What you need to know
- Fitbit has launched the "Walk Mate" program, which will last two months as the company is eager to learn how to better encourage users to "stay active."
- Users will be given personalized notifications daily to help them plan their daily walks.
- Fitbit and Google recently participated in a study to help understand how to facilitate better metabolic health in users.
Fitbit has been spotted starting a new study that brings "personalized" notifications to users daily.
As spotted by 9to5Google, "Walk Mate" is a two-month study the company is kickstarting to encourage users to walk more and "stay active." Fitbit lets users join the program with the app's "Step" card, which then offers a survey. Users with an average of 8,000 steps per day or less will see this appear in their Steps card.
The company appears curious about "what general situations might affect your physical activity." Users will find questions asking if they are beneath the average steps per day threshold if they've been advised against exercising by a doctor, and if they are in the U.S.
Some additional program details state users enrolled in the Walkmate program will receive one notification daily to "reflect on so you can plan your walk for the day." Fitbit has also opened the floodgates for user feedback moving forward. Additionally, users will find a "Walk Mate" card on the Fitbit app's home screen (the Today tab).
The publication adds these personalized notifications through Walk Mate will appear in the same fashion as Fitibit's hourly reminders to get moving.
Considering Google Health and Studies is behind this program, the company will take in your data to see different "get active" strategies folks prefer, how long users stick with such strategies, and more.
Fitbit's shift to help understand how to get people walking comes two months after it began a study on users' metabolic health. Google was eager to understand what factors contribute to good metabolic health, as it was discovered that only 12% of adults in America fit that category. Fitbit wearables and Google's Pixel Watch are outfitted with sensors to help capture data about a user's metabolism.
However, Google wanted to go deeper, requiring users to submit a blood sample to measure cholesterol, triglycerides, and insulin levels.
Fitbit submitted a discovery of a patent regarding a device that could monitor a user's mental health back in January. The patent was originally filed in 2021 but recently received approval in January 2024. Such a device is said to use machine learning to assess if the wearer has a mental disorder, like depression.
