Here in Europe, as the owner of a Fitbit smartwatch you have to be prepared for drastic restrictions. Google is planning big changes as early as June.
This summer, Google is planning a big change for Fitbit smartwatches. (Source: Fitbit)
- Google is ending support for third-party apps for Fitbit smartwatches.
- From June you can only use apps from Google and Fitbit on the devices.
- However, only Europe is affected by the change.
This announcement from Google may come as a shock to some Fitbit owners. The company announces that it will severely restrict apps for Fitbit smartwatches, at least for users in the European Economic Area. Specifically, this affects third-party apps and watch faces that are scheduled to be removed from the Fitbit app gallery in June 2024.
According to its own statement, Google is taking this step due to “new regulatory requirements”. Since only European users are affected by this measure, it stands to reason that certain regulations in the Digital Markets Act could be the reason. The change affects the following Fitbit smartwatches:
- Fitbit Sense 2
- Fitbit Sense
- Fitbit Versa 4
- Fitbit Versa 3
- Fitbit Versa 2
- Fitbit Versa Lite
- Fitbit Versa
- Fitbit Ionic
You can only download third-party apps on these smartwatches until June 2024. After that, only apps from Google and Fitbit will be available.
Google also guarantees that users in countries outside the European Economic Area are not affected by this measure. It remains to be seen whether you can circumvent this restriction within Europe by specifying a different location.
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