Fitbit is moving to Google Health
Google is moving Fitbit onto the Google Health app, and as part of that change it is retiring the Fitbit developer API that ExpiWell uses to collect participant data. Google has said this happens in September 2026. Your Fitbit data collection works normally until then. Work on a Google Health integration is in progress.
Fitbit collection continues to run exactly as it does now. You do not need to edit your project, re-enroll participants, or change your integration settings.
What is actually changing
There are two separate changes, and it helps to keep them apart.
1. The Fitbit app is becoming the Google Health app. This is the change your participants see on their phones. It also means Fitbit accounts have moved to Google Accounts — since 19 May 2026 you sign in to Fitbit with a Google Account rather than a Fitbit account.
2. The Fitbit developer API is being retired. This is the part that affects ExpiWell. It is the connection that pulls a participant's activity, sleep, and heart-rate measures into your project. Google is retiring it in September 2026 and replacing it with the Google Health API.
What participants need to do now
This applies today, whether or not your study has started, and it is independent of ExpiWell.
- Their Fitbit account must be moved to a Google Account. Participants who have not done this yet cannot sign in to Fitbit at all. Google's instructions are in the Fitbit to Google Account guide.
- It must be a personal Google Account. Google Workspace accounts — the kind
issued by a university or an employer, such as an
@university.eduaddress — are not supported for Fitbit or Google Health. A participant using a university Google account will not be able to connect. Ask participants to use a personal account, such as a Gmail address.
If your participant pool is students or staff at one institution, there is a good chance some of them use their university Google account for everything. Flagging the personal-account requirement in your enrollment materials saves a round of support requests later.
What ExpiWell is doing
Because Google classes this as health data, access to the replacement API is not granted on request. Google requires an independent, third-party security assessment of the platform first, and ExpiWell is going through that assessment now.
We expect the integration to be in place before the September 2026 retirement.
What to expect when it is available
Participants will reconnect once. Google does not allow an existing Fitbit authorization to be carried across, so every participant grants access again — this time through Google rather than Fitbit. It is the same one-time step they already complete when they join a project with Fitbit enabled.
Data you have already collected stays where it is. Everything collected through the Fitbit integration remains in your project and remains available to download. Nothing is deleted or moved.
Planning a study that runs into September 2026
If your data collection period reaches or passes September 2026, get in touch at help@expiwell.com with your study dates and roughly how many participants you expect. We would rather help you plan the wearable portion around this than have you discover it mid-collection.
FAQs
Can we still start a new Fitbit study right now?
Yes. The Fitbit integration is working and collecting data. The two things to build into your planning are the personal-Google-Account requirement above, and the reconnection step when the switch happens.
Will we lose data during the change?
Data already collected is not affected. For collection going forward, the variable is when each participant reconnects through Google, so it is worth planning a reconnection step into your participant communications.
Do participants need Fitbit Premium?
No. This has not changed. Fitbit Premium has never been required for ExpiWell data collection.
Does this affect Apple Watch, BACtrack, or GPS collection?
No. This change is specific to Fitbit. Every other integration is unaffected.
We use lab-owned Fitbit devices rather than participants' own. Does this still apply?
Yes. The account each device is registered to still needs to be a personal Google Account, and that account still authorizes ExpiWell.
Still have questions
Email help@expiwell.com. If you are asking about a specific study, include the project name and your data collection dates and we can give you a straight answer for that study rather than a general one.