Summary
- Google is closing the Fitbit web dashboard after July 8.
- Fitbit says the move is part of the “mission to be one combined Fitbit and Google team.”
- Users criticize the loss of web interface features not available in mobile apps, considering alternatives.
Last month, Google announced that it would be shuttering Fitbit’s web interface come July. The time’s come: today, July 8, is the last day the online dashboard at Fitbit.com will be available. Starting tomorrow, Fitbit stats will be inaccessible from your web browser. The change won’t be significant for many users, but the loss of Fitbit’s large-screen browser-based interface is a shame for the subset of users who rely on it.
According to the announcement posted on Fitbit’s user forums last month, eliminating Fitbit’s web view is part of Google-owned Fitbit’s “mission to be one combined Fitbit and Google team,” and “will allow us to focus on features that provide even more valuable insights to our users.” The announcement also claims that features from Fitbit’s web interface are available in the Android and iOS Fitbit apps, but that doesn’t seem to be entirely true.
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Replies to Fitbit’s announcement were resoundingly negative, with many users pointing out that some web dashboard features are, in fact, not available in Fitbit’s mobile app. According to commenters, the web interface provided more flexibility for viewing specific ranges of data; more options for tracking food and energy expended; and access to achievement info that’s not viewable in Fitbit’s mobile apps.
Multiple users commented that the web dashboard shutdown is driving them away from Fitbit as a platform altogether. One user, a self-identified senior, points out that Fitbit data is “much easier … to view and interact on a large screen than a phone screen.” They go on to say that the next fitness tracker they buy won’t be from Fitbit.
The future is (exclusively) mobile
Fitbit users no longer have a good large-screen option
The majority of Fitbit users likely won’t be affected by the web dashboard’s shutdown; personally, I’ve only used the web view a handful of times myself, and it seems unlikely Google would shutter the feature if it were widely used. Still, commenters on Fitbit’s forums have pointed out a handful of reasons they’ll miss the feature. For those users, this change is consequential.
While the existing Fitbit app does work on tablets, the UI is currently just a scaled-up version of the phone app with lots of wasted space. Competing platforms offer better large-screen experiences: Garmin, for example, offers a web interface called Garmin Connect, and Apple Health has its own bespoke iPad app. Here’s hoping Fitbit will take this opportunity to provide a better tablet experience to help keep up with the competition.