How to link Fitbit with Apple Health?

[SunsetRunner]

His, I've seen a bunch of old messages asking about support for the health app, but now that HealthKit has been available for a few years I was wondering what the ETA on support is. I don't want to have to be using multiple different apps, and I also don't want my Fitbit to be publishing my data as the company has no business knowing my private details.

I've also been burned in the past by companies going out of business so their "cloud" data just means it ceases being available.

Moderator Edit: Clarified Subject.

[MarcoGFitbit]

Hello @SunsetRunner, have a warm welcome to the Fitbit Community, it's great to have you on board. 

Thanks for bringing this to my attention, I understand your concern and how important it is for you that the Fitbit app can sync with Apple Health. At this moment there are no plans to implement this feature however, we continue to evaluate new partners and will update you if we have news to share. Fitbit has a history of working with the community to bring potential features to reality, and we thank you for taking the time to share your ideas and suggestions.

I hope this can be helpful and resolves your inquiry, if there's anything else I can do for you please feel free to reply, I'll be happy to continue helping you. Happy stepping!

[ydna]

My Fitbit Charge HR is on its last legs and the only hesitation I currently have in upgrading to a newer Fitbit is the lack of support for Apple Health.  I am currently leaning to an Apple Watch for this reason.  I have loved my Fitbit but this is ridiculous and I am sure I will be just as happy with an Apple Watch even though it may cost me a few more $$.

[MarcoGFitbit]

Hello @ydna, I hope you're doing well, it's nice to see you around. 

I appreciate you have taken the time to voice your insight about this situation. I understand how important this is for you but at this moment our team does not have plans to implement this integration in the near future. 

We really appreciate our members's input and feedback and I would like to thank you for yours. If anything changes, be sure we will be posting it here in the official Forums. 

Thanks for your patience and understanding, if there's anything else I can do for you, please feel free to reply. 

[SunsetRunner]

Ok, so I'm still unclear why a product I have purchased requires me to push my unencrypted data into a service.

I have questions:

* What protections are in place on data being transmitted to Fitbit's servers? Clearly it is not encrypted.

* What happens if/when the Fitbit server endpoints go down? Either due to retiring the service or just general "computers fall over all the time because computers are terrible" 😉

* Does FitBit share this data with any other organizations, either directly, indirectly, or "anonymized" ?

* What happens to my data if I return my Fitbit due to unsatisfactory answers to the above?

[stevespalding]

Fitbit's complete head-in-the-sand attitude to this is why I have not replaced any of their products with Fitbit ones when they ceased to work (well that and poor build quality).I had a fitness tracker and scale - both of which just stopped working one day for no apparent reason. Fitbit appear to stand for Poor quality and poor functionality, oh and poor customer service as they refuse to make their products work with one of the largest ecosystems out there - Apple.

Personally, I would look at the Nokia / Withings (or whatever they call themselves today) offerings as they sync with their own app and just about anything else (I have tried both Android and iOS devices and had no trouble at all). I have not used anything other than their scales (as I use Apple Watch for fitness tracking), but I have to say I've been very happy with it.

Fitbit devices are not fit for purpose (for me at least) because they do not sync to*all* the apps I use and Fitbit have been entirely unappologetic about their lack of support for Apple Health when I contacted them.  Fitbit simply don't want Apple Health customers as they are either unwilling (or more likely unable) to make their ecosystem play nicely with Apple's health apps.

The long and short of it is - avoid Fitbit altogether if interoperability is important to you as they're just not interested.

[Kateague]

Why wouldn’t Fitbit want to work with Apple Health?  I am manually moving my info when it should just sync for me. I had an elcheapo fitness tracker and it was compatible with Apple Health. Why so stubborn? What is the true issue?  

