Integrate with iOS Health

[so-rich]

Hi there,

I'm really excited about Apple's announcement of the Health App in iOS 8 to be release this fall.  I'm looking forward to seeing a product announcement by Fitbit for a successor to the recalled Fitbit Force, and I'm really hoping to hear some exciting news about Fitbits intigration with Apple's new Health App to be released alongside iOS 8 this fall.  

This is a huge oportunity to make your devices even smarter and more integrated - Please support these APIs!  Thanks!

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity and labels.

[ryana]

Steps, sleep, calories burned and nutrition would be great to be added to the integration with the Apple Health App. At the moment, I am constantly flicking between the two and it's annoying. Also since the new update the Facebook Fitbit App is dodgy as. Please check into issues and get them fixed. Thank you.

[dwightfisher]

I emailed support with this very question and got pretty much the same thing it says here: "We don't have immediate plans to integrate with HealthKit. We'll watch HealthKit closely as it matures and look for opportunities to improve the Fitbit experience. In the meantime we'd like to hear more from you about what you'd like to see in a HealthKit and Fitbit integration."

That's the most ridiculous question that could have come back to me.  You'd like to "hear more about what [I'd] like to see in a HealthKit and Fitbit integration"?  You know (since I told you!) that I have a Flex.  It only does two things, count steps and monitor sleep time.  What else could I possibly want to see except the data that's collected by the device?

Assuming this still isn't clear to the folks at Fitbit, I'd like to add my Flex as a data source for the Health app in iOS 8 so that the Health app can log my steps and sleep data.

I am VERY disappointed that you're dragging your feet on this.  If I want to use the Health app, why won't you let me do that?  If a competitor makes a wristband that collects the same data but lets me use HealthKit to log it, why should I continue to to use my Flex if it doesn't provide all the functionality that I want?  I haven't seen a good answer to either of those questions.

[adambye]

I bought a fit bit about a year ago and now it will not hold a charge.  I really want a new one but I am just puzzled that they would not let the thing sync with Apple Health.  If it did I would already have a new flex on my wrist but since it doesn't I am having to explore other options.  Please change course on this soon so I don't have to buy a Jawbone or wait for the Apple Watch.

[Gdroblye]

I want steps, active minutes, workouts, and stairs climbed all added to my HealthKit as well as the calorie data

[velorob]

I emailed Fitbit regarding HealthKit.  They also asked me to be specific on this forum about what I want on HealthKit.  I use Digifit, which does integrate with Fitbit and HealthKit, but the Fitbit data does not get relayed to HealthKit.  I would like the steps, calories burned, sleep data and weight information synced with HealthKit.  But really I want all the data from Fitbit on HealthKit.  HealthKit also integrates data from a great dietary app MyNetDiary.  Fitbit is not great at everything so I use Digifit for heart rate and active training, Fitbit for sleep data, steps, weight and calories, and MyNetDiary for food log.  In my view you should all integrate with as many apps as you can.

Cnet has some good articles on the growing feud between Apple and Fitbit.  My comment to Fitbit is you have the upper hand with people like me who are loyal and like your products. (I also own an Aria scale) I think that not participating in such a high profile app like HealthKit is a huge mistake.  If you are a better product than the Applewatch I will use a Fitbit.  It makes it seem like you are at best afraid of the Apple Watch and at worse starting a rivalry with Apple.  It makes me want to try the Apple Watch even more if a great product like Fitbit is so worried about what it can do.  And as for choosing Microsoft's health app over Apple's, it make's you look like Nokia and bring's up old memories for Apple fans.  Trust me you do not want to alienate people loyal to Apple.

[Beardo]

I want all of my FitBit data (historic and live) accessable in HealthKit or I will purchase alternative products.

[FizziksGuy]

I would like to see a link to all Fitbit data in HealthKit.  This is a deal breaker for me.

[ramsdell]

I look forward to purchasing the Surge when fitbit integrates with Apple HealthKit!

[Niksureski]

I hope they do an integration soon I really want to utilize both apps.

