An Open Group for the Disability Community

[frillability]

Disabled (permanently, not temporarily injured,) and chronically ill members need a group to connect with each other and discuss their unique usage of Fitbit products, our health issues, and for emotional support.
If you've seen the numerous requests for this and the need for disability support on Fitbit products, it should be a sign it's needed.

Moderator Edit: Label.

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @frillability, and thanks for taking the time to share this suggestion about adding an open group for the disability community. We rely on feedback like yours to help us develop products and features that we know our community wants to see. If this suggestion receives votes from other customers and gains popularity, it will be shared internally with various teams at Fitbit. To learn more about how Fitbit decides which suggestions get developed, visit our FAQs.

Watch this space for status updates. In the meantime, try visiting Health & Wellness to talk with other members about all things health and fitness.

[TMBvegan]

Yes! I absolutely think this is a fantastic idea, and I know many people who would be interested in getting Fitbits if there was a dedicated disability community.

[Wheelzonfire]

I love the idea but more than a community, I believe Fitbit should think on making their product fully accessible. I am an avid sport person (cycling, swimming, training, rowing) but also paraplegic. When I see "number of steps" as a KPI it doesn't resonate. I don't feel like I could leverage the full extent of the functionalities thus not feeling like buying. Look at the statistics. 15% of the world population has a disability. The adapted fashion is a market valued at $400B. Time for a leader like to lead the way. Happy to contribute. 

[3amBird]

Would really love to see more traction on this from Fitbit as a company, your trackers were suggested to me when I asked about something I could use to track my symptoms, and I eventually did get one because of my long standing desire to be active, however, I am multiply disabled and an ambulatory wheelchair user, I have left all of the public groups I was in because they were highly discouraging because I felt shamed for having a body that isn’t able, for not being able to go for a 1km run, or do 10,000 steps, I am out of place in those communities.

And if you simply search “disabled” on the forums here, you can see that users have been calling for this for years, and I know many users have contacted you about adding wheelchair wheel rotations instead of steps and you’ve said you’re working on it, but why haven’t we seen any thing about it yet?

[KindnessOfRaven]

Yes! I have chronic illness, and the "push push push" of many of the groups isn't a healthy pressure for me. I want a group that emphasizes pacing and staying in my energy packet, where I can talk about having been unable to exercise for days due to a flare and people will understand what I mean and why pushing through it to exercise anyway could be harmful. 

Fitbit groups have the potential to keep me from swinging back to using a Garmin product again, if they were usable. The lack of a search function isn't helping any, either

[adreamingone]

I can't believe after all these years Fitbit needs to wait for this one comment to get "votes" before they will consider possibly creating a group that would support ¼ of the general population. Ableism at it's finest 🤬

[3amBird]

@adreamingone It really is isn’t it?

for now, I’ve made a group if you’d like to join? Unfortunately you will have to add me as a friend (same username)

anyone else finding this comment can also add me & join!

I’ll also ping @KindnessOfRaven as someone with CFS I totally get pacing & needing rest, so hopefully we can help each other!

[LizzyFitbit]

Hi everyone, and thanks so much for sharing this Product Feedback! While we don’t currently have plans to release this feature, we always appreciate the passion and creativity that comes out of this Community. Since we know this idea is important to many of you, we have left voting open to continue tracking interest and will post another update if anything changes. To learn more about how Fitbit decides what product feedback is developed, visit our FAQs.

We're always striving to enhance Fitbit products and services, and your input is a big part of that process. We truly thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us.