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

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

#211

Post by vanous »

Bartweiss wrote: post #196
opencl wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's also the option of open source fitness tracker apps that don't upload your data anywhere, i.e. Gadgetbridge which I use.

I'd never heard of Gadgetbridge, but "local storage" would certainly be my requirement. It's the same issue as smart-home devices (without voice control): from a user viewpoint there's absolutely no benefit to having them phone home.

>but "local storage" would certainly be my requirement.

[x] Check :)

Gadgetbridge intentionally does not have network permissions. There is a manual and periodical data export allowing you to push your data for further storage, processing, visualizing etc.

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

#212

Post by pnw_hazor »

nkrisc wrote: post #5

I had recently begun considering a smart watch to replace my original Pebble, and was considering Fitbit, but this is exactly why I won't be going with them. I'm slowly De-Googling and spreading my digital life across multiple providers instead of being at the mercy of a single one. I don't expect my total privacy exposure will be significantly less, but it's more about not having my email, media purchases, phone int…

Dependency on Google is what I am trying to avoid.

I have finally began moving off of gmail, once that is complete, I will be free.

The reports of people being locked out of Google because of youtube comments was the last straw. The first straw, I guess, was when they bought Nest, I turned off my Nest cams right then and never looked back.

edit: spelling

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

#213

Post by authoritarian »

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…

This sounds a lot like the the "I have nothing to hide so it doesn't matter who has my data argument," in which case here are a number of resources discussing why privacy matters and why you should care even if you have 'nothing to hide':

https://www.ted.com/talks/glenn_greenwald_why_privacy_matter...

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=998565&

https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/05/the_value_of_...

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/02/im-be...

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tim-carney-even-law-abidi...

https://www.chronicle.com/article/Why-Privacy-Matters-Even-i...

http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/surveillance-you-may-have-nothing...

https://www.wired.com/2013/06/why-i-have-nothing-to-hide-is-...

https://www.zdnet.com/article/privacy-is-innately-flawed-not...

https://mashable.com/2013/06/13/julian-sanchez-nsa/

https://www.techrepublic.com/blog/it-security/why-nothing-to...

Also, since you mention anonymization, many people have demonstrated how trivial it is to de-anonymize "anonymized data" particularly if you have access to multiple data sets

https://www.cs.utexas.edu/~shmat/shmat_oak08netflix.pdf

https://www.cs.utexas.edu/~shmat/shmat_oak09.pdf

http://palms.princeton.edu/system/files/Quantification+of+De...

http://www.yongyeol.com/papers/nilizadeh-deanon-2014.pdf

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/3dkxyw/tracking-people-on...

https://www.astonzhang.com/papers/social_deanony.pdf

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

#214

Post by kburman »

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…

After reading all these comments and too got rid of my fitbitt because the concerns are very genuine.

Thanks HN.

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

#215

Post by thekyle »

rvz wrote: post #10

Ideally I would prefer a SmartWatch that has AsteroidOS [0] preinstalled that on the software-level is free from Google. Such a watch might be very difficult to obtain. Even by flashing existing Android Wear devices not only it requires several steps, but the unfortunate lack of apps might be a big turn-off for many people. Either that or my money will be going to an Apple Watch. [0] https://asteroidos.org/

I wonder if something like the PineTime would run Asteroid OS without much hassle. It seems to be a GNU/Linux distro under the hood.

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

#216

Post by yabadabadoes »

degenerate wrote: post #77
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.

That editorial judgement is exactly why most articles with no actual content are published in the first place - " We need to beef up this headline so it reaches more people " Correct headline would have been " A handful of Fitbit users are... " but it wouldn't get clicks. The editors are to blame most of the time for doing a disservice to their readers.

So given that in most cases only the company has access to numbers and any multi-product company can choose not to reveal break down statistics.. I guess it's only positive pieces from now on?

Google is free to release positive spin articles and try to provide numbers to fit that. I don't think they will hesitate to provide more stats than we otherwise would have seen unless it is so grim that they have no way to frame it.

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

#217

Post by cbHXBY1D »

vader1 wrote: post #90
ravenstine wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd buy a Garmin if they provided a FitBit importer.

They do: https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=HfJ4xPchdD3cmZ2qtDpOR8... But it currently only imports coarse data, e.g. your average heartrate on a given day. Not the granular minute-by-minute information. Sleep statistics currently aren't imported at all.

I sold my Fitbit for a Garmin in the last month and the importer really didn't do much. Fitbit only gives 31 days of data.

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

#218

Post by cbHXBY1D »

krtkush wrote: post #183

Ordered a Garmin few days back for the same reasons.

Same and I'm kicking myself for not switching sooner. If you care about improving your running ability then getting a Garmin is a no-brainer. The PacePro feature which just arrived on my FR245 is incredible.

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

#219

Post by WorldMaker »

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.

The concern is that Fitbit was a product company. (Garmin is a product company. Apple is a product company. Etc.) Google has never seen themselves as a product company. They make a few products, certainly, but they're an ad company first and foremost to their shareholders, and a service company if anything else past that. Products are very low on the Google totem pole in terms of revenue or more critically ideals in how the company sees itself, and sells itself to its own investors.

(To add to the pile of anecdotes, I haven't yet stopped using my Fitbit because of the modern American dystopian need to appease the "Wellness company" that influences my Health Insurance pool and costs. But it's been heavily on my mind since the Google purchase and I will probably switch to something else whenever I free up enough gadget budget.)

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

#220

Post by ntsplnkv2 »

MichaelApproved wrote: post #35
ntsplnkv2 wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep, immediately thought the same. Journalism is dead. It's honestly a shame.

No, it's not dead. There are still plenty of very good journalists and in-depth stories being published. They are just more crowded by this type of entertainment "news". If you want real news, there are plenty of places to find it.

And yet most people don't find it - why?

Because it's crowded out by "articles" such as this.

Most "in-depth" stories being published are just longer length narrative pushers.

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