Google to Fitbit users: SCREW YOU! No web portal for you!

[thewayne]

Google bought Fitbit in 2021, and has been progressively trying to make things worse for those users. In their latest move, they're shutting down the web portal next month, making the only access to massive amounts of data through their app. And a phone app at that. No larger devices, like tablets. Just a phone app.

Remember Google, the company who announced their corporate motto is "Don't be evil"?

Garmin and Apple both offer tablet apps for their watches.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/06/googles-abuse-of-fitbit-continues-with-web-app-shutdown/

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/06/12/1939226/googles-abuse-of-fitbit-continues-with-web-app-shutdown

Comments

[arlie]

That Google's been dead for a long time.

[thewayne]

I've never trusted Google.  Their entire raison d'etre has been to sell ads.  Everything they do is ultimately in the service of that one goal.

[disneydream06]

I'll stick with my old fashioned watches. :o
Hugs, Jon

[moxie_man]

Just another reason why I don't own a "smart" watch.

[silveradept]

That sounds suspiciously like Google is tipping their hand that they don't want anyone to use Fitbit products, and soon enough, we'll find that Fitbits are going to be discontinued in favor of some other Google Watch type product. Fitbit did it to Pebble, so Google's probably going to do the same to Fitbit.

[thewayne]

waves hand Pebble owner here.  I was very disappointed when the Pebble C-suite screwed the pooch and handed over the company to Fitbit for pennies.  But my Time was retired by that point and I'd already moved on to an Apple Watch, IIRC, or was soon to.

[silveradept]

Me, too, and my partner would have been perfectly happy to stay on a Pebble. I think Pebble might have been the only company so far to get smart watches right. (I've got a PineTime, and it does what I want, but it's not Wear OS or an Apple Watch.)