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So long, farewell! Don't let the door hit you on the butt. Fitbit totally killed itself for me when it decided to launch its own ecosystem without integrating

So long, farewell! Don't let the door hit you on the butt. Fitbit totally killed itself for me when it decided to launch its own ecosystem without integrating itself into HealthKit and Google Fit. I understand that they thought they were creating an ecosystem for their users but by choosing to ignore the platforms that the major OS manufacturers had created, they essentially locked everyone out of integration with non-Fitbit devices. I bought a Fitbit Aria scale and a Fitbit device and was furious when I found out that I couldn't integrate that data with MyFitnessPal or RunKeeper or Strava without buying another app to allow syncing to the Fitbit website. Now I have an Apple Watch and we traded our scale for a Withings scale that works with HealthKit and Google Fit and everyone in the family is happy whether they're on Android or iOS. Walled gardens are fine but not if they're locked, walled gardens.

dec0dedab0de 10y ago
I have an aria and it syncs with my fitness pal just fine.
- dkonofalski 10y ago
  Yes, but it doesn't sync with HealthKit/Google Fit directly. You have to go through MyFitnessPal and login to your Fitbit account. You're two steps removed from direct integration and sharing with any other apps on your device.
  - CN7R 10y ago
    I can see why there's no direct integration -- isn't it better for a company to ask permission for your data before using it? Like how if you want to sign up for a website through Facebook or Google, they ask first.
    - dkonofalski 10y ago
      That's precisely how HealthKit and Google Fit work, though. You have to allow them access to the app data. The thing with the Fitbit data, though, is that there is no option to even access the data. It doesn't share it at all and doesn't have an option to share it. You either use the Fitbit website or you don't get to see your data. Some apps have hacked work arounds to get the basic data by scraping web data but it's not a true integrated solution. It's crap.
      - CN7R 10y ago
        Ah I get what you're saying. So FitBit doesn't allow other sites to access your data stored. What the heck, I feel like that would damage their utility.
        dkonofalski 10y ago
        Yeah, and that's what everyone is complaining about and what I think is the single biggest thing to kill the Fitbit. They wanted to lock people in to their ecosystem so that people would want to buy only Fitbit products to have them all work together but, instead, people tended to start with a Fitbit and then move on to other products that actually worked together with the other products they already bought or planned to buy.
dragonwriter 10y ago
> Fitbit totally killed itself for me when it decided to launch its own ecosystem without integrating itself into HealthKit and Google Fit. They launched their own ecosystem before both HealthKit and Google Fit existed; there was nothing for them to integrate with.
- dkonofalski 10y ago
  While that may be true, Fitbit was one of the launch partners for HealthKit and debuted their web interface at the Apple Keynote where HealthKit was first shown. Google had info online that Fitbit was working with them from the start to include integrations. They pulled out of both after they had already had a functional integration. Edit: Fitbit launched their web integration in 2012 and there are mentions of a partnership from both Google and Apple from the same year. It doesn't sound like your statement is as truthful as you may think.
  - snuxoll 10y ago
    The lack of HealthKit integration and needing to use half-assed hacks like the sync apps on the iOS AppStore really turned me off fitbit. Since their API doesn't let you pull anything but basic data like steps walked you were effectively locked into their little garden with your data. I'm much happier with my Apple Watch as a fitness tracker, I wish the battery was better and it had sleep tracking support because that's the one feature I seriously miss from my Charge HR.
    - macintux 10y ago
      Fairly confident there's sleep tracker software available. People have had success in charging it for ~15 minutes at night before bed, then charging it in the morning while getting going.
    - redler 10y ago
      It's not perfect, but something like the Sleep++ Apple Watch app can get you part of the way there.
    - 10y ago
aries1980 10y ago
My Fitbit Charge 2 activity appears on Google Fit. Google Fit tends to recalculate some of the values (e.g. distance and calories) based on what Fitbit transmitted / pulled from Fitbit (haven't bother to check). I don't know this happens via their API, or bluetooth over my phone or both.
- dkonofalski 10y ago
  Do you possibly have an app like MyFitnessPal that aggregates that data? None of the Fitbit devices sync with Google Fit but there are apps that read Fitbit data if you have the Fitbit app installed that and make assumptions of what the values should be.
  - aries1980 10y ago
    I have Endomondo and LifeFitness on, but neither seems to track these. Maybe they just bypasses. In the Fitbit Android app, Google Fit is authorised, although doesn't appear under the compatible apps. That's why I had the suspicion Google Fit might download the data off through Fitbit's REST API. Weirdly, activities without GPS are not in Google Fit. Note: personally I don't understand the strong bias in the fitness platforms toward stepcounts and running, especially outdoors. No push-sit-pull ups, kettlebell, indoor rowing and cycling, weight training with reps counts… these can be easily tracked and recognised (or could be collaboratively trained by the end-user) with precise gyroscopes and accelerometers.

