Users seek alternatives as Google is intent on app-centric focus.
Enlarge / The Charge 5 (pictured) has been a source of contention for Fitbit customers. (credit: Getty)
Since the acquisition closed in 2021, the Google-fication of Fitbit has largely meant a reduction in features and a focus from Google on getting people onto the Fitbit app. Long-time users have flocked to Fitbit—sometimes upon Fitbit's request—to share hundreds of complaints about recent changes. However, Google has been mostly unresponsive to customer feedback.
In June, Google announced it was discontinuing Fitbit.com's online dashboard. After July 8, users seeking similar features that the web app provided have to download the Fitbit mobile app. On Fitbit’s Community forum, a company representative confirmed that users’ “details and logging for activities, nutrition, sleep, and weight” would remain available via the app. However, the change inconvenienced users who preferred or needed to access such data on a bigger screen than a phone's. Worse, the app lacks some of the features of the online dashboard, such as food logging.
Despite these obvious user drawbacks, the need to Googlize Fitbit seemed to drive the change. Announcing the news on the Community forum, a Fitbit company rep said:
