no point writing all this stuff on here anymore. I don’t intend to. I don’t intend to write anything else here, but I will check from time to time, If you’re really alone and need incentives to keep up your fitness, let me know and we can get everyone involved in a few new challenges together. At least it’s better than nothing? The alternatives offered by Fitbit just don’t measure up. But they know that, 

[pikachuck]

At least you have the email addresses! I only knew one of the other members in the group I was active with….

And now they are lost forever…

Or at least until Fitbit turns Groups back on.

[SunsetRunner]

Fitbit needs to turn Groups back on.

[SunsetRunner]

This coming week will be a true kick in the **ahem** for Fitbit.  Companies will start logging in to collect June totals for their staff.  No bonuses and incentives this month.

[RedondoWalker]

It's a beauty!

[RedondoWalker]

Vincenza, agreed.  All that matters is the shareholders.

This is unfortunately becoming true everywhere.  Customers, shustomers!  Churn doesn't become a problem until you start to run out of new customers.  In the meantime, let the good times roll, and who cares about the loyal customer base.

When the share price drops, and the shareholders become nervous, companies like this will resort to some or all of these steps:

1) Sweeten the quarterly reports by shedding payroll.  Lay off the log time "loyal" employees who built the business.  Short term fix.

2) Hire some temps to take up the slack.  Cost effective, and looks good on the balance sheet.

3) Outsource to (pick one) India, Indonesia, Malaysia.  Besides costing only pennies on the dollar, it has the added benefit of making the company "global".  Sexy.

4) Ask (force) a few suits to "retire", so they may "spend more time with the family".  This step is taken when the end is near.

5) Sell, or go private.  Last step before bankruptcy.

(Oh, and F-----'s Executive VP sold 5000 shares of his stock on Friday.  A curious maneuver in these times)

Stay tuned...

[ashwolve]

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@MatthewFitbit wrote:

@ruffneck813 Yes, the instructions are referring to the Fitbit mobile app. The in-app community is not accessible via desktop computers. For web-based conversation, I'd recommend instead checking out the Lifestyle Discussions or other suggestions in this thread.

@moelarrycurly Thanks for your sharing your thoughts. Just to set realistic expectations - there is no plan to put the web-based groups back into action.

@UnicornJean I know it's easy to speculate on things like this, but the decision was not made for concerns about privacy. Quite simply, Fitbit believes that the in-app Community provide users with a significantly better experience.

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Let Just be clear @MatthewFitbit  not everyone wants, has, likes mobile / smart devices and some liked the website based one for the larger screen, fonts, keyboard, etc as some people may not have the eyesight for a 5 inch screen or the fingers for the miniscule keyboard on a mobile or the faith in the security of these new devices and feel safer with the desktop - yet again another decision taken without any proper thought or research on how it could effect people - you are discriminating against these types of people - Fitbit must STOP assuming everyone has these devices that use apps and the website should be the better option with more features - BUT if these changes must take place at least have the decency to keep the same functions so members do not lose data/acquaintances and not remove anything that's of any use to the non technical minded - it is not US that needs to set realistic expectations but Fitbit's - they need to understand the needs of ALL their customers not just the ones that fit a certain demographic

and finally you state "Fitbit believes that the in-app Community provide users with a significantly better experience." clearly the 14 pages of complaints (in 2 weeks) should  "ahem" quite simply - tell Fitbit otherwise - and this so called better experience is only true for those with a device that can accept apps is quite frankly unacceptable

like others have said we should have to start all over again and the Lifestyle discussions does not really replace what your loyal customers have lost

Fitbit - shouldn't ALL you customers be entitled to this so called better experience and not just those mentioned within this post after all WE have paid our dues as well

just another fault in the growing list of things you have/haven't done to appease you customers

Regards

Wayne

[AnotherNewbie]

Unfortunately it is gone for good. Fitbit has made that very clear.

Based on all the comments on this thread it means that a lot of us will be joining other systems that will allow for those who prefer a website as opposed to an app (yes, yes, I am aging myself, took me a long time to get to this age, so I guess I have the bragging rights lol).  I truly miss 'chasing' those who were ahead of me at any given time!

It was good. Have fun!

