How to disable "Location access & Bluetooth sharing" pop up?

[Jimbolta]

Every time I open the app a message about “Location Access and Bluetooth Sharing” appears. I have no interest in allowing this so how can I stop it asking every single bloody time?

TIA

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[Jimbolta]

*asking not accessing

[MarreFitbit]

Hi there @Jimbolta, welcome to the Community Forums. Thanks for sharing the details about the issue with the Fitbit app. 

Currently it's required to have the location services set to "Always" on your iOS device whenever you're going to use MobileRun or Connected GPS. You can try doing the following on your phone:

1. Open Settings > Privacy.
2. Tap Location Services and make sure it’s turned on.
3. Find Fitbit in the app list, and make sure that Allow Location Access is set to Always.

If you're not going to use MobileRun or Connected GPS, you can leave the location services off or while using the app as that will not affect the way your Fitbit syncs and communicates with the Fitbit app. To share additional feedback or if you want the features to be improved, feel free to visit our Feature suggestion board. That way other users can comment and vote on the idea to show their support, and our team can take it into consideration. You can read the FAQ to better understand how that board works and do a search first, in case someone else has already suggested your idea, or something similar.

I've moved your post to iOS App for organization purposes. 

Let me know if you have any questions present. 

[mhowie22]

I think the original poster and others understand one can leave the location services off or only while using the app. His question- as is mine- how can the customer prevent the nagging and unwanted message from popping up if one chooses not to select "Always"? Thanks.

[MarreFitbit]

Hi there @mhowie22. Please note you'll need to select "Always" in order to avoid this message, otherwise it'll continue to pop-up. Having these permissions allowed is a requirement for the Fitbit device to access all features and connect with the phone.

Let me know if you have any questions present. 

[mhowie22]

Quite unfortunate. This would add to battery drain on one's phone. I wonder why this was only recently implemented by Fitbit? Seems to be an effort to force "Always" to be selected?

[RZavaleta]

This worked for me.  It's from a user named - MegaBite

"Have you tried this: 

iOS device setting> Fitbit> Location  services> select never

iOS device settings > privacy> location services > Fitbit > select never

Of course if you want to use GPS to map an exercise you have to change the settings back. 

 Let me know if this helps

[Anonycrom]

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@MarreFitbit wrote:

Hi there @mhowie22. Please note you'll need to select "Always" in order to avoid this message, otherwise it'll continue to pop-up. Having these permissions allowed is a requirement for the Fitbit device to access all features and connect with the phone.

Let me know if you have any questions present. 

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Why does the app need to know our location in order to connect with the fitbit device?

[madmaxin]

Unfortunately, this did not solve it. Any other suggestions? It keeps popping up. It's so annoying.

[madmaxin]

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@MarreFitbit wrote:

Hi there @mhowie22. Please note you'll need to select "Always" in order to avoid this message, otherwise it'll continue to pop-up. Having these permissions allowed is a requirement for the Fitbit device to access all features and connect with the phone.

Let me know if you have any questions present. 

---

Hello @MarreFitbit,

Thanks for offering to answer questions. I have a few.

Either I enable location access or that message will continue to pop up every single time I open the app. Did I understand you correctly?

I do NOT need to access "all features" and I do NOT want to use features that require GPS. 

I will not enable location services. And I will not tolerate having to click “No Thanks” to get rid of the message EVERY time I open the app. Beside returning my Fitibit Luxe, what choices do I have? .

Your developers are able to program the software so that location services is not required. Instead Fitibit made a conscious decision to practically force every user to enable location services. Why is that? Why does Fitbit need to know where their users are? Keep in mind that I am talking about users who do not use GPS and are willing to forego other features that require location services.

[robironman]

MarreFitbit: You say permissions are “required” yet we have the option to click “No thanks.” Why not give us the option to disable the pop-up too?

Is there any reason someone can not have the developers do what it takes to give us that choice?

Can you appreciate the frustration users like me are trying to express?

[MTfan]

I’m with you. I see no reason for Fitbit to require GPS tracking. And I refuse to give in to their BULLYING. 

I'm in the market for a replacement device.

