- Google, which acquired Fitbit in 2021, plans to migrate user accounts to Google Accounts starting this summer.
- New Fitbit users will therefore have to agree to give their data to Google from this date, while old users will still have the choice until 2025.
- Google ensures that health and wellness data of Fitbit users will remain separate from advertising data and will not be used in any way to deliver targeted advertising.
New owners of Fitbit connected watches and bracelets will have to accept this summer to transmit their health data to Google. Indeed, the firm, which bought the fitness business in 2021 for (according to its blog) “making health and well-being more accessible” announces that it will begin migrating user accounts to Google Accounts in a few weeks.
The firm argues that this operation aims above all to simplify the user experience and to further integrate Fitbit’s services and products into the Google ecosystem. As the internet giant already stated some time ago: “Google Accounts on Fitbit will provide a number of benefits to Fitbit users, including single sign-on for Fitbit and other Google services, industry-leading account security, centralized privacy controls for Fitbit user data, and more Google features on Fitbit”.
Merging of Fitbit and Google user data is coming
Concretely, new Fitbit customers will have to create or use a Google account to connect to the Fitbit application or the Fitbit.com web platform. Existing users, meanwhile, will have the choice of switching to a Google Account or keeping their current Fitbit account until 2025.
Migration notifications will appear in the Fitbit app or account settings. According to Google, the account switch will not impact users’ health and wellness data history.
Google also wants to be reassuring about respecting the privacy of Fitbit users. The web giant ensures that user health and wellness data will remain separate from advertising data and will not be used to target ads.
A promise that echoes the conditions imposed by European regulators during the acquisition of Fitbit by Google in 2021 for an amount of 2.1 billion dollars. It may be noted in passing that the merger of Fitbit and Google services has already begun.
Google Assistant is now available on certain models of Fitbit watches and bracelets such as the Fitbit Sense and Fitbit Versa. By launching the Pixel Watch, Google has integrated Fitbit services and applications into its first connected watch.
