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Comment by karimtr | Hacker News Reader

Anyone stopped using Fitbit as a result of this?

The moment I read the news of the acquisition I took off my Fitbit Charge HR2 (it was my second Fitbit device) and I deleted my Fitbit account. I have no illusions this will change anything and I did it entirely on principle.

I did and I also deleted my account and data.

I’ll probably get an Apple Watch but I’d prefer something eink and “dumber” with just clock, heartrate, steps, stairs and GPS, no accounts and no forced uploading to their servers would be ideal.

I love the FitBit device though. If there’s some opensource way to keep using it without Google being involved I’ll probably try that.

I switched to a Garmin Instinct a few months ago. My Charge 2 died and I wanted something with GPS and decent battery life. I charge my watch every 10ish days (I pair it with my phone only after an activity to see the details, not otherwise). I personally find it great that it has a rugged screen with buttons instead of fancier things like a touchscreen, payment options etc.

It would be possible to DIY this, it might be clunkier than most would expect and have worse battery life.

*edit, found this eval kit by maxim

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/maxim-integrated/...

Kinda expensive and not very open for an eval kit. The only somewhat difficult part is implementing the pulse oximetry signal chain and analysis software. Everything else is basic integration.

My wife switched over to a Garmin fitness tracker. She'd been having technical issues with her old Fitbit anyway, but the Google acquisition made it so she didn't even consider a new Fitbit as a replacement.

I didn't stop using it, but I made a different decision about what watch to purchase because of it, because a) divesting my health data from Google's vacuum seemed wise and b) I no longer trust Google to support hardware/services long term.

I switched to an Apple Watch last year when I got one for my mom because of the fall detection, so that I could know how to use it and support her. The rest of my family still has Fitbits and I still prefer Fitbit for what it does (and the battery life). That said, in the wake of this announcement two people just got an Apple Watch ordered as an upcoming birthday gift because I don't think having Fitbits is a good idea anymore.

Google is not a company that respects their users. It's that simple. Apple doesn't respect developers, but it does respect users. Google respects neither. I'd say the current situation in tech is not especially positive for users generally, but having a product tied to Google, Facebook, or Amazon would be your worst case scenario, and I'm actively trying to excise these products from my life.

Not yet, but it looks like I will. I had no idea of the acquisition till this post. A shame because I think the Fitbit is fantastic and my current device is years old.

Yes. I had a 30 message back and forth with their support to get a refund and they wouldn't do it.

I have - moved to an Apple watch.

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