I’d been considering moving away from Fitbit for awhile anyway for other reasons, but now this is the last straw.  

[Rich_Laue]

Having location services enabled, does not mean that the app has GPS always turned on. 

It simply means that the app has permission to turn on the gps. 

Enabling location services will not affect the battery life. 

Yes you may be able to set the location Services for while the app is running. However the fitbit app has some background services that are always running. This is the service that handles notifications, connected gps, weather app on tracker, etc. Yes some features like weather and gps needs to know the users location. 

[MTfan]

If the sharing was optional, then *why bother with the "No Thanks"* button
every time the app is accessed? It is completely ANNOYING, especially when
there are more than one pop up to dismiss.

--

"God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all." -1 John 1:5

[Rich_Laue]

I'm not sure what sharing your referring to. 

Having location services enabled doves not force GPS any more then unlocking a door forces a person to open it. 

[PegLegs]

That’s ridiculous on so many levels. This wasn’t a requirement in the past. As another person commented, there’s a no thanks option, that should be sufficient. If we want to turn on GPS we know how to do that in settings. Many people don’t want to enable that option. It’s supposed to be an OPTION not a REQUIREMENT. Why isn’t that clear to Fitbit Moderators and FitBit Customer Service?  This issue has been posted many times since 2019 and still no reasonable resolution. 

FitBit hasn’t nor doesn’t need(ed) GPS to capture steps or sleep nor for manually tracking activities. Sometimes I just want to look at my stats on the app and getting that pop up again and again is getting old.

As others have said this lack of customer service is no reason or incentive to want to buy a new FitBit and only adds to incredible frustration and increased aggravation resulting in very unsatisfied customers, soon to be former customers. 

[Rich_Laue]

Actually @PegLegs a user will not be able to turn on GPS, the app is what controls GPS. The user can only turn on/off the option for the app to use GPS. 

You are right, up until a few iOS versions ago, location services was not needed.. 

But as a security fix, when using iBeacons,- apple, not fitbit, now requires location services to be enabled. IBeacons and Low Energy Bluetooth scanning. 

Sorry, but as with android, the decision was made by the phones operating system, not fitbit. 

Of course fitbit doesn't need to remind/warn the user, but I'm sure the user will go crazy wondering why their tracker will not sync. 

Therefore, you first will need to take this up with Apple, not fitbit. 

BTW, it took less than 5 seconds to find out why location services are now required with iOS. 

[Blueseas]

Delete app.

Reinstall, but be careful to tap 'do not allow notifications from Fitbit'.

No permission for notifications means no annoying pop up. It also means no to other notifications, but tbh, Fitbit wasn't sending me the notifications I wanted anyway (e.g. no bedtime reminder)

It is so worth it not to get that pop up every time the app is opened.

[mhowie22]

---

@Blueseas wrote:

Delete app.

Reinstall, but be careful to tap 'do not allow notifications from Fitbit'.

No permission for notifications means no annoying pop up. It also means no to other notifications, but tbh, Fitbit wasn't sending me the notifications I wanted anyway (e.g. no bedtime reminder)

It is so worth it not to get that pop up every time the app is opened.

---

Has this been proven? I ask as I did tap "do not allow notifications from Fitbit" when I originally installed their App but Fitbit disrespected that selection and the nag message box pops up unrelentingly so. It seems the latest App update has increased the frequency of the nag message.

What changes if one uninstalls the App and reinstalls if the "do not allow notifications from Fitbit" has always been chosen?

If this is, indeed a fix to overcome Fitbit's refusal to honor one's original selection, then I'll be happy to do it.

Another question- if the App is uninstalled/reinstalled, would all of the collected data reappear as if nothing ever happened? In other words, the cloud-based data would fully be accessible?

Thanks.

[dburgessmdi]

The point is that some of us don't want location services always on, and once we say "no thanks," we would like the app to respect that and stop blocking the screen with the popup every blinkin' time we use it. It's not even just every time I start the app, but every time I focus on it or unlock my phone. I said "no thanks," and I meant it. It may "not affect the way your Fitbit syncs and communicates with the Fitbit app", but it affects how I interact with the app in a very negative way.

Moderator Edit: Formatting