[Aniseedvan]

+1 for heathkit integration please

[Lee_C]

Of course we want it.  Too imagine otherwise seems disingenuous.

[Gorgon]

Please integrate!

[exuser]

It will be telling to see Fitbit's repsonse to integrating Google Fit. I'm an apple person myself but I care about everyone's health. I don't buy the "we were working on other projects" angle. If so, you could have pacified many people by just saying, "we will support Apple Healthkit in the future" and left it at that. I've seen kickstarters with better communication.

@Allison, mark it declined. It's patronizing and a PR nightmare.

[SplitRaindrop]

Looking at getting a Withings device to replace my fitbit one since they are integrating with health kit. 

[kostelnj]

I also was instructed, in a reply to my whining about no healthkit integration with my fitbit products, to post what I wanted to see integrated in this thread.  I'd like fitbit integration with Healthkit so I can share fitbit info with my doctor & personal trainer.  It seems a crying shame that the aria scale data wasn't shareable from the get go.. but other fitbit data I think would be obvious candidates include step data, distance data, calories burned, active minutes.  Sleep data? Maybe, but I'm not too interested in sharing that data and am happy viewing it only in the fitbit app .. and stairs climbed seems too flaky to be worth sharing.  My nutrition information I can integrate from MyFitnessPal which already shares information with the fitbit app.  So please get off the ball and make Healthkit integration happen.   Also I do hope that caller id notification will be available on my Force.  Expect another whining email if its not (hehe).  Thanks

[seanotoole]

Hey Fitbit Developers,

I would be cautious in not considering integration with the HealthKit App.  While I do understand it is a business decision whether or not to support integration, it is important to listen and adjust especially with 29 million iphones sold this quarter.

I enjoy my fitbit one, and carry it everywhere I go.  If I was to decide to update my device, I would be looking at integrated products.  Fitbit does provide great value for the money and innovative products especially an alternative to a wrist band.

It is better to lead than follow, while maintaining the pulse of your users with all the purchasing power.

Take care and just a few thoughts to consider.

Sean

[lcmarston]

@zapleahy @RickyFitbit is there any chance we'll ever hear anything from Fitbit about this? The iOS app is currently at 1-1/2 stars (and deserving of it, given the completely garbage update that's wrecked all functionality for me), and 1732 comments and 860 votes in this thread alone (not to mention the countless other threads and comments on the Facebook page) are begging and pleading for a function that we shouldn't have to beg and plead for. On top of all of this, I sent an email to Fitbit to make known my displeasure and ask for a refund, and so far I haven't received my label to mail it back, so I'm guessing I've wasted a hundred bucks and about a month of my time. I'm sure this is rough for you, and I want you to know I feel bad that you have to be in this position, caught in the crossfire between thousands of angry customers and an incompetent business decision that has been incredibly vague and secretive at a time when a large swath of their customers want concrete answers. If Fitbit right now told me that they'll never integrate with HealthKit, if they sent me a personalized letter to my home address that simply said "screw you, we don't care", I'd have more respect for them than I do presently. I hope you realise I'm not directing my anger at you - I'm not shooting the messenger. But I'd like to make sure that the people in charge know that I'm angry about their decision, and I know I'm not alone.

[b62ad]

I originally bought a Fitbit Force between December and January of 2014 as health problems caused me to have to monitor activity among other things. I was thrilled when I got it because it was a new gadget and I wore it regularly to the point I hated to take it off for any reason because it would make my data a little less accurate. Unfortunately the elastomer material band just below the screen started to separate from the internal structure. This happened a few months later. Then a week or two after the separation I started to get a rash on my wrist, my guess is it was from the adhesive I do have a nickel allergy however it didn’t show up until after the two parts started to separate. But Fitbit had commenced a voluntary recall and I was excited for their next product. Around this time I started to get off track in terms of monitoring because of the disappointment from not getting accurate data from the iPhone 5s (I don’t have it on me as often as I did the force), equipment failure, and failure from Syncmetrics syncing from iHealth (Blood Pressure) to Fitbit and their eventual shutdown, and finally other little things that just lead to me giving up my entire system because I was frustrated with it and not restarting monitoring for about three months. I have started my routine again but I really was frustrated for a while. By the way I also own the Aria scale and purchased a premium subscription.

