Google loves data. It’s more valuable than anything, especially during the age of the internet. With their health and fitness tool the company is now tracking how much you exercise, your weight, everything. For some this isn’t a big deal, and for others it is. If you’re a fan of Google Fit but have recently decided that you’d rather not allow Google to know this type of information, you may want to read ahead. This article will go over how you can reclaim your fitness data from Google Fit for use elsewhere.
Google Takeout
Fit data can be downloaded by heading over to Google’s Takeout. Go to this accounts page first, and then navigate down to “Personal info” and privacy. After that, just click the “Control your content” option. This will bring you to the Control your content page.
What we’re looking for here is a way to download and export data. Look for the Download your data box, and click the “create archive” option underneath it. Once you do that you’ll be presented with a list of Google services. They all have green sliders next to them. Go down the list, and deselect each and every one of them except the one we want (Google Fit). Alternatively, you can also click the “select none” button, then just re-select the Google Fit option.
Once you’ve selected Google Fit in the list, navigate to the bottom of the list, and then select “Next.” You’ll then be told that one product is selected and that you can customize the archive’s export format. Keep the file type as .zip, as it’s usually the best cross-platform format. If .zip is not what you want, select .tgz or .tbz instead.
Following this step it’s time to select the manner of delivery for this exported data. Google gives several options: download link via email, add to Google Drive, add to Dropbox and add to OneDrive. Select one of these options, then click the “create archive” button. Once the archive creation begins, you’ll be greeted with a progress bar. You’ll need to wait, but it wont take long.
When the process is completed and the data is ready, you’ll be presented with a download button. Remember, if you selected an alternative avenue of delivery, you should check those places for this data as well. For example, if you selected “Add to Dropbox,” go through the steps of adding this data directly to your Dropbox.
What can I do with this data?
Exporting your health data can be really useful, especially if you’ve decided to move on from using Google’s program and are going to use something a bit different. There are many, many places you could use this data. However, probably the most useful tool to sync your Fit Data with is Fitness Syncer. In short, it’s a tool that lets you take any data from one area and import it into another.
If you’re not too keen on using Fitness Syncer, it’s also possible to just manually track your health statistics and information by importing it into Microsoft Excel or any other tool like it that accepts the file formats that Excel uses.
Conclusion
Google Fit is an incredible tool for those looking to stay in shape. However, due to the nature of Google and how they manage data, some users may be looking to move away from it and onto other health and fitness tools. There’s no shame in this, as Google isn’t the only show in town. Are you a fan of Google Fit? If so, why? If not, what do you use instead? Tell us below! Image Credit: Maurizio Pesce