[luvsgolf007]

I was a member of multiple communities that listed everyone's accomplishments for the month and I could see how I ranked against them. I just updated my fitbit and everything has changed. Can anybody tell me what happened and where I can find this info?

[MatthewFitbit]

@UnicornJean You've brought up lots of genuinely great points, and I'm sorry that I don't have more insight to provide. All I can offer is assurance that this feedback is being heard, and acknowledgment that I personally want this kinds of transition to be be carried out more smoothly and thoughtfully in the future.

@SunsetRunner @moelarrycurly We're not able to easily bring the groups back, even temporarily. I'm not able to share specifics, but doing so is not as simple as it may seem.

@Petersons11 The group owner should be included in the group leaderboard. If this is not what you're seeing, please contact our support team for assistance. And yes, there are plans to bring more features to in-app private groups in the future!

@Vincenza Perhaps you're joking - but, no I am not a digital persona. Although that's precisely what a digital persona would say... If you look at my profile, you'll see that I've been supporting customers on the forum for over five years. While I'm not able to satisfy every concern, in situations like this I always try to provide valuable insight and accurately relay feedback like yours.

Fitbit believes that group discussions are best served via the in-app community. I have heard the arguments against that in this thread, and can assure you that these thoughts are also heard by the larger team - we will do our best to continue growing the platform in line with your interests.

Thanks again for your feedback, everyone. This thread is starting to veer off into other topics, so we'll close this conversation soon.

[UnicornJean]

@MatthewFitbit 

I realize this must be difficult for you. You are dealing with the aftermath of what (in my opinion) was a poorly thought out action: deleting the groups with no warning. That is one reason I have tried to address my comments more to Fitbit management, not to you. Thank you for taking our concerns to that management.

Sadly, that doesn't really solve my problem and I understand that nothing that you can do will solve it. That is sad. Perhaps when the in app groups are really ready for prime time, as it were, they will be more popular.

[luvsgolf007]

I have been a devout Fitbit user for many many years. I just purchased a new Fitbit 2 months ago, but this will be the last one. This is nothing more than an expensive pedometer now. Extremely stupid to do this without asking your customers. I will NOT be buying another. Maybe I can see this one to some sucker. Extremely dissappointed. I have really enjoyed my communities and activity groups and this is a shame. I guarantee your stock and sales will go down. 

[ashwolve]

@MatthewFitbit  Sorry if it goes against " what Fitbit believes" but can you not see that it may not be best served via the app - the amount of disappointment and frustration that is shown in these posts are telling you that FITBIT are wrong

we really don't care whether it is easy or not WE the customer (the people that purchase your product) believe that we should have the choice of using the platform we are comfortable with and not have decisions made for us by people who clearly do not understand the way their customers use their products or software

If our feedback was really being heard proper action would be taken to return the function that has been removed not constantly being told it cannot be done or done easily it was done because we had the function/feature in then first place for you to remove - also it does not help your cause when you hear things that Fitbit does not like to close threads - I have brought this up before - conversations like these seldom go  - Off Topic - when we are listened to and not swept under the carpet, can you not understand the way it makes your community members feel especially when the issue is quite easily solved (yes it is) update the app and the website separately, you allow the additional features in the app but allow the web users to continue to have the access that they should by rights be able to continue to enjoy as well - the point to take is add to and improve not take away and frustrate

unfortunately when we hear something we do not like we cannot close threads/forums or remove posts so things seem better than they really are so we take or frustrations out in other ways namely venting on the open threads - listen to your customers not your board members we know what we want not them and don't close down points of conversation just because it is easier to do so than fix the issue that is causing it - in fact why not open another that allows us to air or frustrations as long as the language protocol is adhered to - remember not everyone lives their life through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Whats app etc etc,  not everyone trust those sites but that is a point of contention in another thread so I wont harp on -

start thinking of the elder members of your community and keep the acronym KISS in mind don't over think what we want ask us - say once a month open up a forum with potential changes/improvements to the next upgrade and put in them the 5 or 10 features you intend to change gauge the feed back and suggestions on those threads and then use the top 3 or 4 subjects - yes it wont please everyone change never does but it would allow us your users to feel more involved in the decision making and possibly with the suggestions about the newer features could iron out any issues and alleviate any concerns before the change is made keeping more people happy or at least make them aware the change will be taking place and to take step to not lose any friends/acquaintances or data 

Thank you for entertaining this post and please take it as constructive  

Regards

Wayne

[Glencky]

@MatthewFitbit me again, still subscribed to this thread another fees hundred emails later. Still using this as a case study of how not to do digital development in my job which is... delivering digital solutions. 

