Fitbit Will Soon Require Google Accounts for its Wearables
With Google’s acquisition of Fitbit a while back, it’s unsurprising that we’ve seen the American tech giant slowly form the veteran fitness brand into its own image, with continuous integration of Google services and branding alongside Fitbit’s hardware and software offerings. With that said, there have been some new developments regarding the partnership between the two companies, specifically with regards to how users will be able to use Fitbit devices and services.
Typically, a Fitbit account is required to let users set-up their Fitbit devices and access the different software features offered by the company. This will change soon however, as users will soon be required to use Google accounts to use Fitbit services and devices. As per the information on Fitbit’s help page:
“After we launch Google accounts on Fitbit in 2023, some uses of Fitbit will require a Google account, including to sign up for Fitbit or activate newly released Fitbit devices and features.
If you have a Fitbit account, after the launch of Google accounts on Fitbit, you’ll have the option to move Fitbit to your Google account or to continue to use your existing Fitbit devices and services with your Fitbit account for as long as it’s supported. Support of Fitbit accounts will continue until at least early 2025. After support of Fitbit accounts ends, a Google account will be required to use Fitbit. We’ll be transparent with our customers about the timeline for ending Fitbit accounts through notices within the Fitbit app, by email, and in help articles.”
In a way, this all seems logical given that Google now owns Fitbit, although it does add another layer of set-up processes for pre-existing Fitbit users. This new development follows a recent discovery that shows a new user interface for the upcoming Versa 4 and Sense 2, which heavily borrows design elements from Wear OS.
With that said, it should be interesting to see how Google and Fitbit implement this change once it finally rolls out.
Source: Fitbit