Privacy under friends area in iOS app settings

[Beatnic]

I've read alot of posts and help articles re: privacy settings, but none that explain what each level of privacy actually shares.  I'm speaking specifically of the 3 settings under the 'friends' heading (from dashboard, click accoubt button, click your name, click privacy setting).  

Id like a list of what data are shared when each of the following is selected:

private

friends

public

and id also like to know how/if this relates to other privacy settings that are set from the web interface (referenced in many posts in this forum).  

Thank you.  

[SunsetRunner]

Hi @Beatnic! Welcome to the Fitbit forums! Glad you found us. Here is a brief rundown of what the various privacy settings mean.

First of all, we are a community. One must register with Fitbit to join us. Strangers may not come in and start posting unless they register. This helps us keep the spammers out. 

So ... within our Fitbit community ... 

Private - No one in the community can see your info & settings except you.

Friends - Just like in Facebook, Fitbit community members can friend other members. If your privacy is set to friends, then only they can see the info. 

Public - This means anyone in the Fitbit community can see your settings. 

For example, I allow my friends to see my steps and some of my personal information, but only I can see my weight and sleep information.

I'm not sure what you mean by your last question of how/if this relates to other privacy settings from the web. The Fitbit community is closed to only those who are registered. Our privacy settings override any settings outside of Fitbit.

Hope this helps.

[SunsetRunner]

One last thing, @Beatnic. You ask what data is shared. The answer is: It depends on the individual section. See my settings below. Anyone in the community can see my gender. No one in the community can see my location unless I share it with them. My Friends can see my steps, distance and floors graph. 

Hope this helps! Feel free to let me know if you have want more clarification. 

[Beatnic]

MANY THANKS for the detailed reply Carol.  What I meant by web settings is that (according to other posts I've read on this topic in search of an answer) the settings that can be entered from your account at Fitbit.com are different than those on the app. And maybe this is where the problem lies.  I have never seen the screen that you shared - my app does not have this page. I am using an iPhone with v9.3 and Fitbit v 2.4.   Where do you access these settings?

for the record to any admins,  I believe an enhancement may be appropriate to the settings screen in the app.   You're able to change a 'privacy' setting above the friends list, but without any indication to what that privacy means.   in addition, the privacy setting seems out of context when looking at a list of your friends.  Maybe not to somebody that knows what it means....but I can't find a single sentence in any help guide, the community forum, or elsewhere to explain that.  

[SunsetRunner · Accepted solution]

Hello again, @Beatnic. Thanks for responding. I should have been more clear. Here is how I got to the Privacy setting illustrated in my screen shot. Hope it helps.

First of all, I was accessing Fitbit.com in the browser on my iPad.

• While in the forums, tap your picture at the top, right of the screen.
• Tap My Profile from the pull down menu at the right of the screen.
• Next, tap Go to Fitbit.com profile. 

• From their, tap Account Settings at the top, right of the screen.

•  
• Finally, tap Privacy at the left of the screen. From there, you can edit the settings for each line item. 

It's not the easiest screen to get to but I'm glad you found your way to the forums ... and hopefully got the help you needed. You raise a good point in your "for the record" statement. The best way to make your voice heard regarding changes and/or enhancements, it to post your idea in the Feature Request forum. If you post, please let me know. I'll vote for it!

[MichellePY]

How do you mark your posts are private where only your friends or specific fitbit groups/communitites can see the post?  I generally post within the app and there is a question mark in the post section but it just explains how it works not sure if you can just set it up from there.  

How can I mark all my posts as private?

[SunsetRunner]

Hi @MichellePY. The privacy settings you describe sound like the privacy options you can set for Facebook postings. To the best of my knowledge, Fitbit does not offer that level of detail in their privacy settings. But then, unlike Facebook, Fitbit forums are monitored by Community Council members (like myself) and by actual Fitbit people employed as monitors.

In the IOS Fitbit app, if you go into Account —> Privacy, you will see this screen:

Scrolling down, you will see other privacy options, but none for postings. If I go into the IOS App Community to post, I’m not seeing the “?” - except under the Groups tab where it explains the difference between Public Groups and Private Groups. 

I guess the bottom line is this - within the IOS Fitbit app, the only way to keep your postings limited to certain, specific people  is to limit them to private groups. Or only send messages via Private Messaging. Tap here for more detail on the Fitbit community.