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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

#31

Post by oefrha »

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…

You can literally write a “some users say blah blah” article with any narrative and it won’t be fake news, strictly speaking.

Well, at least this article doesn’t embed a few tweets, which is an immediate sign of garbage journalism.

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

#32

Post by ntsplnkv2 »

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…

Yep, immediately thought the same.

Journalism is dead. It's honestly a shame.

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

#33

Post by tgv »

_jal wrote: post #14
llarsson wrote: post #3

"Google could know which medications I take, and what any medical diagnosis's I have," Carpenter said. "It makes me feel sick to my stomach." Google already knows what diagnoses people have, simply because people have been searching their symptoms. Remember when Google several years ago boasted about predicting epidemics faster than the health care system, based on searches?

"People" may have, but that does not mean Carpenter or other specific Fitbit owners did. There's the general and the specific.

Even the "general" interpretation is bloody wrong. People google more symptoms than their own, and not everybody uses google either. FitBit's data is valuable to any party trying to muscle themselves into siphoning some of that health care money.

Google is on a war path, but many prefer to stick their heads in the sand.

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

#35

Post by MichaelApproved »

ntsplnkv2 wrote: post #32
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…

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.

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

#36

Post by whoisjuan »

The average Joe that uses Fitbit probably doesn't even know that this transaction is happening. Sometimes we think people read the same news we read and understand things the same way we understand them. That's definitely not the case.

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

#37

Post by vader1 »

I bought a Garmin the day Fitbit sold out and haven't touched the Fitbit since. I'm very happy with the switch, the Garmin (Vivosmart 4) app and device are actually better than Fitbit's on almost every account, so that's a double win :)

The only unfortunate consequence is that Garmin's import service only imports very coarse data from your Fitbit export, so all detailed historic records are lost unless you manually dig through your Fitbit export files. I hope Garmin will still provide a 100% complete importer in the future.

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

#38

Post by el_cujo »

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…

And now people who want to convince others to leave behind their fitbits need only point them to this article to lend legitimacy to the claim that "everyone is doing it!". Stuff like this is part of why people don't trust the media anymore.

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

#39

Post by [deleted] »

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.…

[deleted]
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