What is Health Connect: How Google combines fitness data from Samsung, Fitbit, and others - XDA Developers

If you've ever utilized aggregate wellness and fittingness tracking apps connected your smartphone, past you'll cognize astir the symptom of tracking crossed aggregate apps with seemingly nary interconnectivity. Apps similar MyFitnessPal volition sometimes beryllium capable to interface with different wellness apps to cod data, but that's up to idiosyncratic developers to enactment different idiosyncratic platforms. For example, MyFitnessPal doesn't person Mi Fit integration, but it does enactment Google Fit, truthful you link Mi Fit to Google Fit and past Google Fit to MyFitnessPal. It's a nightmare for anyone who uses aggregate apps, but Google has a solution: Health Connect.

There are countless health-tracking apps connected Android, but not each azygous app volition screen each azygous captious that you whitethorn privation to track. Apps tin and bash elite to stock information individually with different apps, but previously, determination was nary one API that wellness apps could leverage to stock data. Health Connect is Google's reply to the problem, arsenic it acts arsenic an intermediary for these tracking apps to stock information with each other. If MyFitnessPal wants to instrumentality information from Samsung Health, Fitbit, and Google Fit, it antecedently needed to interface straight with each of these apps. In this case, it lone needs to link to Health Connect, and Health Connect volition grip each of those connections for it.

Health Connect was announced astatine Google I/O and has precocious been rolled retired to users connected the Google Play Store. It consists of an SDK that developers tin incorporated into their apps and a user-facing exertion that controls permissions and information management.

What apps enactment Health Connect?

Health Connect is inactive successful beta, but there is simply a dilatory increasing database of apps that supports the API. The database beneath is the database of each apps that enactment Health Connect astatine the clip of writing.

• HealthifyMe
• Fitbit
• Samsung Health
• Google Fit
• MyFitnessPal
• Oura
• Flo
• Lifesum
• Outdooractive
• Proov Insight

Apps that enactment the Health Connect API besides must comply with strict information rules for handling and processing idiosyncratic idiosyncratic data.

How does Health Connect work?

Health Connect works by creating a singular SDK that wellness apps request to link to alternatively than sharing that information with individually supported applications. Any app that supports Health Connect tin recognize information collected from immoderate of the different apps that it opts into collecting, truthful agelong arsenic those apps person been fixed support to stock and work information done the Health Connect API.

Understanding however the API works is reasonably elemental acknowledgment to Google's ain documentation astatine Google I/O.

As per the supra diagram (taken from Google's instauration of Health Connect astatine Google I/O), apps that cod information tin interface with Health Connect and let it to power each of the permissions and information that is shared crossed different apps connected the user's phone. This means that you tin usage an app that specializes successful slumber tracking, for example, and different app that specializes successful workout training, and past harvester that information successful a holistic mode successful another, 3rd app that gives you an overview of each of your vitals. It's not thing that exists yet, but it's thing that tin present beryllium that couldn't previously.

For example, MyFitnessPal says that it presently syncs the pursuing accusation for different apps to beryllium capable to work and process, too:

• Calorie depletion
• Steps
• Cardio
• Water depletion

For example, successful the lawsuit of cardio, MyFitnessPal volition stock your cardio workout with Health Connect if you participate it into the app. If you participate your cardio workout into different app, past that information volition beryllium shared from Health Connect to MyFitnessPal. All information is stored locally with respect to Health Connect, and it's up to the apps utilizing the SDK what they bash with the information afterward.

When tin I usage Health Connect?

Health Connect is disposable for users already, and you tin usage it with immoderate of the supra supported applications. It's successful beta presently though it works rather good already It looks similar Google aims to pre-install Health Connect connected Android devices though, and perchance arsenic soon arsenic Android 14, according to a caller study from Esper. Google already stated that it was going to pre-install it connected immoderate Android devices, and with Android 13 QPR2 connected Google Pixels, Google included a Health Connect stub package.

As explained by Esper, a commit spotted connected the AOSP Gerrit suggests that Health Connect whitethorn beryllium turned into a Project Mainline module. This is backed up by the information that a Googler showed "com.android.healthconnect" arsenic an APEX module (the format utilized by Mainline) successful system_server. It's up successful the aerial precisely what mode Google volition incorporated Health Connect successful a aboriginal Android version, but it looks apt that we'll spot it included successful Android 14 successful immoderate way.