Your Fitbit is useless – unless you consent to unlawful data sharing (noyb.eu)
from narwhal@lemmy.ml to technology@lemmy.world on 26 Sep 2023 06:25
https://lemmy.ml/post/5531286

#technology

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NeoNachtwaechter@lemmy.world on 26 Sep 2023 06:39 next collapse

Seems like a pretty clear case.

Praise the GDPR.

evatronic@lemm.ee on 26 Sep 2023 07:26 next collapse

Even in the US, the GDPR means companies have to at least pretend to care about data privacy,

A company I worked for a few years ago quite literally “noped” out of GDPR compliance by spinning off all its overseas business into a new company and walking away from the market entirely. That was a pretty big sign for me that the company was a piece of shit and when I started looking for a new job.

random65837@lemmy.world on 26 Sep 2023 17:17 collapse

You GDPR zombies are hilarious!

Oddbin@lemmy.world on 29 Sep 2023 06:29 next collapse

You and your random hatred of GDPR are hilarious. To quote you, pop an adder all, you need it.

random65837@lemmy.world on 29 Sep 2023 07:38 collapse

LOL, thats doesnt make any sense whatsoever. If youre going to be so pathetic to profile sniff, at least use something that even remotely fits. You’re not a very good troll.

gian@lemmy.grys.it on 29 Sep 2023 06:46 collapse

What ? Are you angry that some people have rights and a way to enforce them ?

random65837@lemmy.world on 29 Sep 2023 07:36 collapse

I have all the same rights under my states privacy laws, so nice try dipshit. The difference is I dont think they’re some magical scripture that will protect me from anything, or that huge companies will be affraid of, because Thats not how real life works.

gian@lemmy.grys.it on 29 Sep 2023 09:01 collapse

Good for you.
But, you know, unlike what you seems to think, GDPR gives people a fair amount of protection and it is enforced.

And these “huge companies” are still subject to laws, at least in EU.

Thats not how real life works.

The real life begs to differ:
www.enforcementtracker.com

random65837@lemmy.world on 29 Sep 2023 17:24 next collapse

LOL, Reality is always missed by your types. Quote where I said it wasn’t enforced! Quote where I said companies aren’t subject to laws… Ya, didn’t think so.

Your stupidity begins and ends with not grasping how big business works, paying those fines are a cost of business for them. Companies have been violating laws knowing they’ll get in trouble LONG before GDPR was ever a thing, that’s not going to change. Neither will their income, the outgoing costs will just rise to cover it, and they feel nothing. Laws are a way to deal with something after it already happens, they don’t stop those said things from happening if that’s what companies are intent on doing.

[deleted] on 02 Oct 2023 09:22 collapse

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soloActivist@links.hackliberty.org on 07 Oct 2023 18:25 collapse

GDPR gives people a fair amount of protection and it is enforced.

Not in my experience. I have filed complaints of ~20+ GDPR violations under article 77 going years back. Not a single one of them enforced to date. These cases just sit idle for years. The problem is the GDPR gives no recourse when DPAs fail to honor article 77 obligations. It’s toothless.

www.enforcementtracker.com

That shows a low count of cherry-picked enforcement actions. If you had a way to get a count of unenforced reports it would likely be an embarrassing comparison.

Mezzy@lemmy.world on 26 Sep 2023 06:43 next collapse

I have two Fitbit Charge devices. I took two months off using it. I went to go use them, one will simply not boot (turns on for 1/2 seconds and shuts off) and the other now will only stay charged for a few hours and dies. I’m not sure what’s going on here, but it seems suspicious.

Uranium_Green@sh.itjust.works on 26 Sep 2023 08:14 next collapse

If you left them with their batteries empty then the batteries are likely actually dead.

If you’re going to leave a device untouched for an extended period, make sure the battery is atleast 50% or more full before doing so.

Nighed@sffa.community on 26 Sep 2023 09:10 next collapse

You can’t turn fitbits off (at least the fitness trackers). They are their on or flat (as far as I’m aware anyway)

Uranium_Green@sh.itjust.works on 26 Sep 2023 09:43 collapse

Ahh, if so that is a rather awful design choice

VonReposti@feddit.dk on 26 Sep 2023 10:17 collapse

IIRC you can’t turn off Fitbit devices. You have to drain the batteries completely so that the device powers down by itself. Utter shit design, but it is what it is.

