SAN FRANCISCO--()--Fitbit, creators of award-winning digital tools to help you get more fit during your busy life, today unveiled key partners that are developing the first applications using the Fitbit beta API for the evolving health and fitness platform. The Fitbit API allows third-party developers to interact with Fitbit data in their own applications, products and services and also to read and write data for users’ Fitbit activities, food logs and other data in real time.
“This integration between Health Month and Fitbit is very natural given both our companies’ goals of improving health habits. Our blend of social gaming mechanics and personal health is only further enhanced by Fitbit, which increases the effectiveness of our tools while maximizing user experience”
Personal health monitoring sites including RunKeeper and Lose It!; the personal analytics dashboard about.me; an innovative game to help you meet your heath goals, Health Month; online health offerings like Microsoft HealthVault and elite medical research facilities including Massachusetts General Hospital are some of the first to take advantage of the comprehensive Fitbit API.
In the last few months, these partners have created promising applications with the Fitbit API, ideas ranging from the gamification of data, new ways to display data in graphs and other dynamic visualizations, data mash-ups with other personal health monitoring tools, and deep integration with Twitter, Facebook, tablets, smart phones and more.
“There is a growing ecosystem of websites, mobile apps and devices designed to help people lead healthier lives. Building open and symbiotic partnerships within this ecosystem is the next step in the future of connected health,” said Tim Roberts, VP of Interactive of Fitbit. “Our API is unique in that it allows developers real-time read and write access to a broad range of users’ health and fitness data, such as daily steps, calories burned, foods eaten and weight. Data privacy remains a high priority, so users must provide permission for the apps to access their data.”
“This integration between Health Month and Fitbit is very natural given both our companies’ goals of improving health habits. Our blend of social gaming mechanics and personal health is only further enhanced by Fitbit, which increases the effectiveness of our tools while maximizing user experience,” said Buster Benson, Founder of Health Month. “Working with the Fitbit API was seamless and we’re thrilled to be one of the first launch partners.”
The Tools and the Platform
The Fitbit Tracker is an ultra-compact wearable device that clips onto clothing or slips into a pocket. The device captures, through accelerometer technology, information about daily health activities, such as steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned, exercise intensity levels and sleep quality. The activity data collected by the Fitbit Tracker wirelessly uploads to the Fitbit website where users can view and interact with the information and track progress toward personal and group goals. Users can also log nutrition, weight and other health information on the site in order to gain a complete picture of their health.
“Connecting Fitbit to Microsoft HealthVault has enabled our users to generate a more comprehensive view and understanding of how their behavior affects their well-being,” said David Cerino, General Manager, Microsoft Health Solutions Group. “By importing the data into HealthVault, we are broadening the context in which individuals are engaging with their data and driving more active participation in their health and wellness.”
Just the Beginning
Fitbit offers a core data collection device for understanding daily activity and sleep and it is also a compelling location for the collection, visualization and sharing of health and fitness data. While there’s no telling what third-party developers will continue to create with the beta API, Fitbit anticipates seeing apps around data visualization, data logging, the gamification of health data, tools and widgets and clinical research.
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RunKeeper and Lose It! will be both publishing data into Fitbit and importing Fitbit data into their apps. This is a huge win for users letting them get more control of their data and use the apps they want when they want. -
about.me users will be able to easily display real Fitbit stats on their profile through use of the API. -
Health Month added Fitbit support so that its members can automatically fill in their number of miles walked, run, hours slept and a meal diary. -
Microsoft HealthVault - The Fitbit HealthVault connection uploads daily activities (Exercise Data Type) and sleep sessions (Sleep Session Data Type) into HealthVault. -
Distinguished medical center Massachusetts General Hospital is using Fitbit Trackers in a health and wellness research study, the API allows them to access and analyze participants’ data.
“We are constantly looking for ways to give our users every edge to meet and surpass their health and wellness goals. Creating an open data mash-up with Fitbit was an easy way to delight our Fitbit owning members and make it easier for them to manage that data they are collecting on a day to day basis,” said Jason Jacobs, CEO of RunKeeper.
“With these partners we’ve seen great initial use of the API and we’re excited to see what creative and innovative applications others come up with,” said Roberts.
For more details on the API, please visit: https://dev.fitbit.com/. Come join the developer forum to interact with the Fitbit Developer Network community.
About Fitbit, Inc.
Fitbit creates award-winning mobile health tools. Fitbit combines elegant, intelligent hardware with free and easy-to-use online tools to help anyone effectively track their health and fitness activities and goals.
Founded in 2007, Fitbit is funded by Foundry Group, True Ventures and SoftTech VC. Please visit www.fitbit.com to learn more. Like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/fitbit and follow us on Twitter @fitbit.