Heart Rate, GPS, and OAuth 2.0 Update

[JeremiahFitbit]

We know that many of you are eager to start using the heart rate and location data from the latest Fitbit trackers. These will be released when our OAuth 2.0 beta is available.

Q. What type of heart rate data will be available via the API?
Heart rate data takes several forms:

• resting heart rate (one value per day)
• a daily summary that includes a sum of minutes spent and calories burned in each heart rate zone
• a second-level time series (Partner API feature)

Q. What type of GPS data will be available via the API?
GPS location data is recorded only when a user tracks an outdoor exercise activity. GPS and heart rate data during an exercise activity will be available in the form of a TCX file.

Q. When will these features be released?
These features are still be developed and tested. Beta access will be available on Thursday, May 7, 2015. It's here! See the announcement

We will update this page when we have more information. We know that you’re as excited about these features as we are and we can’t wait to share them with you when they’re ready.

Q. But I want it now! Can you give me another update??? TELL ME!
We will update this post when we have more information to share. If it’s not updated, we don’t have anything to share yet.

Q. Can I get early access?
No, the public beta will be the earliest access available.

However, TCX export is available today on the activity details page. It contains GPS and heart rate data (when available) for the duration of the activity.

[dakaugu]

Any chances this will be implemented in the future?

[dakaugu]

---

@JeremiahFitbit wrote:

---

@dakaugu wrote:

So if I want to get the continuous heart rate value from a fitbit charge hr to my app, this isn't possible with the new api?

---

If you're referring to live readings from the device via Bluetooth, no, that is not possible. Fitbit currently only has a Web API. Data must be uploaded from the device before the data is available via the Fitbit Web API.

---

Any chance this will be implemented in the future?

[JeremiahFitbit]

@afolarin : This isn't a change in policy. Day-level time series data is part of the Public API. Intraday time series data is part of the Partner API.

[JeremiahFitbit]

@dakaugu : We don't have anything to announce at this time related to that.

[blaine]

I'm not sure I understand this:
*"Day-level time series data is part of the Public API. Intraday time
series data is part of the Partner API." from JeremiahFitbit.*
Does that mean as a customer I will only be able to get my average HR for
the day?
I"d expect that I can export, with a premium account at least, pretty much
what I see on my dashboard -- at least for HR data. Am I mistaken?

[blaine]

I've inserted the contents of one of my Fitbit generated TCX files. Unlike the TCX I get from Suunto, it is not useful.

The graph produced in the activities section is quite useful, so I'm confident the data is on the Fitbit site, but the export clearly does not contain useful data.

User error is always a possibility. Suggestions?

Thanks in advance for help.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
<TrainingCenterDatabase xmlns="http://www.garmin.com/xmlschemas/TrainingCenterDatabase/v2">
<Activities>
<Activity Sport="Other">
<Id>2015-03-21T14:18:07.000-07:00</Id>
<Creator xsi:type="Device_t" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
<UnitId>0</UnitId>
<ProductID>0</ProductID>
</Creator>
</Activity>
</Activities>
</TrainingCenterDatabase>

[Michael]

---

@blaine wrote:

I've inserted the contents of one of my Fitbit generated TCX files. Unlike the TCX I get from Suunto, it is not useful.

The graph produced in the activities section is quite useful, so I'm confident the data is on the Fitbit site, but the export clearly does not contain useful data.

User error is always a possibility. Suggestions?

---

Is that an export of a GPS tracked activity, if not there is nothing to attach the HR data to. You can see a post from Fitbit about that earlier in the thread: "The TCX format is a series of GPS trackpoints with other pieces of data attached to each trackpoint. If there are no GPS trackpoints, there is nothing to append the heart rate to. As stated above, there will be other Fitbit API endpoints related to heart rate data beyond TCX and these are not tied to GPS."

[afolarin]

@JeremiahFitbit as @blaine says I've a premium fitbit account and using the API I can access my intraday min-by-min activity and a variety of other values, I have to disagree with you, this is definitely not averages... So I'll ask again in the hope we are talking at cross purposes

[blaine]

Thanks for your interesgting reply.

If I undersand you right, you believe that HR data should only be exportable from a Surge, which gets GIS information. If that is the design, it is a poor design. If that is not the design, my data shows a bug.

Here is what other products have been doing for a few decades: they attache HR data to time. That is where it and other sensor data belong. GIS, HR and other data belong with time because that is the one thing you can count on from the device. HR data will some times be missed. GIS data will often be missed. Any sensor can fail, but keeping a count of seconds, minues, hours, or whatever from the time of the workout's start has little risk of failure. 

Keep in mind that organizing HR data by time is exactly what the Charge HR dashboard does. It is reasonable to expect that an export by an ordanary user of the Charge HR will contain data which largely reflects the dashboard presentation. An extra charge for the primemium is unfortunate, but at least the datga would be there. However, during my 1 week free trial of the premium version, it did not ever work. However, it is quite possible it works now. 

@JeremiahFitbit has reported getting "...intraday min-by-min activity and a variety of other values,..." That is good, but such elementry data should not be available only through the API. However, various reports do provide added value above what is presented in the dashboard and charging extra for them is quite reasonable.

[Michael]

---

@blaine wrote:

 An extra charge for theprimemium is unfortunate, but at least thedatga would be there. However, during my 1 week free trial of the premium version, it did not ever work. However, it is quite possible it works now. 

---

@blaine Just to be clear, the premium service has nothing to do with exporting data. (At least not anymore, that feature is available to everyone for free from their settings.)

However, Fitbit currently don't support exporting the HR data captured by the Surge/Charge HR. (Maybe that will come at the same time the new API is released?)

