• Google has begun the process of migrating Fitbit users, announcing new Google accounts for Fitbit.
• The migration kicks off later this year, but it is not mandatory yet.
• Starting in 2025, however, Fitbit wearable users will only be able to access their profiles and data via a Google account.

In September of last year, Google began enforcing a policy where newly purchased Fitbit wearables needed to be linked to a Google account in order for users to create profiles and access their fitness data.

This was one of the first moves as the Google-owned Fitbit began to migrate its ecosystem, but now that process is taking another step. This as Google posted a short blog post detailing a change in how accounts are created, accessed, and will be moved.

“If you’re an existing Fitbit user, you will have the option to move your Fitbit experience to a Google Account. You aren’t required to move to a Google Account immediately, but will need to move by 2025. If you’re a new Fitbit user, you’ll be required to register with a Google Account this summer,” said blog post explained.

“With a Google Account you’ll get more Fitbit experiences and all your historical data with the benefits of a Google Account. From a seamless login and industry leading security and privacy, here’s a look at what a Google Account offers,” it effusively added.

As such, the migration has started, but will not be fully enforced until 2025. It means that those who have resisted using a Google account to use their Fitbit wearable, will soon need to start doing so.

This is not necessarily news for anyone who owns a Fitbit device, as this move has been spoken about for a few months already, but now the wheels are officially being put in motion. Whether Fitbit will lose any customers to this process remains to be seen, especially as concerns regarding data sharing have been raised ever since Google purchased Fitbit in 2021.

To allay fears, Google says that, “Privacy is still at the core of the Fitbit experience. Your Fitbit health and wellness data won’t be used for Google Ads, and it will continue to be kept separate from Google Ads data.”

Whether that is indeed the case, is still unclear.