Fitbit, why can’t I have my data? • Hacker News Board

Re: Fitbit, why can’t I have my data?

#61

Post by jessedhillon » Thu, Jan 03, 2013, 4:07 PM UTC

kgarten wrote: post #56

jessedhillon wrote: post #27

The Bodymedia FIT, in addition to being a superior device overall(1), has an API which let's you access caloric burn and other data up to single minute detail levels. If you Google around, there are some blog posts describing how to dump data from it using standard USB serial port drivers. API webpage: https://developer.bodymedia.com/docs/read/Home 1- The Bodymedia gives you steps taken as well as accurate sleep and…

"*Subscription required. The LINK Armband does not display information on its own, but rather works in conjunction with the online Activity Manager. Package includes a free 3-month trial period subscription. Monthly, 6-month, and 12-month subscriptions are available." aehm ... do I understand that correctly, I have to pay them $7 bugs a month to get access to my data? WOW, yes so much better than fitbit :D

Yeah you do in order to use the SaaS, unless you dump the data over USB and process it yourself. Honestly, I have to imagine that the objection to $7/mo is on principle with this crowd, and not a financial issue. This is the same crowd though, who loves to shout "if you're not paying for it, you're the customer" so here we have a situation where you're paying for what you use.

Is the price you're paying set by perception of value, rather than cost of goods sold? Yes, mostly. It is a business. But Bodymedia is aggressive in making their product (both SaaS and armband) better over time, so your subscription fees aren't pure profit.

So if you accept that $7/mo is a negligible cost, and that the price does not need to be simply an invoice of labor and hardware, but an expression of value, then I think this is a no-brainer. This easily delivers $7 of value even without using the API.

A biometric sensor with minute-by-minute granularity of data access for $84/yr plus one-time cost of ~$150? That's very well priced, IMO. It's just the idea of paying twice for a product you already own which hurts -- it's not the easiest pill to swallow, and it kept me from buying one for a while too.

Re: Fitbit, why can’t I have my data?

#62

Post by freehunter » Thu, Jan 03, 2013, 4:13 PM UTC

jfb wrote: post #50

darklajid wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Repeatedly asks me in which of a list of four places I am (Answer: Neither). Doesn't say 'Because, you know, we won't sell stuff to you if you are not on the list' until you try to check out. When you reach checkout, you'll see that they are asking you if you're in the US, Canda, Australia or New Zealand, while the shop contains the helpful "Currently BodyMedia FIT only ships within the U.S. and Canada (does not incl…

Or Quebec?

I would guess the reason they don't sell in Quebec is because their product is not localized for French speakers. The company I work with is nationwide in Canada except for Quebec because of the legal hassles and logistical troubles of localizing for French speakers as mandated by law in Quebec.

Re: Fitbit, why can’t I have my data?

#63

Post by jessedhillon » Thu, Jan 03, 2013, 4:23 PM UTC

heyitsnick wrote: post #33

jessedhillon wrote: post #27

The Bodymedia FIT, in addition to being a superior device overall(1), has an API which let's you access caloric burn and other data up to single minute detail levels. If you Google around, there are some blog posts describing how to dump data from it using standard USB serial port drivers. API webpage: https://developer.bodymedia.com/docs/read/Home 1- The Bodymedia gives you steps taken as well as accurate sleep and…

Could you explain a bit more when Bodymedia FIT is superior? The FitBit One and Ultra tracks steps taken, floors climbed, and sleep efficiency, and tells you calories burned and distance travelled (the latter two i assume just simply calculated from the raw data collected; you can input your weight and stride length on the site).

Suppose you did 100 squats. Which will be closer to reporting your true caloric burn -- a pedometer or a sensor directly contacting your skin and measuring your skin temperature and other variables. The latter, right? The former would probably report 100 steps taken, very slowly.

The total costs are higher though. The Fitbit is a onetime cost of $100-125 where the Bodymedia is $120-150 once and $84/yr. But for me, the cost of the Fitbit is too high for the relatively inaccurate method of collection.

