Google, clearly not pleased with the copious amounts of data it’s already farming from users, really wants to know what’s going on with everyone’s heart rate. To do that, they went ahead and placed an order for a Fitbit to make monitoring the process so much more efficient. Of course, we don’t mean they bought one of those smart fitness trackers but rather the entire company. That’s the MO of giant corporations in Silicon Valley, right? If you can’t do it yourself, buy someone who can.
As of last night, Google and Fitbit have finalised negotiations on the acquisition of the company most notable for producing a series of fitness trackers that your friend who likes to cycle is incredibly enthusiastic about. Google’s forking over $2.1 billion to bring Fitbit under its umbrella of products and services and while it’s very easy to assume that it’s is acquiring the fitness tracker company due to the vast amounts of data it may harvest, that’s apparently not the case at all.
Fitbit’s data brings Google to the yard (or does it?)
If you’re anything like us here at Stuff you’re already thinking about all the fresh, piping hot data that Google can get its grubby hands on now that it owns Fitbit but the company wants you to know that their intentions are purely focused on the technology. Writing in a blog post, Rick Osterloh, Senior Vice President of Devices and Services said, “This deal has always been about devices, not data, and we’ve been clear since the beginning that we will protect Fitbit users’ privacy.”
“We worked with global regulators on an approach which safeguards consumers’ privacy expectations, including a series of binding commitments that confirm Fitbit users’ health and wellness data won’t be used for Google ads and this data will be separated from other Google ads data,” continued Osterloh.
Which sounds like a pretty steadfast commitment but this is Google we’re talking about. One has to imagine that some greater machinations lie in store for the Fitbit and the bounty it provides.
Speaking to the acquisition, co-founder of Fitbit James Park stated, “The trust of our users will continue to be paramount, and we will maintain strong data privacy and security protections, giving you control of your data and staying transparent about what we collect and why. Google will continue to protect Fitbit users’ privacy and has made a series of binding commitments with global regulators, confirming that Fitbit users’ health and wellness data won’t be used for Google ads and this data will be kept separate from other Google ad data.”
