The original Fitbit app is finally disappearing for its remaining users

Fitbit users who hung on to the original app for nearly five months are now being pushed into Google Health. Over the weekend, a growing number reported update prompts that won’t let them keep using the old Fitbit interface.

“A newer Fitbit app is available. Updating is recommended” – the prompt says.

Some longtime users called it the end of an era, saying they had used Fitbit for more than five years and were especially attached to its food logging, sleep tracking and menstrual health features. Others quickly said they had received the same prompt, with some having expected it for months and others surprised they had held onto the old interface for so long.

How the holdouts lasted this long

Google began replacing the Fitbit app with Google Health on May 19. The redesign brought a new interface built around Today, Fitness, Sleep and Health, along with coaching features powered by Gemini.

Some users never made the move. By keeping older versions of the app installed, they sidestepped the redesign and carried on with the Fitbit experience they preferred. That worked for far longer than expected, but nearly five months on, the update screens appear to be closing the door.

Experiences still vary. A few users say they can dismiss the prompt temporarily, while others report that their older app versions have started struggling to sync certain health metrics.

Google hasn’t announced a separate October cutoff for the original interface. So it’s unclear whether this is a new enforcement step or simply more users reaching the end of an already planned transition.

Why some users are still resisting

The pushback is easy to understand. We covered the features disappearing with Google Health back in May, and there was quite a lot for longtime users to lose. Badges, Sleep Profile animals were removed, along with the Community Feed and direct messages. The app also changed parts of food logging, stress tracking and the way some health metrics appear.

For some people, the bigger issue isn’t any single feature. They simply preferred the original Fitbit layout, which they had used for years and knew inside out.

Google has responded to some of the complaints. It published a roadmap of planned improvements shortly after the rollout and has spent the months since fixing problems and restoring selected features.

Custom food logging returned in July, for example, while other updates improved sleep displays, dashboard customisation and activity tracking. Some users also say they’ve come to prefer the new app after initially disliking it.

But those changes haven’t won everyone over. For people who chose Fitbit for its familiar interface and straightforward approach to tracking, Google Health still feels like a different product.

Google has also been steadily winding down the old Fitbit infrastructure behind the scenes. Google Health version 5.08 removed support for signing in with legacy Fitbit accounts in September, following the earlier account migration deadline. That change was separate from the current update prompts, yet it points in the same direction.

For the remaining holdouts, the choice now comes down to moving to Google Health or finding another fitness tracking platform. Judging by the latest reactions, plenty of them aren’t happy with either option.