Google’s AI plans for Fitbit include your medical records

It’s fair to say that there have been some changes at Fitbit in the eight years since I wrote about parting ways with the then-flagship wearable. Spoiler alert: I ran away with the Apple Watch and never looked back. Now here comes the ex with a new announcement, and, uh… I guess you’d say they did some work?

Fitbit was bought by Google in 2019 for $2.1 billion. Fitbit’s co-founders are set to leave the tech giant in 2024, just months before Google shuts down Fitbit wearables entirely. The Google Pixel has become the default Fitbit smartwatch, and the Fitbit Charge 6 has become its robust old-school fitness tracker.

Meanwhile, the Fitbit app — where Google sells a premium subscription for $8 a month — has been loaded with new features. Now, whether you like it or not, those features include feedback from Google’s AI, Gemini — or as it’s called in its Fitbit flavor, Coach.

The company has tested the coach through the Android version of the Fitbit app. The test was expanded to iOS users last month — right around the time Fitbit owners were required to have Google accounts, and Fitbit accounts were discontinued.

The deadline to switch to Google has been extended to May 19, 2026 – nothing more than prolonging the suffering for old-school Fitbit users.

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All of this, apparently, makes it the perfect time for Google to invite Fitbit users to trust the company with their medical data. “When your coach understands your medical history, its guidance becomes safer, more relevant, and more personalized,” the company wrote in its latest Fitbit announcement.

The company said: “You have control over your data and how it is used, shared or deleted. Like other health data in Fitbit, your medical record No Used for advertisements.” (Emphasis in original.)

And if you’re wondering whether to trust that claim, note that the AI ​​features in question aren’t Google’s alone. Requests for health records go to B.Well Connected Health, an AI platform that aggregates health data from various providers.

Apparently, the security platform you might know from the empty line next to the TSA queue at many airports is another partner that allows you to search medical records using a valid form of ID and a selfie.

So, Fitbit, you’re looking fine, and I see you’ve got some new friends. We Sure Let’s meet sometime. Bring my medical records? Yes, let me think about it. I’ll let you know!