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
#2For 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.
Re: Some users say they're getting rid of Fitbit because they don't trust Google
#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?
Re: Some users say they're getting rid of Fitbit because they don't trust Google
#4For an anecdotal story, my finacee just went from a Fitbit to a Soleuos Fitness tracker. The change in ownership was one reason, but the reason was that the one she had broke 3 times within the first year of her having it. The first two times she sent it back, and the third time she gave up on it and didn't want to buy another Fitbit.
But I think seeing how Nest turned out is a great reason for not wanting to buy a Fitbit after being bought my Google (forcing tighter integration to Google, depreciating APIs to make it useful for other integrations, no really new innovation).
Re: Some users say they're getting rid of Fitbit because they don't trust Google
#5I 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 integration, and more all tied to just Google.
Re: Some users say they're getting rid of Fitbit because they don't trust Google
#6"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?
They are not doing this anymore [0] and I assume there is a reason for that.
UDPATE: Here is the reason: "And then, GFT failed—and failed spectacularly—missing at the peak of the 2013 flu season by 140 percent. When Google quietly euthanized the program, called Google Flu Trends (GFT), it turned the poster child of big data into the poster child of the foibles of big data. " [1]
[0] https://www.google.org/flutrends/about/
[1] https://www.wired.com/2015/10/can-learn-epic-failure-google-...
Re: Some users say they're getting rid of Fitbit because they don't trust Google
#7"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?
That's different that wearing a tracking device ok your arm.
People are really upset because google started acting politically. If they weren't concerned about Google's judgment they wouldn't be worried.
But they're right to worry.
Re: Some users say they're getting rid of Fitbit because they don't trust Google
#8"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?
That's different that wearing a tracking device ok your arm. People are really upset because google started acting politically. If they weren't concerned about Google's judgment they wouldn't be worried. But they're right to worry.
>That's different that wearing a tracking device ok your arm.
An activity tracking device on your arm can't determine what medication you are taking or what diagnosis you have unless it has a secret microphone that is recording every conversation and uploading it for analysis, which is what the concern the person you replied to quoted.
Re: Some users say they're getting rid of Fitbit because they don't trust Google
#9Fitbit is a terrible product. Enjoy paying smart watch prices for a tiny screen that tells you your heart rate.
Re: Some users say they're getting rid of Fitbit because they don't trust Google
#10Ideally 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.