Charge 3 setup for child

[Busymum07]

We have bought our son a Charge 3 for his birthday (lucky lad) but when we try to set it up it says it has to be set up by an adult so I put my details in. It says you can then set up your family account and add a child. I did that but the only thing it will let me pair with is a Fitbit Ace which is not what we have. Can’t find anything that tells me how to set up a charge 3 for a child, help!

Moderator edit: subject

[SunsetRunner · Accepted solution]

Sorry, but you cannot. The Ace was designed for children on a family controlled account. The Charge 3 was not designed for children and due to the social networking features of a Fitbit account Federal law prohibits children under a certain age from setting up their own account.

[DaveJ.ca]

This seems a bit beyond ridiculous when Fitbit have been marketing the Charge 3 without a very clear indication that kids under a currently non specified age are not going to be able to use their birthday presents.

[burnbabybyrne]

So what’s the solution? Setup the Charge 3 as if for an adult? I just don’t want to buy my child a smartphone in order to allow him to track activity. Our ‘family law’ prohibits stupidity in this regard. 

[Sean6213]

 This is the most ridiculous set up that I’ve ever seen, there are settings that could be set up to change this feature instead of blocking it for all users and forcing a child to use this model. This just shows you that app developers and the company don’t understand consumers and how they use products. It’s not real hard to go in there and lie about your age to change the set up rules, just plain stupidity! 

[Legis]

Yes. Just want the water proof feature and using when swimming for kids.  

Device , Fitbit account could be independent. Child account could still follow the law but just collect data from Charge3. 

[AlejandraFitbit]

Hi guys, I hope you are doing fine.

As mentioned by our friend here, Fitbit Ace is the only tracker Fitbit has for kids and, therefore, is the only one that a kid account will accept. The Charge 3 can be set up only on a regular account for anyone who meets the minimum age requirement in your country.

For more information check the help article How do I manage my Fitbit family account?.

Catch you later. 

[burnbabybyrne]

Yes, but you miss the point entirely. I don’t want my child’s fitness data being synced with my iPhone apps as if it’s my activity, nor do I want my height / weight etc. from my health data being associated with my child. 

Why not simply allow other Fotbit devices to be associated with a child under a family account and kept separate from the iPhone owner’s data? 

[AlejandraFitbit]

Thanks for the feedback @burnbabybyrne. I recommend taking a look at the Allow More Fitbit Devices than Ace to Family Account request, vote for it and leave your comment.

Happy stepping! 

[burnbabybyrne]

Thanks. Voted for the other post. 

[PossQC]

Just create an account for your kid, and for "privacy reason" just enter 01/01/2000 as date of birth...

[SF111]

Dear Fitbit

I have bought my son a charge 3 for Christmas following the advice and recommendation of a sales agent at John Lewis in the UK. 

My son is 11. 

There is nothing on the packaging which says the device cannot be used below a certain age and I have now discovered that I can’t register the device to him. 

This amounts to:

1 mis-selling by an approved agent (John Lewis)

2 total lack of transparency by Fitbit 

What if fitbit’s official advice please?

[KatH33]

I’ve just discovered exactly the same thing setting up for 12 year old son! How ridiculous! 

[KatH33]

I’ve just discovered exactly the same thing setting up for 12 year old son! How ridiculous! 

[LZeeW]

@KatH33@SF111  First, I understand your frustration at not being able to set up accounts for your children.  Second, I want to say that the Community Council members are not paid Fitbit employees.  We are very knowledgeable users who like to help others.

Setting up accounts for children has everything to do with how Fitbit stores data and internet privacy for children.  The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) in the US and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU set the standards.  COPPA sets the age at 13 in the US.  From what I have read, countries in the EU can set the age, but it looks like it varies from 13 to 16.

The Ace tracker is designed for children and meets the internet privacy standards.  It is set up on a Family Account.  Data is stored differently from the "normal" account.

These internet privacy protections are the same reason a 12 year old cannot have a Facebook account.

[Nick4074]

You seem to be indicating that a special version of the phone is necessary to conform to legal requirements. I don't agree with this assertion unless someone can provide me a reason as to why. Surely the software can  be written to make any device conform to EU and US regulations and if the solution can be written in software then any Fitbit can be linked to a family member.

I am not impressed. 

[burnbabybyrne]

A few things to consider:

1. Lots of other providers manage to handle accounts for children and families / households. It’s not rocket science and the legislation referred to does not prevent that.

2. There is clearly demand to have devices other than Ace capable of being added as child-owned devices under a family / parent account. FitBit: pay attention and sort out the account structure to allow other devices to be added as child devices.

3. Not everyone cares about sharing fitness data via social media etc. Make those integrations optional so the user (or parent) can disable them.

[SF111]

Then why is this not made clear either when purchasing the item or on the
packaging?

Were it made clear in advance then I would. Or have purchased this device.

Quite the opposite - it was recommended to me based on my circumstances.

[DaveM74]

A terrible policy! Why not permit the Guardian in the family account to disable the social features if that's the problem?

[Sss452]

I have just identified the same issue.  Two Fitbit charge 3 purchased in John Lewis, who were fully aware that I had a 9 year old and a 12 year old and wanted small wrist bands to fit.  Now discover we can’t use.  Two very disappointed children and two charge 3 being returned to John Lewis as there is no point having them.  No more Fitbit in this house!