Fitbit, why can’t I have my data?

#1

Post by KC8ZKF » Thu, Jan 03, 2013, 6:53 AM UTC

Fitbit, why can’t I have my data?
simplystatistics.org

Re: Fitbit, why can’t I have my data?

#2

Post by gregcohn » Thu, Jan 03, 2013, 7:53 AM UTC

Good post. Are are any of the similar devices more open, in terms of both data accessibility and format?

Re: Fitbit, why can’t I have my data?

#3

Post by mavlee » Thu, Jan 03, 2013, 8:51 AM UTC

I actually ran into the same problem recently, when trying to get my minute by minute data. I even emailed their support team, but no luck.

I wonder if there's an easy way to scrape their flash charts on the dashboard...

Re: Fitbit, why can’t I have my data?

#4

Post by harold » Thu, Jan 03, 2013, 8:58 AM UTC

This project hasn't been updated in a while but might be a good starting point for a roll-your-own solution:

https://github.com/loghound/Fitbit-for-Google-App-Script

Re: Fitbit, why can’t I have my data?

#5

Post by nodata » Thu, Jan 03, 2013, 9:00 AM UTC

Just wait until a large health insurance company buys Fitbit (or Withings, or Garmin) - they will have your data.

Re: Fitbit, why can’t I have my data?

#6

Post by MichaelApproved » Thu, Jan 03, 2013, 9:00 AM UTC

mavlee wrote: post #3

I actually ran into the same problem recently, when trying to get my minute by minute data. I even emailed their support team, but no luck. I wonder if there's an easy way to scrape their flash charts on the dashboard...

Without using the website, I suspect you can use something like Fiddler to see what HTTP requests are being made. Chances are the charts are making an XML or JSON request to their servers.

If you're lucky, the URL requests will be in an easy to reverse engineer format so you could easily dump all the data you need by adjusting the URL.

Re: Fitbit, why can’t I have my data?

#7

Post by MichaelApproved » Thu, Jan 03, 2013, 9:03 AM UTC

"I guess it is true, if you aren’t paying for it, you are the product."

But according to the author, even the $50 option doesn't let you download the data so it has nothing to do with you being the product.

Re: Fitbit, why can’t I have my data?

#8

Post by jrockway » Thu, Jan 03, 2013, 9:04 AM UTC

nodata wrote: post #5

Just wait until a large health insurance company buys Fitbit (or Withings, or Garmin) - they will have your data.

Just wait until a large health insurance company breaks into your house at night and installs cameras - they will have your data.

Re: Fitbit, why can’t I have my data?

#9

Post by vertis » Thu, Jan 03, 2013, 9:05 AM UTC

MichaelApproved wrote: post #7

" I guess it is true, if you aren’t paying for it, you are the product. " But according to the author, even the $50 option doesn't let you download the data so it has nothing to do with you being the product .

More than that, you have to pay for the device in the first place, so on that front you're absolutely the customer.

Re: Fitbit, why can’t I have my data?

#10

Post by jrockway » Thu, Jan 03, 2013, 9:05 AM UTC

gregcohn wrote: post #2

Good post. Are are any of the similar devices more open, in terms of both data accessibility and format?

If a FitBit is just a pedometer, I have an Omron HJ-720IT that syncs with my Linux box (uploading a week's worth of hourly step counts). It's $30 on Amazon.