Hyperreality@kbin.social on 26 Sep 2023 09:42 next collapse

A few years ago I bought a xiaomi fitness tracker for 30 euros. Used every day until I got bored of it. Left it in a drawer for a year, tried it recently, still works just fine.

Not that I'd necessarily recommend getting one, but if the battery on yours is already dead, I agree that is suspiscious. Sounds like it's by design.

TwanHE@lemmy.world on 26 Sep 2023 10:24 collapse

Those xioami fitbands are great for the price, if you want basic tracking without needing your phone or just want a really cheap smartwatch that can control music or your cameras shutter.

But their battery also doesn’t last more than 2 years if you charge it every 3 days. At least the 2 and the 4 died within 2 years for me.

anguo@lemmy.ca on 26 Sep 2023 10:54 collapse

3 days? I’ve owned the Mi band 1, 2 & 4 (still on my wrist), and only need to charge it once every 20+ days. The only reason I upgraded from the 2nd one was that the LCD was starting to be too dim. Granted, I turn off every tracking feature that I can.

TwanHE@lemmy.world on 27 Sep 2023 12:00 collapse

I did use the heart rate monitoring and sleep tracking features. Without those they indeed last a few weeks.

anguo@lemmy.ca on 27 Sep 2023 13:03 collapse

Yes, I realize that my use case might not be the norm. I just dream of a smartwatch that just gives me the time and proper notifications, without the added cost and bulk of all the tracking features.

Edit: I was just surprised that the battery duration difference would be so drastic.

TwanHE@lemmy.world on 27 Sep 2023 20:58 collapse

The heart rate function is the most battery draining of all. You can change the frequency of it to make it less taxing.

blattrules@lemmy.world on 26 Sep 2023 09:57 next collapse

I don’t think any Fitbit I’ve ever owned has lasted more than a year. The good thing about the company is that they have a pretty good warranty program and as a result, I haven’t paid out of pocket for a new device in over three years.

snek@lemmy.world on 26 Sep 2023 10:38 collapse

I have a charge 4. People don’t like it because it has no colors, I don’t like it because it has no sdk to support making new apps on it. Apparently it has very good sensors that I would have loved to manipulate and use for my own personal use cases. But alas.

Looking to buy a new tracker soon since it helped me understand my heartbeat and sleeping patterns better. I’m looking for something FOSS where it’s easy to make and share custom widgets.

blattrules@lemmy.world on 26 Sep 2023 12:19 collapse

Yeah, once my current versa 3 inevitably breaks, I’m jumping ship. I’m most likely going to Garmin, since other choices are kinda limited and don’t want to charge my watch every day. I feel like the sleep tracking has never worked well for me on Fitbit. I don’t know if it’s a function of having a low heart rate or it just doesn’t work well, but there are nights that I’ve gotten terrible sleep or not slept at all and it thinks I slept for 6+ hours because I just laid there.

cybersandwich@lemmy.world on 26 Sep 2023 11:31 next collapse

My charge just died on me(again. I’ve had three firbits while my wife’s apple watch is still going strong). I was planning on moving to Garmin (maybe they are better than Fitbit/Google about data privacy), but my wife talked me into seeing if my Fitbit was under warranty. It’s not, but they offered me 50% off any fitbit on their site.

This obviously makes my decision harder. I can get a new inspire 3 for $49 or I can try to figure out which Garmin out of their 1000 variations is right for me. Most of the ones that interest me are ~$300+

[deleted] on 26 Sep 2023 15:15 next collapse

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coltorl@programming.dev on 26 Sep 2023 15:25 collapse

With Garmin, you’re paying a premium because you’re not the product.

…mozilla.org/…/garmin-forerunner-series/

foundation.mozilla.org/en/…/garmin/

cybersandwich@lemmy.world on 26 Sep 2023 16:07 collapse

That definitely makes the decision harder.

