Option to disable "Fitbit Today Insights"

[AKinMA]

I find the tips of the "Fitbit Today Insights" to be irritating in the extreme, and was sorely disappointed to find on the support boards that there is, in fact, no way to turn this feature off. I have been a happy Fitbit user for literally years and look at the app several times a day. I detest the "Fitbit Today Insights" feature so much. I use this device as a tool and have no interest in algorithmic suggestions from this company. 

Moderator edit: Word choice.

[GrantKeller]

I am going to do the same. No more fitbit for me until they fix that **ahem**
app.

[Emay08]

These 'Insights' are obtrusive and obnoxious. I bought a fitbit to track my exercise, not to be spammed with unsought advice.

Enabling them by default is annoying enough. The fact that they can't even be disabled is absolutely unacceptable and makes the fitbit app feel like Malware.

[vsee1895]

Here, here! The tips/tricks and inspiration are extremely irritating, visually jarring, and completely useless. I hate them and they need to go away. It's making me want to find a new platform and abandon Fitbit altogether.

[JFar2001]

Wow.  Three months of users' comments asking for the same simple thing -- getting rid of the "tips" at the top of the "Today" screen -- and not one move has been made by Fitbit to remedy this.  I've been a Fitbit user for six years.  Looks like I'll be checking out those Black Friday deals on different brands of fitness watch.

[SunsetRunner]

You used to be able to turn tips off. Quite a shock to suddenly have them appear! Not to mention that some of the "tips" are them trying to sell me something. I bought a watch from them. I'm not interested in buying anything else from them.

I'm glad Fitbit took the sleep score off the app and brought back the weekly average, but why replace a good thing with a bad thing?

And what @GrantKeller said: "Just give us an option to remove this spam from the
app.

All Fitbit has to do is pay one of their programmers to provide it."

[SunsetRunner]

@GrantKeller>Are you planning on doing anything to address the problem other than moving our requests somewhere else? I used to manage a software development team and this is a very minor request for a competent programmer. 

My experience with these forums is that only moderators are here. Developers and employees of Fitbit are not. We are lucky if Fitbit pays attention to anything we write here, really. And the mods don't have any real power, bless their hearts.

I don't know why anyone is asking for screenshots, though. The developers don't need screenshots to understand the problem. They are the ones who removed the ability to opt in or out of "tips".

I would like the feeling of looking forward to getting a new watch when this one wears out, or maybe upgrading to a watch that checks my heartbeat and can tell my altitude - but I can't. I bought the least expensive one they had, and find that my actual feelings are - I'm glad I didn't spend more money on one. I wish I'd chosen a company that listens more to those who already bought their product.

[JFar2001]

I just purchased an Apple Watch through a Black Friday sale. After six
years with FitBit, I'm done!

[SunsetRunner]

To the mods wanting a screenshot:

I found a post that has a screenshot of what we're complaining about:

How to turn off the Today's Insights 

It's in the very first post of the thread.

[Lilbiddy]

Yes, please let us opt out of these trite, banal, and generally blindingly obvious "insights". At least the sleep insights you can opt out seeing.

[d_thomas02]

I do not want these insights at all. please give us a means to disable.

[Eddyrock]

Planned on a Versa2 to replace my Charge2.  But having second thoughts.   The company forcing this nuisance nag on users does not bode well for fitbit.  What will they force on us next? Too bad a good product has short sighted app product management.  Looking at options now.

[sundrop71]

I won't be so dramatic to say that I'll quit using FitBit if this isn't disabled, but I will say it's a super annoying "feature" that users should have the ability to disable if they choose. I think the insights are silly and it takes up too much real estate in the app. It definitely detracts from the user experience and I'm surprised more people haven't upvoted this. Seems like it should be an easy fix for developers to give us the option to have it turned on or off. 

[groundzero]

I think people don't realize it's important to upvote a comment; there are more comments here than upvotes, and all of the comments say the same thing.

That said, even when wildly unpopular decisions are made and hundreds of people vote against them, Fitbit doesn't listen. So I suppose it doesn't really matter. A change is made, and if it's bad, so what? Live with it. I can still remember when you could add your measurements to your account. That's gone. Or the easy layout of a much older app where you could swipe to previous days and see all your info--steps, miles, sleep--at once. We actually did have a rollout of the new, worse layout, and a huge outcry against it... and it was implemented anyway. Plus it was a forced update, so you couldn't keep the view you preferred if you still wanted your tracker to work. Was that a monetary decision, or a software/coding issue? Who knows, because the company won't talk to us. There were a few moderator comments about how "change is hard," and then crickets. But if the app used to have certain functions, and then they strip them, then clearly the functions are possible. So we have no idea why they take away popular things, or enforce unpopular things (like the insights).

