Fitbit wants to detect COVID-19 before symptoms start, launches in-app study

Abner Li | May 21 2020 - 8:28 am PT

With the Google acquisition still under review, Fitbit is continuing with its existing product roadmaps. The company today announced a COVID-19 study to “help determine whether Fitbit can help build an algorithm to detect COVID-19 before symptoms start.”

Before the ongoing pandemic, big data derived from wearables worn 24/7 have long been investigated as a possible way to “detect the early onset of infectious diseases, like the flu.” The fitness company now wants to tackle COVID-19 detection by leveraging “indicators in your Fitbit data” and a short questionnaire that asks:

Whether or not you have, have had, or may have had flu or COVID-19
Any symptoms you are experiencing or may have experienced
Additional related details regarding your medical history and demographics

From the Discover tab in Fitbit for Android and iOS, opening Assessments & Reports at the very bottom of the page will let you access the COVID-19 study. Those two pieces of information will “help researchers try to determine early signs of COVID-19 and flu.”

If you are over the age of 21, living in the United States or Canada and have had or currently have COVID-19, or symptoms consistent with the flu, we invite you to answer a few quick questions to help contribute to this important research as Fitbit tries to develop this algorithm.

The company notes that “participation is entirely voluntary and you can withdraw at any time.”