As of January 14, 2021, Google officially became the owner of Fitbit. That worried many privacy conscious users. However, Google promised that “Fitbit users’ health and wellness data won’t be used for Google ads and this data will be kept separate from other Google ad data” as part of the deal with global regulators when they bought Fitbit. This is good.
And Fitbit seems to do an OK job with privacy and security. It de-identifies the data it collects so it’s (hopefully) not personally identifiable. We say hopefully because, depending on the kind of data, it’s been found to be pretty easy to de-anonymize these data sets and track down an individual’s patterns, especially with location data. So, be aware with Fitbit—or any fitness tracker—you are strapping on a device that tracks your location, heart rate, sleep patterns, and more. That’s a lot of personal information gathered in one place.
What is not good is what can happen with all this very personal health data if others aren’t careful. A recent report showed that health data for over 61 million fitness tracker users, including both Fitbit and Apple, was exposed when a third-party company that allowed users to sync their health data from their fitness trackers did not secure the data properly. Personal information such as names, birthdates, weight, height, gender, and geographical location for Fitbit and other fitness-tracker users was left exposed because the company didn’t password protect or encrypt their database. This is a great reminder that yes, while Fitbit might do a good job with their own security, anytime you sync or share that data with anyone else, it could be vulnerable.
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e Fitbit app does allow for period tracking though. And the app, like most wearable tracking apps, collects a whole bunch of person, body-related data that could potentially be used to tell if a user is pregnant.
Fortunately, Fitbit doesn’t sell this data but it does say it can share some personal data for interest-based advertising. Fitbit also can share your wellness data with other apps, insurers, and employers if you sign up for that and give your consent.
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Fitbit isn’t the wearable we’d trust the most with our private reproductive health data. Apple, Garmin, Oura all make us feel a bit more comfortable with this personal information.
Source: Fitbit | Privacy & security guide | Mozilla Foundation
So when installing one it says it needs to process your data in the USA – which basically means it’s up for grabs for all and sundry. There is a reason the EU has the GDPR. But why does it need to send data anywhere other than your phone anyway?!
This is something that almost no-one mentions when you read the reviews on these things.
Robin Edgar
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