Google completes Fitbit deal: What does it imply for person information, current units?

Google has formally accomplished its acquisition of Fitbit, the corporate greatest recognized for its health bands and smartwatches. The deal was initially introduced in November 2019 for $2.1 billion. However, the acquisition continues to be below investigation from the US Department of Justice over anti-competition and anti-trust expenses.
Fitbit person base, current units
The gadget Fitbit units will proceed to operate as they’re. Fitbit has near 29 million lively customers and each corporations are attempting to reassure that their personal, well being information won’t be used to focus on them for ads. Given the character of Fitbit units, lots of which come outfitted with heart-rate monitoring, capacity to trace sleep, steps and different actions of customers, how this information is dealt with will probably be essential.

Fitbit has up to now bought greater than 120 million units in over 100 nations. The firm revealed that up to now customers have logged a complete of 275 trillion steps and over 15 billion hours of sleep utilizing the units. While Fitbit has loyal customers, it’s nowhere near Apple or Xiaomi by way of shipments, and has struggled to stay within the high 5. On its half, Google has not seen success within the health phase, and its Android WearOS units didn’t make any affect.
Google has no equal to the Apple Watch out there, and this cope with Fitbit may assist the corporate additionally give attention to health units, which is what Google SVP for {hardware} Rick Osterloh tried to underline. He asserted in his weblog publish that the deal is just not the information, however slightly units, including that they are going to proceed to “work closely to create new devices and services”.

Read extra: Google closes Fitbit deal amid ongoing US Department of Justice assessment

Fitbit person information
Both Google and Fitbit have tried to reassure customers that their information won’t be used for serving ads. Still given how these offers have performed out, each corporations must work laborious to take care of person belief. Case in level could be the current WhatsApp-Facebook furore over information sharing between the businesses.
Fitbit CEO and co-founder James Park wrote in his weblog that being a part of Google will make sure that the corporate can “innovate faster, provide more choices, and make even better products” to assist well being and wellness wants.
He additionally wrote that the corporate plans to proceed with “strong data privacy and security protections”, including that customers may have management of their information.
Park mentioned Fitbit would stay clear about what information will probably be collected and why, including that Google will defend person privateness. He additionally mentioned the search large has “made a series of binding commitments with global regulators, confirming 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.”
Further, Fitbit customers will have the ability to proceed connecting to to 3rd social gathering providers. Meaning if they like one other well being app, they are going to nonetheless have the choice of connecting their Fitbit account to this. Osterloh has additionally reiterated Park that Google had given assurances to the regulators that the information won’t be used for “Google ads and this data will be separated from other Google ads data.”
He defined additional, “We’ll also maintain access to Android APIs that enable devices like fitness trackers and smart watches to interoperate with Android smartphones, and we’ll continue to allow Fitbit users to choose to connect to third-party services…” Google says it’s going to honour these commitments globally.