Fitbit

Fitbit, Inc.
Type	Public
Traded as	NYSE: FIT (Class A); Russell 2000 Component
Industry	Consumer electronics
Founded	Delaware, United States (March 26, 2007)
Founders	James Park ; Eric Friedman
Headquarters	San Francisco, California, United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	James Park (CEO) ; Eric Friedman (CTO)
Products	See List of Fitbit products
Subsidiaries	Pebble
Website	www.fitbit.com

Fitbit, Inc.^[3] is an American company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Its products are activity trackers, wireless-enabled wearable technology devices that measure data such as the number of steps walked, heart rate, quality of sleep, steps climbed, and other personal metrics involved in fitness. Before October 2007, the company was previously named Healthy Metrics Research, Inc.^[4] Some evidence has found that the use of similar devices results in less weight loss rather than more.^[5]

Products[edit]

The Fitbit Flex, with the functioning unit out of the replaceable wristband.

Alongside the activity trackers, Fitbit offers a website and mobile app for iOS, Android and Windows 10 Mobile.^[6] The trackers can be synced to smart devices via Bluetooth or uploaded to a computer running Windows or MacOS using the Bluetooth USB dongle. Users have the ability to log their food, activities, and weight, to track over time and can set daily and weekly goals for themselves for steps, calories burned and consumed, and distance walked. Calories in versus calories out is more accurately measured when app users keep their tracker on. However, the app can be used without a tracker to measure calories on a lifestyle app. The app offers a community page where users can challenge themselves and compete against other users. The social element anticipates an increase in motivation, finding that users take an average of 700 more steps per day when they have friends on the app.^[7] Users can choose to share their progress pictures and achievement badges.

The first product released was the Fitbit Tracker.^[8] The company released its Fitbit Ionic smartwatch in October 2017 for $300,^[9] including an Adidas-branded special edition.^[10]

Health effects[edit]

In those who are overweight or obese, a 2016 study indicates that the use of wearable technology combined with standard behavioral weight loss intervention results in less weight loss after two years of use when compared to usual weight loss interventions.^[5] There was no evidence that the devices altered the amount that people exercised or their diet compared to control.^[5] It is unclear whether these devices affect the amount of physical activity children engage in.^[11] Some evidence has found that the use of similar devices results in less weight loss rather than more.^[5]

Accuracy[edit]

A small 2014 study of eight fit band devices during a 69-minute workouts that included 13 different activities found the bands were at best "reasonably accurate", with the Fitbit Zip and Fitbit One scoring 10.1% and 10.4% error ratings, respectively.^[12]

A small 2015 study had participants wear multiple devices on their wrists and hips performing different walking/running speeds on a treadmill. Fitbit devices worn on the hip accurately measured steps taken within 1 step of 100% accuracy. Devices worn on the wrist, however, were off by an average of 11 steps per minute. When measuring the number of calories burned, Fitbit devices worn on the hip underestimated by an average of 6%, while devices worn on the wrist overestimated calories burned by 21%. Authors concluded that both the Fitbit One and Fitbit Flex devices reliably measured step counts and energy expenditure, with hip-based Fitbit devices being more accurate than wrist-based devices.^[13] These measurements did not address the question of health effects.

Recall[edit]

Fitbit, working with the Consumer Protection Safety Commission, recalled the Fitbit Force on February 20, 2014 because some users experienced allergic reactions to the materials used in the product.^[14] On March 12, 2014, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) made the recall official.^[15] At that time, it was revealed that there were 9,900 reports of skin irritation and 250 reports of blistering.^[15] The product is no longer for sale on Fitbit's website.

In April 2017, a woman claimed her Fitbit Flex 2 malfunctioned and caught on fire, causing second-degree burns on her arm.^[16] Following an investigation, Fitbit is adamant the cause of the exploding tracker was due to external forces, assuring its customers it is not aware of any other complaints and they can confidently wear their own Fitbit with no concerns.^[17]

History[edit]

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Fitbit was founded on May 1, 2007 by James Park (CEO) and Eric Friedman (CTO). On May 7, 2015, Fitbit announced it had filed for IPO with a NYSE listing.^[18] The IPO was filed for $358 million.^[19] The company's stock began trading with the symbol "FIT"^[20] on June 18, 2015.^[21] After Fitbit's stocks fell more than 50% in 2016, CEO James Park announced in October that the company was undergoing a major transformation from what he called a "consumer electronics company" to a "digital healthcare company."^[22]

On December 7, 2016, Fitbit officially announced that they acquired assets from Pebble, including key personnel, as the company decided to stop producing wearable technology. The acquisition excludes Pebble's hardware products.^[23]^[24]

In January 2017, Fitbit acquired Romania-based smartwatch startup Vector Watch SRL for $15 million.^[25]^[26]

In August, 2018, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association announced a partnership with Fitbit where BCBS will include Fitbit's wearables and fitness trackers in its Blue365 program.^[27]

Reception[edit]

Dedicated Fitbit retail stand stocked with different Fitbit Flex trackers

Awards[edit]

Fitbit has won numerous awards, including runner-up at TechCrunch50 in 2008^[28] and Innovation honoree and best in the Health & Wellness category at CES 2009.^[29] In 2016, Fitbit ranked 37 out of the 50 most innovative companies for that year.^[30] In 2016, the company was ranked #46 on the Deloitte Fast 500 North America list.^[31]

Privacy concerns[edit]

To set up and use the hardware, one has to create an account with Fitbit and agree to data collection, transfer and privacy rules.^[32]

Starting in June 2011, Fitbit was criticized for its website's default activity-sharing settings, which made users' manually-entered physical activities available for public viewing.^[33] All users had the option to make their physical activity information private, but some users were unaware that the information was public by default. One specific issue, which technology blogs made fun of, was that some users were including details about their sex lives in their daily exercise logs, and this information was, by default, publicly available.^[34] Fitbit responded to criticism by making all such data private by default and requesting that search engines remove indexed user profile pages from their databases.^[33]

The company's devices have also been used in criminal investigations; in one instance, a rape claim against an unnamed intruder was turned around to a criminal charge for false reports based on data from the claimant's Fitbit.^[35]^[36]^[37]^[38]^[39]

Surveillance[edit]

A Fitbit played a role in solving a murder.^[40] Connie Dabate was murdered by her husband Richard Dabate. Initially, Richard framed the situation, telling police and law enforcement officials that an intruder had broken into their home and fatally shot his wife. However, Connie’s Fitbit tracker showed that she was at the gym at the time Richard told police his wife was shot. Using Connie’s Fitbit and analyzing her movements, analysts were able to create a timeline that proved Richard had created a false story.^[41]

On March 10, 2015, a woman fabricated a story^[42] in which an intruder appeared in her employer’s home she was staying at and raped her. Risley told police that a man had assaulted her around midnight. Police found a Fitbit lying on the floor when they arrived at the scene. Prosecutors used the Fitbit as evidence and data to determine what had occurred. The Fitbit revealed that the woman was active throughout the night, and the Fitbit surveillance analysis demonstrated the woman had not gone to bed like she stated to the police, proving that the woman had lied to the police.