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Google/Fitbit will monetise health data and harm consumers

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Re: Google/Fitbit will monetise health data and harm consumers

#31

Post by smolder »

jschwartzi wrote: post #28
smolder wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would be happy with a commercial product that simply stored data in a place of your choosing, like to a PC, in a parseable format. I don't think a product that was completely self-managed (no cloud) could be competitive anymore, so that's pretty much left up to OSS. I really miss software that didn't require internet connectivity being the norm.

You can do that with the data/charging cable that comes with Garmin watches. It exports the data on a USB-MSD. I don't recall whether it's a CSV or some other format but they make no effort to obscure it.

Good to know, thanks!

Re: Google/Fitbit will monetise health data and harm consumers

#32

Post by [deleted] »

jschwartzi wrote: post #27
alex_duf wrote: post #11

Is there any brand of wrist sensor that doesn't require you to upload your data to their servers by any chance? I love the fitbit sensor, but I wish I could opt out of the server side of the things

Garmin doesn't require you to upload any data to their servers to get basic heart rate and other information. You can choose to upload your data to get more detailed information but the basic statistics are available without creating an account.

[deleted]

Re: Google/Fitbit will monetise health data and harm consumers

#33

Post by walterbell »

You can sync Garmin (many devices) health tracker data locally via USB cable or wireless receiver, then parse/graph with OSS scripts:

Code: https://github.com/tcgoetz/GarminDB & https://github.com/mrihtar/Garmin-FIT

Wireless receiver: https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/10997 & https://www.thisisant.com/

Re: Google/Fitbit will monetise health data and harm consumers

#34

Post by jakear »

smolder wrote: post #22
kache_ wrote: post #13

It's crazy to me that people will run non-free software on something that is designed to capture biometrics... but then again I've been looking for a decent open source alternative and there is nothing out there.

I would be happy with a commercial product that simply stored data in a place of your choosing, like to a PC, in a parseable format. I don't think a product that was completely self-managed (no cloud) could be competitive anymore, so that's pretty much left up to OSS. I really miss software that didn't require internet connectivity being the norm.

An "open data store" as a standardized service could be interesting... a good chunk of backends are just "add this item", "get all items since X", etc.

If there was a service that gave you an endpoint that you could distribute to other services to do just that (one endpoint per service, keep things isolated), or alternatively host your own and give that endpoint to services... it'd be cool. The tricky part is getting other companies to agree to use your common API.

Re: Google/Fitbit will monetise health data and harm consumers

#35

Post by rStar »

_dibly wrote: post #23

Is it ignorant of me to wonder if the majority of the issues raised in this piece are either portrayed/worded poorly or just not very compelling? >First, Google has the incentive and ability to favour the adoption of Fitbit over rival wearables on the user side, and to simultaneously undermine the ability of others to offer competing products to insurers and health providers. I guess the argument is that Google buyin…

> Is it ignorant of me to wonder if the majority of the issues raised in this piece are either portrayed/worded poorly or just not very compelling?

I think you’re just missing the overarching point that googles position becomes stronger in a nonlinear way when you plug persistently updated pollable health data into what they already have.

without resorting to name calling your argument seems to be: “we’re going to hell anyway so why shouldn’t we let google take us there as fast as possible?”

my naive response would be that we should slow our descent into hell by any of the few means possible, while we wait for more humans to understand the danger to them that google, amazon, microsoft, apple ... are.

Re: Google/Fitbit will monetise health data and harm consumers

#36

Post by actuator »

jolux wrote: post #3
echelon wrote: post #2

What about Amazon and Apple? Why is Google the only recipient with scrutiny? Especially since the merger hasn't happened yet. You should be frightened about all of them.

Apple makes money from people buying their hardware and services. They don’t make a significant amount of money from selling targeted advertisements. Amazon and Google do.

Maybe that's what Google has been trying to do here with diversifying their revenue sources, similar to what they are attempting to do with GCP. Look at the amount of control they have been adding on Pixel phones on what apps and services can access, even Google's.

Re: Google/Fitbit will monetise health data and harm consumers

#37

Post by threatofrain »

kache_ wrote: post #13

It's crazy to me that people will run non-free software on something that is designed to capture biometrics... but then again I've been looking for a decent open source alternative and there is nothing out there.

The idea of open source software is not anywhere near the public consciousness.

Re: Google/Fitbit will monetise health data and harm consumers

#38

Post by shadowgovt »

kache_ wrote: post #13

It's crazy to me that people will run non-free software on something that is designed to capture biometrics... but then again I've been looking for a decent open source alternative and there is nothing out there.

That's the plight of open-source for biometrics. Wait around for something to show and it never comes, and you have to be an expert in the space to DIY something that will compete.

Re: Google/Fitbit will monetise health data and harm consumers

#39

Post by shadowgovt »

alex_duf wrote: post #12
therobot24 wrote: post #4

if a ml algorithm could influence me to work out more, i would accept the consistent nonsense ads about weight watchers

I think the point is more that your insurance will become more expensive because you haven't walked enough between the age of 20 and 40, and therefore you're more prone to a heart attack. Or maybe your mortgage is more likely to be denied

How did the mortgage and insurance companies get my private data in my Google account?

Re: Google/Fitbit will monetise health data and harm consumers

#40

Post by 52-6F-62 »

jannes wrote: post #14
alex_duf wrote: post #11

Is there any brand of wrist sensor that doesn't require you to upload your data to their servers by any chance? I love the fitbit sensor, but I wish I could opt out of the server side of the things

Try Apple Watch. You can disable the iCloud backup of Health data: https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/back-up-your-health-d...

That's what I do. It'll sync with my phone locally over bluetooth once I'm back in range, but that's it.
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