Fitbit Ace 2
Summary
The Fitbit Ace 2 is a wearable tracker that parents can use to motivate their kids to exercise. It comes with activity and sleep tracking, as well as 5 days of battery life. Parents can also set up parental controls to track their kids' activity, approve connections with friends, set-up goals and rewards for activity, and more. The Fitbit can be purchased for $69.95.
Privacy Checklist
Is any kind of biometric data collected (health, heart, voice, etc.)?
Are you able to delete your data / the data collected about you?
Does it use cookies, telemetry, or third-party tracking scripts?
Is the privacy policy user-friendly (easy to understand)?
Does it have parental controls?
Does it use encryption to protect your data both in-transit and at-rest?
Does it get regular software and / or firmware updates?
Does it require you to create a strong password?
Is there a system in place for managing security vulnerabilities?
Does it have a privacy policy?
How Can It Snoop?
Does it have a camera or request / require access to a camera?
Does it have a microphone or request / require access to a microphone?
Does it track your location or request / require access to location data?
Account Requirements
Does it require an email address to use?
Does it require a phone number to use?
Does it require an address (home or office) to use?
Payment Options
Are you able to use a credit card as a payment option?
Are you able to use a cryptocurrency as a payment option?
Are you able to use PayPal as a payment option?
Are you able to use cash or gift cards as a payment option?
What Could Go Wrong?
Fitbit does appear to take privacy and security seriously, and claims that they take extra privacy considerations for children, including more limited data collection and no recording of names and activity. However, the device does collect activity and sleep data of children, which parents may not want someone potentially having access to. Google is also buying Fitbit, which means Google could potentially have access to your child's information pretty soon. Be warned that this risk is very real if you choose to purchase this product.
How Does It Share Your Data?
Fitbit may share anonymized data for analytics, meaning they can strip your data of personal information and pool it with other user data. However, child accounts have much stricter rules about data collection and use.
Good Things
- Swim-proof.
- Changeable straps.
Bad Things
- Child privacy concerns.
- Bug bounty program makes it susceptible to hacking.
- Overpriced for quality.