Say goodbye to Fitbit Premium: historical data access now free

Fitbit has announced that later this month, it will make its complete health metrics dashboard available to non-Premium Fitbit and Pixel Watch users.

We were never fans of the company’s concept of locking away users own data behind a paywall. We believe that if you pay for hardware, you should have free access to all the metrics it can produce.

An important Premium subscription feature will be free

Thankfully, this is changing. The company has announced today that one important feature is moving over to the free tier – the full set of health metrics.

Which means you will no longer be required to pay for access to the full range of stats, most notably the 30 day and 90 day historical overviews. Many non-Premium users will undoubtedly be delighted by this news.

This is the type of data you’ll be able to track over the long-term in the future:

• Breathing rate: The number of breaths you take per minute
• Heart-rate variability (HRV): The variation in the time between heartbeats.
• Skin temperature: The variation in the temperature of your skin as measured by your wrist while you sleep.
• Oxygen saturation (SpO2): Amount of oxygen in your blood.
• Resting heart rate (RHR): The number of times your heart beats per minute when you are completely still and well-rested.

It is important to keep in mind that not all Fitbit devices support all these metrics. On some devices that lack the necessary sensors to record that kind of data, it may not be possible to measure skin temperature or blood oxygen saturation levels, for instance.

Of course, Fitbit Premium provides advantages in addition to the dashboard for tracking health metrics. Premium users have access to over 200 video and audio workouts, hundreds of mindfulness sessions, and access to Calm, amongst other features. Unfortunately the company’s Daily Readiness Score remains behind the paywall.

Although Fitbit hasn’t specified a particular date, it is anticipated that free users will be able to access the full dashboard later this month. Although the rollout officially starts today, it will take some time before it reaches everyone. Make sure you have updated to the latest version of the smartphone app.

A conciliatory move?

This can, in a sense, be seen as a conciliatory move as the company has been in the news recently for all the wrong reasons. To remind, Fitbit has decided to discontinue Open Groups, Challenges, and Adventures from March 27th. These functions were popular among Fitbit users, and their removal has caused a backlash on social media and other online platforms.

Previously, access to third-party apps and music capabilities of some devices were restricted. It goes without saying that this was a poor decision. The Google integration and promotion of the Pixel Watch is unquestionably the driving force behind all of these choices.

Essential reading: Top fitness trackers and health gadgets

The move by Fitbit to make its complete health metrics dashboard available to non-Premium users is a positive one. It allows people to track their health metrics beyond the 7 day window. While the additional benefits of Premium are still there, those who are only interested in the health metrics can now enjoy them for free.

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