This probably makes me sound like a simpleton, but their breadth and depth of models is paralyzing and having never owned any smart watch other than a fitbit basic charge-style band, I dont even know where to start. And $300+ dollars puts it out of impulse purchase range.

brenticus@lemmy.world on 26 Sep 2023 17:13 collapse

They sort of have watches categorized by sport/purpose if you know why you want a watch, but most of them do basically the same stuff and the main differences are battery life, appearance/build, and whether it has GPS.

I wanted something I could use to navigate and track multi-day backcountry hikes, so I got a Fenix. My wife wanted to go for a run without bringing her phone with her, so I got her a forerunner. There are lots of options, but even the cheapest watch is good enough if you just want to track steps and basic activities.

Wooshock@lemmy.world on 26 Sep 2023 16:02 collapse

I have owned probably a dozen Fitbits over the years.

Not coincidentally, I own a dozen dead Fitbits.

Honestly you are better off buying the cheapest Chinese product on Amazon. Fitbits are pure fucking diarrhea in wearable form, and I eagerly await the class action lawsuit.

ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world on 26 Sep 2023 21:12 collapse

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twelve times, uh, you can’t get fooled again.

pdxfed@lemmy.world on 27 Sep 2023 04:48 next collapse

Is wooshock learning?

Wooshock@lemmy.world on 28 Sep 2023 03:34 collapse

Can’t get fooled again.

Wooshock@lemmy.world on 28 Sep 2023 03:33 collapse

Lol. They weren’t all mine. I bought one for wife, a couple more for wife’s family. They didn’t all die at once, each lasted about a year and I’d replace them until I was like… wait a minute

ViscloReader@lemmy.world on 26 Sep 2023 07:44 next collapse

The monetisation of user data is really enshittifying products. At this point I wouldn’t be against if a company would find it a “feature” to not require you to login/make an account and share data.

MonkderZweite@feddit.ch on 26 Sep 2023 10:17 next collapse

News about Amazon streaming this morning: 👋

Dangy@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 26 Sep 2023 22:04 collapse

Mullvad has that feature. They generate an account for you. No password.

DirigibleProtein@aussie.zone on 28 Sep 2023 21:06 collapse

Mullvad make watches now!?

random65837@lemmy.world on 26 Sep 2023 17:20 next collapse

Can’t understand the broken logic of thinking privacy is a word you can attach to a Google product!

Rai@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 26 Sep 2023 18:00 collapse

Is Fitbit a google product? I actually didn’t know that!

I know Apple Bad on Lemmy, but I’m still using my first-generation Apple Watch. I love it very much., even though it’s ancient and a bit slow now. Battery still lasts all day, which is nice for how ancient it is.

Toribor@corndog.social on 26 Sep 2023 21:17 next collapse

Google bought Fitbit in 2019.

Rai@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 26 Sep 2023 21:33 collapse

Noted! Had no idea.

KillAllPoorPeople@lemmy.world on 27 Sep 2023 10:01 collapse

How does your second paragraph tie into what the person you replied to said or even what you said?

Rai@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 27 Sep 2023 12:33 collapse

Providing watch commentary, which is what this thread is about?

NENathaniel@lemmy.ca on 26 Sep 2023 22:21 next collapse

It’s a shame that most popular watches aside from Fitbit are locked to a specific phone-ecosystem (e.g. Apple Watch doesn’t work with Android)

I use a Garmin myself which I like but it’s UI isnt intuitive enough for me to recommend it to people like my parents

j4yt33@feddit.de on 27 Sep 2023 09:44 next collapse

Why do people use smart watches. I don’t get it. You want to track health stuff, get a running/sports watch. Otherwise just enjoy the freedom of not being bombarded with notifications unless you take your phone out. You’re not that busy

FunnyUsername@lemmy.world on 27 Sep 2023 10:05 collapse

Fitbits…are…a running/sports watch?

noodlejetski@lemm.ee on 27 Sep 2023 12:59 collapse

while it doesn’t support Fitbit models so it’s pretty useless in this particular case, look into Gadgetbridge. it does support lots of different smartwatch brands, and helps you keep all the data on-device without phoning home.

gadgetbridge.org

deafboy@lemmy.world on 27 Sep 2023 20:26 collapse

Works perfectly with Mi Band 3. The UI is little rough, but you rarely have to use it after the initial configuration. Everything just works.