dec0dedab0de 10y ago

I have an aria and it syncs with my fitness pal just fine.

dkonofalski 10y ago
Yes, but it doesn't sync with HealthKit/Google Fit directly. You have to go through MyFitnessPal and login to your Fitbit account. You're two steps removed from direct integration and sharing with any other apps on your device.
- CN7R 10y ago
  I can see why there's no direct integration -- isn't it better for a company to ask permission for your data before using it? Like how if you want to sign up for a website through Facebook or Google, they ask first.
  - dkonofalski 10y ago
    That's precisely how HealthKit and Google Fit work, though. You have to allow them access to the app data. The thing with the Fitbit data, though, is that there is no option to even access the data. It doesn't share it at all and doesn't have an option to share it. You either use the Fitbit website or you don't get to see your data. Some apps have hacked work arounds to get the basic data by scraping web data but it's not a true integrated solution. It's crap.
    - CN7R 10y ago
      Ah I get what you're saying. So FitBit doesn't allow other sites to access your data stored. What the heck, I feel like that would damage their utility.
      - dkonofalski 10y ago
        Yeah, and that's what everyone is complaining about and what I think is the single biggest thing to kill the Fitbit. They wanted to lock people in to their ecosystem so that people would want to buy only Fitbit products to have them all work together but, instead, people tended to start with a Fitbit and then move on to other products that actually worked together with the other products they already bought or planned to buy.

dragonwriter 10y ago

> Fitbit totally killed itself for me when it decided to launch its own ecosystem without integrating itself into HealthKit and Google Fit. They launched their own ecosystem before both HealthKit and Google Fit existed; there was nothing for them to integrate with.

dkonofalski 10y ago
While that may be true, Fitbit was one of the launch partners for HealthKit and debuted their web interface at the Apple Keynote where HealthKit was first shown. Google had info online that Fitbit was working with them from the start to include integrations. They pulled out of both after they had already had a functional integration. Edit: Fitbit launched their web integration in 2012 and there are mentions of a partnership from both Google and Apple from the same year. It doesn't sound like your statement is as truthful as you may think.
- snuxoll 10y ago
  The lack of HealthKit integration and needing to use half-assed hacks like the sync apps on the iOS AppStore really turned me off fitbit. Since their API doesn't let you pull anything but basic data like steps walked you were effectively locked into their little garden with your data. I'm much happier with my Apple Watch as a fitness tracker, I wish the battery was better and it had sleep tracking support because that's the one feature I seriously miss from my Charge HR.
  - macintux 10y ago
    Fairly confident there's sleep tracker software available. People have had success in charging it for ~15 minutes at night before bed, then charging it in the morning while getting going.
  - redler 10y ago
    It's not perfect, but something like the Sleep++ Apple Watch app can get you part of the way there.
  - 10y ago

aries1980 10y ago

My Fitbit Charge 2 activity appears on Google Fit. Google Fit tends to recalculate some of the values (e.g. distance and calories) based on what Fitbit transmitted / pulled from Fitbit (haven't bother to check). I don't know this happens via their API, or bluetooth over my phone or both.

dkonofalski 10y ago
Do you possibly have an app like MyFitnessPal that aggregates that data? None of the Fitbit devices sync with Google Fit but there are apps that read Fitbit data if you have the Fitbit app installed that and make assumptions of what the values should be.
- aries1980 10y ago
  I have Endomondo and LifeFitness on, but neither seems to track these. Maybe they just bypasses. In the Fitbit Android app, Google Fit is authorised, although doesn't appear under the compatible apps. That's why I had the suspicion Google Fit might download the data off through Fitbit's REST API. Weirdly, activities without GPS are not in Google Fit. Note: personally I don't understand the strong bias in the fitness platforms toward stepcounts and running, especially outdoors. No push-sit-pull ups, kettlebell, indoor rowing and cycling, weight training with reps counts… these can be easily tracked and recognised (or could be collaboratively trained by the end-user) with precise gyroscopes and accelerometers.