[blaine]

Its great you are getting what you want from the API. However, I'm not raising a problem with the API. I'm raising a problem with the core product. I can easily see why some are very excited about the API. Things like the possibility of Strava integration and many custom approaches to analytics have great potential.

I expect that a normal user can export the data they see on the dashboard by going to the activites section and using the menue, and chosing 'export'.

The user interface is in place, but as I demonstrated in another post, the data is empty.

Just as I see HR data organized by time in the dashboard, I expect HR data organized by time in the export without spending $49/year for premimum support.

The docs show clearly that premium provides many analytic reports which add value to the raw data. Those reports are not part of the dashboard and it makes sense that they cost more.

However, the product's name reflects its focus on HR data. Every product should be able to export its data to a place the owner can examine and manipulate it. The current user interface for the Charge HR has provisions for exporting. The only problem from my end is that the export is empty.

[JeremiahFitbit]

@blaine: Intraday data and heart rate data are not yet in the Fitbit web app's data export feature. This is unreleated to the API. Please post product feedback in the feature request forum, perhaps this request is of help.

[antikewl]

---

Michael wrote: 

However, Fitbit currently don't support exporting the HR data captured by the Surge/Charge HR. (Maybe that will come at the same time the new API is released?)

---

HR data exported just fine when I tried it the other day. This didn't used to be the case.

I'm using a Surge, not a Charge HR. Here's that data imported into Strava. https://www.strava.com/activities/275022007

[Michael]

---

@antikewl wrote:

HR data exported just fine when I tried it the other day. This didn't used to be the case.

I'm using a Surge, not a Charge HR. Here's that data imported into Strava. https://www.strava.com/activities/275022007

---

@antikewl But that isn't really exporting the HR, that is exporting your GPS path with HR attached. Works great if you use the Surge, or MobileRun, with GPS enabled. But if you have a Charge HR or you use the treadmill run option on the Surge you can't export HR. The "real" export feature is located here: https://www.fitbit.com/export/user/data and currently doesn't support the HR from the Charge HR and Surge. (Versus the TCX export which only works with GPS data.)

On the other hand it isn't that difficult to pull the HR data out of the web page source for the activities page.

[antikewl]

@Michael Ah-ha. Yes, Ideally I'd use my Surge for HR tracking and use my IPhone for GPS (well, not ideally, but at least I'd get correct route data) and we'd need what you suggest to make that happen.

[blaine]

Thank you for your clear response. 

You have a good point. A better way to explain the bug would have been: "Restricting export to a TCX file is a bug. JSON, cvs, xlxs, etc. are reasonable alternate forms. "

There is simply no valid technical reason for not allowing data collected by the device to be exported.

Design errors are common in new devices and do not reflect poorly on the design team. 

Failure to provide users asccess to their own data reflects poorly on the entire company.

In order to fix this bug rapidly, I suggest you consider populating all the trackpoints with static data. The HR data organized by time will probably be useful. Since the export should be usable by all customers, a choice between cvs and xlxs is probably preferable.

[JeremiahFitbit]

---

@blaine wrote:

Thank you for your clear response. 

You have a good point. A better way to explain the bug would have been: "Restricting export to a TCX file is a bug. JSON, cvs, xlxs, etc. are reasonable alternate forms. "

There is simply no valid technical reason for not allowing data collected by the device to be exported.

---

As I stated in the original post of this topic, there is a second-level heart rate time series endpoint that will be available, which will have heart rate data available in a JSON format, independent of GPS data (which is a constraint of TCX, which Fitbit did not invent).

This second-level heart rate time series endpoint is part of the Partner API, as are all intraday time series endpoints. Any personal, non-commercial, non-distributed app is approved for the Partner API. Apps that are publicly distributed, commercially or otherwise, are subject to approval by Fitbit and are not guaranteed access.

[blb4]

Hi Jeremiah,

TCX download from the website is already a nice imporvement and works for me when I tracked my activity in the iPhone app together with my Charge HR. I can import this activity to Strava and change the activity from walking / running to cycling; most of my acitvities are cycling. This works, but I'm missing a lot of functionality in the fitbit app to make it usefull for cycling during the ride (speed, avarage speed, max. speed, cadance censor & speed censor data, route ....) AND the TCX file doesn't including cadence sensor data. Integration with Strava will help to get an activity automaticaly into Strava, but will not overcome the missing candence data.

So, together with the strava integration, it would be great if:

1) the activity bike riding can be added to the app (in combination with Charge (HR);

2) the app will support BLE candence / speed sensors to have this data captured as well;

3) the app will have an option to automaticaly track the (default user selected) activity when an activity is started on the tracker.

Off-course I like to see the alternative (making HR data available for apps like Strava, Runtastic etc. as normal BLE HR sensor) as preffered solution, but I understand there is no info available from fitbit for such solution.

[Michael]

---

@blb4 wrote:
 

So, together with the strava integration, it would be great if:

1) the activity bike riding can be added to the app (in combination with Charge (HR);

2) the app will support BLE candence / speed sensors to have this data captured as well;

3) the app will have an option to automaticaly track the (default user selected) activity when an activity is started on the tracker.

Off-course I like to see the alternative (making HR data available for apps like Strava, Runtastic etc. as normal BLE HR sensor) as preffered solution, but I understand there is no info available from fitbit for such solution.

---

@blb4 All of those are mobile app, or general Fitbit, suggestions and you should put them in the Feature Request forum. (Or search and vote for the already existing feature requests.)

[JeremiahFitbit]

@blb4 : The feedback is much appreciated, but this is the Web API support forum. As @Michael mentioned, the Feature Request forum is the best place for feature requests unrelated to the Web API.