Fitbit step and heart rate data is appearing in Google Fit

Abner Li | Jan 17 2023 - 11:46 am PT

Back in November, we noticed how Health Connect was responsible for combining Fitbit heart rate and Nest Hub Sleep Sensing data. Google Fit is now showing Fitbit step, distance, and full heart rate data.

Health Connect is most likely responsible for Fitbit appearing in Google Fit’s Steps and Heart rate graphs in the Home tab. Data lines up with the Fitbit app, with the Fitbit icon and name appearing in the top-left corner.

Meanwhile, growing to the Browse tab reveals that Fitbit data is also powering Distance and Speed, while you’ll also see it in the Vitals and Sleep category. If you have a 2nd-gen Nest Hub and are using Sleep Sensing, there will be some overlap.

The Fitbit data is presumably being used to calculate Heart Points and Move Minutes, while it appears to be synced to Google Fit running on other phones.

This is occurring on a phone that has Google Fit and Fitbit (Pixel Watch) set up with Health Connect. We’ve confirmed it on several devices, while the “Recent access” timeline notes how Fitbit is writing activity data and Google Fit is reading it.

Since the launch of the Pixel Watch with its Fitbit integration, Google has been quiet about Fit’s future. It could continue its role as aggregating data across different fitness services, but needs an update to better handle when there are multiple sources of data. Letting users prioritize certain sources or combining data points would also be helpful.