2 things:

1) after being one of the first posters on this thread and remaining subscribed throughout, I have seen almost nothing off topic, including all the various posts that have been removed because Fitbit thinks they're inappropriate e.g. those mentioning other non- Fitbit options.  If there's a desire to close this post, it's clearly because somebody in Fitbit is 'over' hearing the complaints. I've said it before and will say it again: for shame. My guess is that after a short interval of keeping this thread open just to see if the new month does trigger a new influx of complaints, this thread will close off, Fitbit will move on, and consider the matter closed without ever having done anything to address the issues raised. 

2) I've been mildly concerned that there will a perception in Fitbit that these are the concerns of a minority of only older- generation customers given how some of the discussion in this thread has gone where people who consider themselves to fit that demographic have dominated the discussion. Their concerns are legitimate, but they are not the only democratic affected.  Whilst not fresh out of high school (!)  I am considerably younger than many on this thread.  I, and others like me, would check the leaderboard *on my Android smartphone* which was suboptimal because the site was far from being mobile optimised/ responsive in design. I therefore had to pinch and zoom a lot just to get to the leaderboard - all very annoying.  Why did I do it? Because it gave me functionality missing everywhere else so it was worth the minor hassle.  Speaking to others (as I have done daily since the removal) there were many others doing the same. 

I'm glad you admit you personally would prefer changes like this are effected differently in future and hope that doc so publicly doesn't cause you any issues.  I hope this becomes a case study of how not to deliver change within Fitbit, as it is for me now externally. But none of that does anything to help the people here who genuinely relied on that functionality and those communities. Fitbit has behaved irresponsibly and if it continues to do so, it will simply not have an business to change and evolve. BlackBerry was dominant for years and nobody could imagine it not being.  And then... it wasn't. The mighty can fall, and only through relentless innovation AND relentless customer centricity, can that be prevented. The latter is seriously lacking here. 

It's just a crying shame. 

[SteveH]

Do you mean the "activity groups" that you access via the web interface? If so, then I'm sorry to say that these were closed in June. For more information see the main thread which has comments from fitbit:

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Fitbit-com-Dashboard/Activity-Groups-have-been-closed/td-p/3530306

[Glencky]

@MatthewFitbit ... and a P S. If Fitbit really can't restore the groups easily, that confirms what I have suspected since the ongoing issues with the female health functionality was introduced - that my data is insufficiently safe with Fitbit. Third u.s. the reason I stopped using that functionality... I don't trust Fitbit with sensitive data, sadly. 

Which all makes me wonder how Fitbit would handle a Subject Access Request in the UK for access to, e.g. data about the groups of which one was a member, monthly totals etc (all of which should be available as they were available once). They either wouldn't be able to handle it or they'd have to do some hideous manual collation. 

I'm going to guess this post might be removed...

[klamana-finn]

Matthew, 

No one is "veering" off topic here.  Seriously. As a professor with 36 years experience, I can say that with confidence.  We are all on topic.  STOP being so condescending. 

[Anniea1]

"Thanks again for your feedback, everyone. This thread is starting to veer off into other topics, so we'll close this conversation soon."

Matthew:  I have read every post in the thread, and it is untrue that the thread was starting to veer off into other topics.  Virtually all of the posts have been on-topic.  My guess is that you and others in the company consider it "off topic" when people speculate about what problems within the company might have that would have caused you to shut down the activity groups with no advance notice and no mechanism for restoring them.  It's evident to me and the others that there's some serious malfunction going on.  Since you won't reveal the nature of this, it's completely understandable that people--especially those with a background in software--will speculate.  It's just that remarkable.  My suggestions:  don't label posts off topic when they're not, and stop being condescending.  The disappointing way in which you've handled this discussion following the company's decision to abruptly cut off the groups is figuring strongly into my decision as to how to proceed. 

[Bosco253]

@pikachuck
Fitbit refuses to turn groups on again. They are toast, as are their data.