Google finally completes Fitbit acquisition, promises to protect Fitbit users’ privacy

Back in 2019, Google announced that it will acquire Fitbit. After facing legal hurdles around the world, Google today announced that the acquisition is now complete. Fitbit now has more than 29 million active users worldwide. Google is planning to work closely with Fitbit team to create new devices and services that help you enhance your knowledge, success, health and happiness. Google also mentioned that it is committed to protecting your health information and putting you in control of your data.

Rick Osterloh, Senior Vice President, Devices & Services at Google mentioned the following in his blog post.

• This deal has always been about devices, not data, and we’ve been clear since the beginning that we will protect Fitbit users’ privacy. We worked with global regulators on an approach which safeguards consumers’ privacy expectations, including a series of binding commitments that confirm Fitbit users’ health and wellness data won’t be used for Google ads and this data will be separated from other Google ads data.
• 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 so you’ll still be able to sync your favorite health and fitness apps to your Fitbit account.
• These commitments will be implemented globally so that all consumers can benefit from them. We’ll also continue to work with regulators around the world so that they can be assured that we are living up to these commitments.

Source: Fitbit