Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Some users say they're getting rid of Fitbit because they don't trust Google

cnbc.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

151–160 of 241 posts

Re: Some users say they're getting rid of Fitbit because they don't trust Google

#151

Post by 51Cards »

MichaelApproved wrote: post #19

Classic example of an article in search of a movement. Take a handful of tweets that share an opinion and write an article that makes it seem like there's a mass exodus. It's ok, you don't need anything more than a handful of tweets to back your claim. Yes, some people are privacy conscious and are going to stop using Fitbit but how many are actually doing it? A lot? A few? Who knows. I'm sure author has no clue but…

While a lot of people here are commenting that they fall into this group I would also say that the users on this forum are in no means a representative cross-section of the general public. Everyone here is far more aware of privacy issues around Google than 99% of Fitbit users.

Re: Some users say they're getting rid of Fitbit because they don't trust Google

#152

Post by JohnFen »

Retric wrote: post #23
MichaelApproved wrote: post #19

Classic example of an article in search of a movement. Take a handful of tweets that share an opinion and write an article that makes it seem like there's a mass exodus. It's ok, you don't need anything more than a handful of tweets to back your claim. Yes, some people are privacy conscious and are going to stop using Fitbit but how many are actually doing it? A lot? A few? Who knows. I'm sure author has no clue but…

I don’t know about anyone else, but I just got rid of my Fitbit and never spoke of it on social media. My guess is it’s limited a few thousand to low tens of thousands of people which is not economically meaningful on it’s own. But, it does show another side of the privacy debate. Many companies are selling data not because it’s significant revenue, but rather because they have no reason to leave money on the table.…

> I don’t know about anyone else, but I just got rid of my Fitbit and never spoke of it on social media.

I only know two people who use Fitbits, and both of them have ditched them.

I agree that the number of people doing this is likely small, but such people certainly do exist, and they aren't incredibly rare.

Re: Some users say they're getting rid of Fitbit because they don't trust Google

#153

Post by JohnFen »

pmarreck wrote: post #50
Retric wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I just got rid of my Fitbit and never spoke of it on social media. My guess is it’s limited a few thousand to low tens of thousands of people which is not economically meaningful on it’s own. But, it does show another side of the privacy debate. Many companies are selling data not because it’s significant revenue, but rather because they have no reason to leave money on the table.…

I have never felt harmed or threatened by the idea that my anonymized data (health or otherwise) is being used by large organizations... assuming it is anonymized. As far as I can see, there are many good uses of this data (some potentially profitable, such as selling to health insurance companies so they can better price their products and evaluate risks) and very few bad uses of this data. Can someone please clarif…

> assuming it is anonymized.

In the age of Big Data, there's only one way for data to be anonymized -- it needs to be aggregated with all the other data, and the original individual data records need to be deleted.

Re: Some users say they're getting rid of Fitbit because they don't trust Google

#154

Post by 9dl »

macintux wrote: post #130
9dl wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What for you will use "smart watch"? For real. There is not so much they can do and even less they can do properly

Not the OP, but my Apple Watch has changed my life. Being able to track, manage, and be challenged on my exercise habits has helped me lose 30 pounds in 7 months. Plus the convenience of knowing who’s calling without pulling my phone out, answer the call or text message directly from my Watch, check the temperature at a glance... And it’s pretty good at telling time, too.

So just to be clear

If someone wear 1-10-100 "smart devices" that someone do not loose weight

You lost weight because you work hard, you eat smart and you change habits

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/complete-guide-to-bar-spee...

About phone calls - I prefer do not answer at all. Better to recall or write message or mail

About measurements - you really can't rely on any of wrist device sensors. They are not calibrated at all

And even better. You body has so much more preciser sensors than any device.

