This is how you delete your Fitbit data before Google takes over

Obviously, Google is taking over Fitbit for 2 billion dollars and that naturally has consequences for your data. Google parent company Alphabet is likely to find the wearable company interesting because it can help launch its own Google Wear OS smartwatch. But that is not the only thing: the data that Fitbit collects daily from millions of people will also make an important contribution to the value of Fitbit.

Google takes over Fitbit

Do you not see it as the gigantic Google will soon be running away with your data? There is hope, but you have to start erasing now. It can take up to three months to completely delete your information. Now it takes a while before Google has completely taken over Fitbit, since there are of course enough government watchdogs who still have to find something about this. But still, you better take the uncertainty if you want to secure your data.

Fitbit collects a lot of very personal data: when you sleep, how you sleep, what your heart rate is, when you exercise, what your location is and how many steps you take. Moreover, you can keep track of your weight in the app and even what you eat. Information that is very valuable, especially for Google, which already knows a lot about a lot of people. Just think of the data that Google Maps collects about you and the cookies in your browser, so that when you Google you get results that suit you best. Google has said that it would never sell your information to anyone else, but it is not entirely clear what it will do with it.

Delete data at Fitbit

If you don’t see it all that way, you can choose to delete your data at Fitbit. If you want to download your data first, you must request an archive. You do this by going to the ‘settings’ via the gear in the top right and then choosing ‘data export’. Choose which data you want and you can request your data. You will then receive an e-mail with a link that you must click to actually download the data. Do all this in the browser version of Fitbit, which is not possible in your dashboard in your app.

Deleting your data is a bit easier and can be done both in the desktop dashboard and via the app. On the desktop you have to go to the settings and click on “delete account” at the bottom. You will receive a pop-up, you have to enter your password again and if you continue you will receive an e-mail with the confirmation of the removal request. Via the app you go to your account, then to “manage data” and “delete account” and again “delete account”.

After you have deleted your data, there is a period of seven days in which you can revoke this promotion if you are sorry. Fitbit completely removes your data after 90 days, but after 30 days most of it is gone, Fitbit believes. That must be in time for that deal with Google to be completely through, and Fitbit products will be known as “Fitbit, made by Google”.