22 hours Ago
Fitbit Charge 6 Last week Google sent out an email to Fitbit users warning them about potential account deletion if they didn’t take action. It turns out Google likely sent that warning to a whole lot of Fitbit fans who didn’t need it, and potentially caused some unwarranted stress along the way, because the tech giant has now apologized. “Last week, you may have incorrectly received an email about moving your Fitbit Account to a Google Account,” Google writes.
“Since you have already moved to a Google Account, there is no action required to maintain your Fitbit access. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.” I received this email, as someone who both received the original warning and migrated my Fitbit account over to a Google one some time ago.
It seems clear now — with hindsight — the wrong email list was probably used. That said, the original message was an important one. Google warned Fitbit users about the upcoming deadline for migration of accounts from Fitbit to Google, which has been on the cards since Google’s acquisition of the company was finalized in 2021.
There’s no cost involved, but Google says it will delete the account and data of non-migrated users on February 2, 2026. It’s likely obliged to do similar in order to comply with legalisation like Europe’s GDPR anyway. Worrying if you have done so or not? If you currently use a Fitbit you will have been prompted to use a Google account.
This move has been ongoing since at least 2023, when Fitbit began asking users to make a Google login. A Google account has been mandatory for new Fitbit devices since the introduction of “Google Accounts for Fitbit” in April 2023. One of Google’s ongoing commitments is that, even after the migration, your Fitbit health data won’t be used to inform your Google Ads profile — Google’s ads arm revenues reportedly exceeded $250 billion in 2024.
This privacy issue was one of the key concerns of regulators during the Fitbit acquisition progress. Google announced its intention to buy Fitbit in 2019, but the deal was not sealed until more than a year later in January 2021. Since then Fitbit has gradually been subsumed into the Google empire.
For example, if you try to visit fitbit.com these days, you’ll find yourself at the Google Store website..