One device that can measure somewhat decent when you do exercises - chest strap monitor

And I love tech a lot. But tech which can improve my or someones life

Re: Some users say they're getting rid of Fitbit because they don't trust Google

#155

Post by scottlegrand2 »

MichaelApproved wrote: post #19

Classic example of an article in search of a movement. Take a handful of tweets that share an opinion and write an article that makes it seem like there's a mass exodus. It's ok, you don't need anything more than a handful of tweets to back your claim. Yes, some people are privacy conscious and are going to stop using Fitbit but how many are actually doing it? A lot? A few? Who knows. I'm sure author has no clue but…

Got rid of mine too after using Fitbit devices since 2011. And I'm an ex-googler and a former Amazon employee. I don't want to supply extraneous information to Amazon, Google, or Facebook. No good would come of that.

And I will add that in the last year of owning a Fitbit ionic I wasn't syncing anyway because there was some sort of bug that would randomly subtract 100 or so calories every hour or so. Fitbit continued to deny the bug existed and it was never fixed.

Re: Some users say they're getting rid of Fitbit because they don't trust Google

#156

Post by JohnFen »

knzhou wrote: post #140
onion2k wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There should be editorial judgement about whether or not something is worth publishing. That is not, and shouldn't be, a quantitative threshold.

There already is. In tech reporting, the criterion whether it can be fit into the pre-existing narrative of Big Tech being evil. There are similar numbers of people thanking Google for new features every day, but you won't hear about that.

> narrative of Big Tech being evil.

Big Tech could stop that narrative by ceasing to do awful things.

Re: Some users say they're getting rid of Fitbit because they don't trust Google

#157

Post by supercanuck »

dspillett wrote: post #97
supercanuck wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is wrong with using Twitter as a source? This is how people communicate in 2019 What method would serve you better?

The issue being taken here isn't specifically twitter as a source but "a handful of tweets" as the source. Extrapolating/exaggerating from a very small sample of views into the impression of a mass movement. It is like asking a couple of random people if they know me, getting negative responses, and using them as the basis for an article about the mysterious Dave person who no one seems to know anything about.

Is the point of the article valid?

Should People be concerned about their privacy?

Or should we not consider that thought until we collect a representative sample size?

Re: Some users say they're getting rid of Fitbit because they don't trust Google

#158

Post by HaloZero »

TheCondor wrote: post #51

I’ve owned/own 4 Fitbit products and was planning my change before this news. The privacy thing is an issue but compared to your phone, it’s pretty small potatoes. The issue that really irks is the products seem to take software updates that make them worse, often with bad bugs. Like my ionic will vibrate when a phone call comes in and continue to until the call ends. Bands wear out too quickly and are expensive to r…

My blaze has the same calling issue...

The Blaze though has standard watch bands so you can replace it inexpensively with any type of watch band as long it's the right size.

Re: Some users say they're getting rid of Fitbit because they don't trust Google

#159

Post by JohnFen »

sulam wrote: post #124
jschwartzi wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Take a look at Garmin watches. I replaced my fitbit with a Garmin as soon as I found out about the buyout and I couldn't be happier. It's much more capable than the Fitbit was and Garmin has an actual privacy policy instead of a ways in which we sell your data policy.

Fitbit also has a privacy policy, as does Google. It’s not actually the practice to sell your data. It’s much more valuable for them to hold onto it and sell products that use your data.

> It’s much more valuable for them to hold onto it and sell products that use your data.

I think that when most people say tech firms "sell your data", they include this in the definition.

Re: Some users say they're getting rid of Fitbit because they don't trust Google

#160

Post by pfortuny »

jasonvorhe wrote: post #136
shantly wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1) That can change at any time, 2) Those data are never going away, and may not (=will not) belong to Google forever, 3) Data that exists can be demanded by the government, justly or otherwise, and they will get it—private companies running a dragnet spy operation on everyone is only marginally better than the government doing the same directly, 4) Targeted ads are adversarial. So are ads in general, really—yes I kno…

1) why would a company remove that systems? They've been practically leak free since they started. Why risk the public outcry if a junior developer walks out with a couple of terabytes of personal data because they loosened access to such data without any clear advantage?

Because they are compelled by a different government from the present one.
Post reply on HN