Remember when we could see lifetime miles? That's now gone. Don't like it? Well, too bad. Now we have the idiotic "insights,' and the advertising noise has increased... What do you want to bet the "insights" will soon come with links to upgrade your account or buy products?

I haven't quit Fitbit, although if my tracker stopped working, I know I'd shop around to see if other trackers have better apps. But I used to log in at least once a day (at first, it was my homepage!) and check my phone several times, because I valued the information I could see there. Now I struggle to remember to sync once every few days. Maybe if I didn't know how much better it used to be, it wouldn't bug me so much? But with every major update, the functionality (for me) gets worse, and I find it frustrating and discouraging. 

[dlogan01]

Well, @groundzero, no reason to bother upvoting when "hundreds of people vote against them, and Fitbit doesn't listen." I was an early poster on this thread, and reviewing the users' and moderator's responses today, all I can say is WOW. Send pictures. Problem Solved. I'm moving you to another thread. I am a software developer like @SunsetRunner, and agree wholeheartedly with his or her comments. In many ways, this forum is effete. Feckless. Posting here is like pushing the button ten times to make the elevator appear more quickly. It makes you feel good, but it has no effect on the outcome. At any rate, the number of tips that Fitbit is forcing me to dismiss appears to be falling. For a while, they had the like/dislike buttons on every tip. They no longer have those, and I suspect the number of dislikes they were getting was notable. Rather than let us opt out of these messages, they just disenfranchised us. I got an Apple watch for Christmas last year, but I've carried my fitbit in my pocket all year anyway. I had over 30 million steps when I got the  Apple watch. You don't just throw that out. I will continue to use Fitbit despite their attempts to push me away. I'm a step counting addict. I refuse to start over with a better partner. Till death do us part.

[LizzyFitbit]

Hi @romero11. Thanks for replying back with more details about your idea. This feature suggestion already exists, so I’ve moved your post here. Don’t forget to post a comment and click on the thumbs-up to show your support.

[GrantKeller]

Why should we give you a thumbs up when you and your programmers do nothing to support us.

Your corporate arrogance is astounding.

Sent from Grant's iPhone

[Macahi]

@groundzero 

You mirrored my thoughts.  This annoyance doesn't keep me from using the product, but it should still be fixed.  What is keeping me from using the product is the miserable app changes.  Like you, I used to load it up multiple times/day.  Now, I struggle to remember to sync it every few days.  I'm still wearing the device out of habit, but it's a habit I could easily break.  There are many legitimate issues regarding the lack of usability of the new app, but fitbit just locks the thread, which is the equivalent of sticking their fingers in their ears.

[Lilbiddy]

@GrantKeller, the thumbs-up is only to vote for the suggestion. The moderators will say that the suggestions are looked at but personally I have serious doubts as some have been in demand for years. Eventually all they do is lock the comments. So voting feels as effective as pushing the button at a pedestrian crossing. The light will only change as programmed, not on demand. The button is just a distraction to make you feel as if you have some control.

[davecullen]

This "feature" is maddening. Who asked for this? They decided to make it mandatory? 

These are annoying, insipid little "insights" that take up a huge chunk of my screen and appear several times a day--popup spam that I have to keep closing out to get out of my way. 

Why does fitbit insist on spamming us with this nonsense?

[KimSR]

Not being able to disable this "feature" is driving me spare, and the arrogance of Fitbit forcing it on us - people who have paid a lot of money for their gear - without the ability to disable it, is beyond the pale. My family has been with Fitbit for years, but most of our gear is nearing replacement. This is bad enough that we have decided we won't be buying any further Fitbits.

[MadMac666]

I hate those things - PLEASE give us the option of turning them off!!!

[The_butch]

I never post on forums, but I am now, as I find the stupid tips equally annoying. They don’t add value. They make my hair stand up in anger and frustration every morning, though. I’m ready to give up on Fitbit too! PLEASE moderator, instead of trying to teach us how to attach pictures to this chain, just give us an email address where a screen shot can be sent directly. Everyone on the forum already knows what we are talking about.

[GrantKeller]

It’s crystal clear by now that Fitbit pays no attention to our hatred of this annoying corporate spam, nor do they plan to do anything to remove it. They simply don’t give a **ahem** about us once they have our money. We shouldn’t be surprised in this political climate.

Sent from Grant's iPhone

[shejuma]

I would like to add my vote to ask for an update to the Fitbit app that allows us to disable these annoying tips. I find them useless and they become more annoying each time I have to dismiss them, which is every time I open the app. Fitbit, please remove these tips.

[SunsetRunner]

@groundzerosaid, "I think people don't realize it's important to upvote a comment; there are more comments here than upvotes, and all of the comments say the same thing."

It wouldn't let me upvote, and I suspect that it was the same with other posters who did not upvote the original post.