Fitbit One question

Pretty sure you only have to connect it to a website for progress tracking and you only have to connect to your phone for notifications.

quote:

---

Every Fitbit has to connect to either a computer via the included USB dongle or smartphone.

---

In order to work at all? Or just in order to get the advanced graphing and stuff like that of your stats?

quote:

---

You have to set it up on your phone. Or a computer but the app was pretty easy. You don't have to sync it after if you don't want to. Are you just wanting to keep up with your steps? Just get a cheap pedometer instead. I like my Fitbit and usually just sync at the end of the day. Just turn on Bluetooth and open the app. Simple as that.

---

Let's say I wanted to collect the info, but only view it sporadically without having the constant communication with the app. e.g. If I use this thing for a year, can I plug it in once to look at the aggregate stats without by definition sending them to Fitbit?

quote:

---

Let's say I wanted to collect the info, but only view it sporadically without having the constant communication with the app. e.g. If I use this thing for a year, can I plug it in once to look at the aggregate stats without by definition sending them to Fitbit?

---

I don't think the chip in them has that much memory. I think with my charge I read that it would store up to 3-4 weeks of steps and sleep. In order for you to know all of that you'd have to sync maybe twice a month.

quote:

---

This is one of the oddest desires for a product.

---

Why is it odd to value privacy/security? I like the functionality of many apps but do not like the constant scraping and sweeping of my private information - particularly if it's health related. I find this to be quite normal.

quote:

---

just get a 10 buck pedometer

---

Do those have any storage capabilities or must I manually write down the results daily? Again, I like the concept of compiling my personal data and rendering it in easy-to-digest charts/graphs/etc. However, I don't like the concept of automatically sending that off to some company that I know nothing about (and which runs the risk of security breaches itself even if I trust it.)

quote:

---

I mean...no thats paranoid. Literally no one cares how much you walk. No one.

---

Many many companies care about gathering health statistics (not just walking)...particularly of older people. If they don't, then how come Fitbit insists on collecting it themselves?

It's not even marginally paranoid (unless you think I'm saying SPECIFICALLY ME, which I'm not - I'm just another drone that they're happy to have the info for.)

Here's a long piece on the topic from last year:

quote:

---

The fact that so much data is collected through a wearable device, such as an activity tracker, a smartwatch, or a pulse tracker, means that there are tangible risks involved, according to Conan Dooley, a senior security engineer with Box, and previously a senior security analyst with Bishop Fox.

If that data was carelessly stored, and then stolen through a data breach by a malicious third party and sold to unscrupulous organizations that want to use that data to assess your health risks, you could one day face steep increases in health insurance, or even a policy cancellation. The risk of this is so real that some companies are buying data breach insurance to protect themselves in the case of consumer information getting into the wrong hands.

If you've willingly shared this data with your health insurer, through discount options at work, you may already be facing rising insurance costs without any data breach necessary, since many employers offer "good health" discounts to employees who stay within regulation weight and exercise parameters to receive a significant savings on health insurance.

These are significant repercussions for simply wearing a device on your wrist to tell you how many steps you took a day and what your resting heart rate averages. It's up to the consumer to determine the level of risk they're willing to take versus the benefit they get from their wearable devices.

---

LINK

Anyway, why are you so keen on lecturing me about my preferences instead of answering my specific questions?