Re: Fitbit, why can’t I have my data?

#64

Post by jessedhillon » Thu, Jan 03, 2013, 4:31 PM UTC

npsimons wrote: post #57

I also asked around and Fitbit seemed like the most “open” platform for collecting one’s own data. Either the OP didn't ask around very well, or they were lied to. There are plenty of other much more open solutions out there. Edit: A downvote? Really? In what way is the above not true?

Give us names, add links.

Re: Fitbit, why can’t I have my data?

#65

Post by mfringel » Thu, Jan 03, 2013, 4:47 PM UTC

npsimons wrote: post #57

I also asked around and Fitbit seemed like the most “open” platform for collecting one’s own data. Either the OP didn't ask around very well, or they were lied to. There are plenty of other much more open solutions out there. Edit: A downvote? Really? In what way is the above not true?

Your statement may be true, but it adds nothing to the discussion. You did not point out alternatives, examples, or links to same.

Re: Fitbit, why can’t I have my data?

#66

Post by jjp » Thu, Jan 03, 2013, 4:52 PM UTC

fla wrote: post #25

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...

The flash content must get the data from somewhere, probably in XML, certainly over HTTP. Open Wireshark and capture a session to known where it came from. Then write a program that replicates this behavior and save the data.

I just ran it through fiddler and the Flash content gets the details in XML over HTTP. For steps and floors you get a count in 5 minute units; for calories you get a burn in 5 minute units when you have been active; for sleep you seem to get a score to indicate whether you are asleep or awake every minute you are asleep.

Re: Fitbit, why can’t I have my data?

#67

Post by Too » Thu, Jan 03, 2013, 4:58 PM UTC

Because then you would be able to see how inaccurate the sensors really are?

Re: Fitbit, why can’t I have my data?

#68

Post by mcormier » Thu, Jan 03, 2013, 5:12 PM UTC

Shameless plug.

I've started a project to track any data that I want and stop relying on all of these free sites because of this loss of data issue.

The source code is here: https://github.com/mcormier/tallyman

and you can see it in action here: http://stats.preenandprune.com

I haven't tackled generated graphs from the SQL data yet but plan to eventually. The one graph on the page was generated with Apple's Numbers. Since it's annual data I don't plan on updating it more than once a year.

Re: Fitbit, why can’t I have my data?

#69

Post by marcusestes » Thu, Jan 03, 2013, 5:19 PM UTC

beaumartinez wrote: post #29

I feel the same with regards to my Nike FuelBand. I even asked Nike if they would provide an API[0] (they won't). Fortunately their web app keeps your NikeFuel—Nike's activity metric—for every day (in 15-minute increments) as a global JavaScript variable. I wrote a scraper[1] to get me my data. I wonder if you can do the same with Fitbit. [0] https://twitter.com/NikeFuel/status/205424488836370433 [1] https://github.c…

They recently announced that Fuel data will be available by API after all:

http://developer.nike.com/resources

Re: Fitbit, why can’t I have my data?

#70

Post by asher_ » Thu, Jan 03, 2013, 5:30 PM UTC

This is a rather annoying trend with devices in this class. I own a half dozen otherwise excellent devices like this, each of which require a SaaS subscription to make full use of, any most of which deny me access to the raw data. I have to think that the market for people wanting the raw data is fairly small in comparison to the people who just want a simple, single-device web service, but I think this is disappointing.

The real value in the data is the relationships between various data sources. I really don't care how many steps I take in a particular day, but I do care if there is a relationship between that and my weight, how well I sleep, my heart rate etc. No device, or brand, does everything, nor should they. I want to be able to get my data out so I can use it in interesting ways.

I have thought a lot about not buying any devices in the future that don't allow me access to the data I produce. I think it is probably a good policy, but I would be left with very little in the way of options then. Finding hacks to get data out of devices can be useful, but should we really have to crack each new gadget just to use the data? I think its a pretty sad state of affairs.