Fitbit is a company that produces arange of popular fitness trackers. In fact, those trackers are so popular that Google decided to buy the company in 2019. There’s big money to be made from fitness wearables, with Apple, Samsung, and Garmin all offeringfitness tracking devices, so it’s no real surprise that Google wanted to get a bigger piece of the action.
The acquisition does have one important consequence for current Fitbit users; by 2025, your Fitbit devices willstop working with original Fitbit accounts. You’ll need to move your Fitbit account over to a Google account instead. If you’re a Fitbit user, here’s how to move your Fitbit account to Google.
Why do I need to move my Fitbit account to Google?
It’s the way of the world; big companies buy smaller companies and get even bigger. Meta now owns Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus, Apple owns Beats and Shazam, and Google owns Nest and YouTube. Then, in 2019, Google announced its $2.1 billion acquisition of popular fitness wearable company Fitbit.
As with all of these acquisitions, there are some benefits for consumers, and some downsides. One of the downsides with the Fitbit acquisition is that if you already have aFitbit account, you’ll need to migrate to a Google account. The good news is that there isn’t a huge rush to do so; Google has said that the legacy Fitbit accounts will keep working until at least 2025. You’re going to have to do it at some point, however, so you may want to get ahead of the game.
How to move your Fitbit account to Google
When you openthe Fitbit app, you may see a prompt explaining that you’ll need to move your Fitbit account to your Google account. you may choose to follow these instructions immediately or dismiss the prompt and carry on with your Fitbit account. If you do decide to move your account to Google, you can’t reverse the decision once it’s completed.
If you want to make the move when you see the prompt, here’s what to do.
How to move your Fitbit account if you dismissed the prompt
If you selectedMaybe laterwhen you first saw the prompt in the app asking if you wanted to move Fitbit to your Google account, then you can find the option to migrate in your Fitbit settings.
Do I have to move my Fitbit account to Google?
In the short term, you don’t need to move your Fitbit account to Google, as legacy Fitbit accounts will still keep working until at least 2025. However, at some point, the Fitbit accounts will stop working, and you’ll only be able to use your Fitbit devices with a Google Account. If you’re not a fan of Google or the company’s use of your data, then you’ve got plenty of time toget yourself a fitness trackerfrom another company that you find more palatable.
