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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

#51

Post by TheCondor »

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 replace. The watches themselves seem to die at an almost predictable rate. Then the price is sort of in this sweet spot of being inexpensive enough to not hurt you but expensive enough to be frustrating when it’s not right.

I like the concept but I think Fitbit doesn’t have enough data points to be really useful and then the execution is mediocre. Maybe google will be good for them but I think I’ll switch

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

#52

Post by whitebread »

madoublet wrote: post #30
ChuckMcM wrote: post #2

For me the change is ownership was just the last straw, their incredibly crappy app and the difficulty in downloading my data was a more significant factor.

I always thought their app was really nice, but I have never tried to get data out of it.

I’ve had the same experience. I left Fitbit for Garmin early 2015 and switched back to Fitbit early 2017. Garmin has better overall health tracking but the app user experience is (was?) woefully lacking. I enjoyed and enjoy the Fitbit app and its 90% of the reason I went back.

However I am one of the ones trying to de-Google, so I’ll see how a data dump goes. Trying to find a device that toes the line between health tracker and smart watch as artfully as the Versa 1 does that isn’t produced by a monster Corp should be fun as well

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

#53

Post by ravenstine »

vader1 wrote: post #37

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 d…

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

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

#54

Post by almost_usual »

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…

A better question is how many people do you think trust Google and is that number growing?

Google feels like a spouse who cheated on you. You don’t trust them but you haven’t found a better option yet. I can’t imagine that helps them competitively in the long run.

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

#55

Post by supercanuck »

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…

What is wrong with using Twitter as a source? This is how people communicate in 2019

What method would serve you better?

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

#56

Post by ekianjo »

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…

> Take a handful of tweets that share an opinion and write an article that makes it seem like there's a mass exodus.

Well that's the press in 2019. Do no research at all, write clickbaity headlines, and maximize ads impressions. Content does not matter.

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

#57

Post by MichaelApproved »

supercanuck wrote: post #55
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…

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

It's purely anecdotal. Nothing meaningful.

Did these people even own Fitbits in the first place? Have they even been using them recently? How many have actually thrown them away?

It's representative of nothing.

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

#58

Post by [deleted] »

flattone wrote: post #26
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'm getting rid of everything. I want a bumper sticker "burn fb,goo, etc to the ground"

[deleted]

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

#59

Post by MichaelApproved »

flattone wrote: post #26
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'm getting rid of everything. I want a bumper sticker "burn fb,goo, etc to the ground"

Bumber stickers are simple to make. If you're so passionate about this, why haven't you made one yet?

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

#60

Post by onion2k »

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…

Yes, some people are privacy conscious and are going to stop using Fitbit but how many are actually doing it? A lot? A few?

There's nothing wrong with reporting that a small number of people are publicly announcing that they're binning their Fitbit devices. They are, and they weren't before, so that's news. Are you suggesting there should be threshold an event should have to pass before it becomes newsworthy? Who would decide what that threshold is?

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