[jameswindsor]

I just downloaded myFitnessSync but I think there are a few apps that do it.  It's one way so not perfect - ironically this means I have to use Apple Health to see my data, since the Fitbit app isn't updated.  Some days I forget to or don't wear my Ionic, and I still can track my steps using my iPhone, so it would be very cool if it all synced using multiple sources...but I get the Fitbit doesn't want to do this as they are aiming for lock in.  IMHO there are better ways to keep people on your platform - make it flexible and keep making great products and people will stay, lock in won't work in the long run if the products suck, so focusing on that is errant.

[MarcoGFitbit]

Hello @jameswindsor, @Kateague and @stevespalding, have a warm welcome to the Fitbit Community. 

I appreciate your participation in the Forums and for sharing your feedback with us. Please note that our team continues to evaluate new partners and will update you if we have news to share. Fitbit has a history of working with the community to bring potential features to reality, and we thank you for taking the time to share your ideas and suggestions. Even though an integration with Apple Health is not foreseen in the near future the Fitbit Web API is available for any 3rd-party developers that would be able to create an iOS app that would sync Fitbit data with the Health app. 

Once again, I appreciate your patience and understanding, have a great day. 

[ChazzGill]

I have just purchased a Versa and was astonished to find that it doesn’t sync to apple health. Everything else I’m aware of does. 

Are there still no plans to allow integration?

[WhyStay]

Shopping now to replace my Charge 2. No interface with Apple so 20th century. 

[MarcoGFitbit]

Hello @ChazzGill and @WhyStay thanks for joining the conversation, have a warm welcome to the Fitbit Community.

First of all, I would like to apologize for the delay in the response. I understand your concern about not being able to link Fitbit and Apple Health. At this moment, our team doesn't have plans to release this feature. You can learn more about how Fitbit decides what suggestions get released in our FAQs. For now, our team will leave this suggestion open for votes (and closed to comments) so that we can continue to track community demand over time.

Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback with us and we will let you know if anything changes. If there's anything else I can do for you, please feel free to reply.

[SunsetRunner]

So based on the news that google is apparently looking to buy Fitbit, I see my reasons for not wanting to upload my data to Fitbit's servers was well warranted.

I've given up any hope that Fitbit will take privacy seriously and am going to get an Apple Watch, because it is clear that data acquisition was the goal.

[LizzyFitbit]

Hi @SunsetRunner. Welcome to the Community.

Thanks for joining this thread and the information provided. Currently there aren't details that we can share about that since we comment on rumors. We believe in being transparent about our data practices and we work hard to keep your data safe. Please review our Privacy Policy where you can learn about the data we collect, how we use it, the controls we give you over your information, and the measures we take to keep it safe.

I'll be around if you have another question.

[SunsetRunner]

I've been in the community for a while. I started this thread more than a year ago.

You're missing the point of what privacy means.

Privacy does not mean you aren't selling my data. It means you don't have my data in the first place.

With the recent news, which I understand you obviously can't comment on, it becomes clear that the reason that Fitbit does not simply support HealthKit is so that our data can be monetized. Honestly I wish I had simply returned my Fitbit back when it first became clear that you wanted to steal my personal data.

I'm going to recommend people avoid Fitbit, and I guess I should throw my one out, which is frustrating because I apparently paid you money for the privilege of letting you steal and monetize my data.

It is unbelievably frustrating that you made a great device, but instead chose a business model that depends on abusing the people who bought your product.

[QXilver]

Big disappointment for not connecting directly to Apple Health ... hello wake up! This is the 21st century, where is all that bull about innovation IoT and so on?

[Veepey]

I agree! I just got a versa 2 and I’m shocked it doesn’t sync with my health app. Considering returning it. I have an oura ring and some other apps/devices that all sync to my Apple health, so it’s a central location for me. Why on earth does FitBit not sync??? 

[jameswindsor]

I ended up moving to Apple Watch - Series 3 is actually less than an Ionic,
and it all works so well. The bluetooth music quality is great at the gym,
no longer need to carry my phone around.

[Suze41015]

Competition maybe? Frustrating for us.

[Suze41015]

I just dread the $$$ of the Apple Watch. Why should I have to use a third party middleman to move the data, as others have said works?