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Why Does my Charge 3 use background location when I'm not exercising

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‎06-07-2020 12:43 - last edited on ‎09-16-2020 17:22 by Fitbit Moderator

‎06-07-2020 12:43 - last edited on ‎09-16-2020 17:22 by Fitbit Moderator

This feels to me like a privacy problem.

Why would the fitbit app need to know my location whilst I'm sitting eating dinner, not even using my phone?

I have previously had the location services set so that it can only be used whilst the app is running so that it can sync correctly, but that causes runs to not track correctly.

 

Does this mean when I am reviewing numbers in the app it may be collecting my location then too? I just don't get notified.

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6 REPLIES 6

‎06-08-2020 00:03

‎06-08-2020 00:03

Are you using the Android app? If so, Fitbit say:

 

"Google changed its permission requirements beginning with Android OS 6.0. As a result, the locations permission is necessary to sync your Fitbit device with your Android device.

Note that Fitbit does not track your location unless you are recording an exercise or activity with GPS"

 

Taken from: https://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/2134/

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‎06-08-2020 00:35

In response to SteveH

‎06-08-2020 00:35

That might be what they say, but it's not true.

Fitbit gets my location when I'm not using the app and not exercising either

Screenshot_20200607-194318__01.jpg

 

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‎06-08-2020 00:46

In response to RDB303

‎06-08-2020 00:46

But with the Android app it syncs automatically in the background. It used to have an "all day sync" option to control this but that was removed and it happens automatically now. Could it be that the message you got coincided with a background sync?

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‎06-08-2020 00:54

In response to SteveH

‎06-08-2020 00:54

It's possible but seems unlikely. I don't receive the message multiple times per day and the message is very specific about what Fitbit did.

 

I've just opened fit bit now and my data is up to date so far today so sync has happened without being warned it's using my location.

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‎06-08-2020 01:00

In response to RDB303

‎06-08-2020 01:00

I'm getting well out of my depth here and I can't explain what you are seeing. Hopefully, someone with better knowledge of this will post here.

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‎06-24-2020 18:27

‎06-24-2020 18:27

I'm following this to see if it produces anything helpful. I dumped Fitbit a few months ago for this very reason, but I'm too much of an exercise data nerd and want to track things again. I'm hoping Fitbit gets out of my privacy so I don't have to buy a new fitness tracker. Fitbit gods, please let me activate location services only when I'm using the app!

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