Well Today I just received an email with a nice 15% off one of the three new devices because of the recalled Force. I would have considered purchasing one of these three new units but I have a few doubts and a few problems. The first being that they look like they have the same build as the force meaning the elastomer material (wristband) adhered to the main body looks like it could split apart again. Second is the timing, if these were coming out between May and August I would have definitely bought one of these devices most likely the charge HR or the Surge because they have more options. But now that the Apple Watch has been announced I’m more interested in it. Finally because of the wait and see attitude of Fitbit with the Apple Health integration I am to the point of not even considering any new Fitbit products that includes the Premium Subscription. It’s sad because the main reason I bought the Premium subscription was the nice layout of the exported data, and since Syncmetrics has been shut down and no way to get data into Fitbit other than entering data in manually there really is no point in continuing paying for a service that is no longer functional.    

The main points are:

• Have they improved the design and bonding of the new devices?
• Timing is everything.
• Usability and failures can contribute to lower health through frustration.
• Finally and in my opinion one of the most important is the ability to use a superior syncing platform to get the data everywhere for a superior overview of a person’s health.

There is a lot of data that can be imported into the Fitbit app that can make it a much better experience not to mention a more standardized way to get data to and from the app without having to worry about supporting different apps, that’s not to say it’s bad to have multiple plugins but one is simpler than several at least on IOS and potentially other platforms in the future.                   

[Lupla]

No HealthKit? --> no Fitbit!

[LionOnABicycle]

Yep. I'm selling my fitbit. I have no read to keep and use a device that doesn't sync with my phone.

[seray]

Intergrate with Apple Health or I'll be leaving to go with another fitness tracker. I'll make sure to rercomend my friends do the same. 

[unaiherran]

After reading all the coments its starting to get funny. 1800 messages asking for a feature, and poor Allison trying to justify Fitbit decision.

Its really strange that such a natural fit for a OS feature with a gadget has been completly ignored.

So I started wondering what else could be happening?

Reading the App Review guidelines for Healthkit I noticed only two things that can be argue that this integration is difficult.

27. HealthKit

• 27.2

  Apps that write false or inaccurate data into HealthKit will be rejected

• 27.4

  Apps may not use user data gathered from the HealthKit API for advertising or other use-based data mining purposes other than improving health, medical, and fitness management, or for the purpose of medical research

None of them are apealing, cause 27.2 will make our trackers useless and 27.4 will make our private data not so private.

So I would like to know a reason not to do this 'cause every day we dont get a response make me lean more on considering other options. 

And yes, I love conspiracy theories.

[cireynolds]

Fitbit is a great data collection tool, and I'd like to continue to use it, but Health is an overall health data repository, including doctor interactions, similar to Microsoft HealthVault. It would be great to see interaction with both Health and HealthVault (which is more mature in my opinion than Health).

[David-London]

There should be no great priority to integrate with Apple HeathKit. The online dashboard and associated app display the collected data from Fitbit products in a clear and coherent user interface. Apple product dominance relies on our heavy dependence on them to manage our data. The more personal data that we share, the more dependant we become and the more we feel the need to share more data.The perception will always be that as Apple releases more data handling "Kits" for OSX and iOS we may feel that we need to take advantage of them. Don't lose sight on what Fitbit has to offer now and in then future.

[lcmarston]

@David-London You are clearly missing the point and uninformed. If Fitbit already had links to every other possible type of health data app and device, then sure, I'd concede your point. As it stands, they don't, and HealthKit allows a large number of unrelated and currently unconnected apps to read and write data to each other as one sees fit. It also is partnered with healthcare providers, which is another incredibly helpful thing for those of us who want it, and for those of us who need it.