Fitbit is definitely not having a great week. Just earlier this week we reported that along with Apple, Fitbit was being sued by a company that claims that both companies were using their patented technology without permission. As if that wasn’t enough, Fitbit was hit with a new class-action lawsuit.
This lawsuit claims that Fitbit’s heart rate monitoring feature on its fitness bands and smartwatches is inaccurate. Now we know that the accuracy of heart rate monitors will vary to a certain degree, mostly due to how the hardware is implemented, the software, and of course the wearer as well. However the lawsuit claims that Fitbit’s readings were inaccurate by a significant margin.
According to the plaintiffs, they claim that the monitors don’t actually count every beat, meaning that if you wanted a more detailed look at understanding your workout and your progress, you might have a hard time doing so. One plaintiff claims that when she tried to get a refund on her Fitbit Charge HR, the company had refused.
The lawsuit is seeking injunctive relief and damages to compensate users for their “economic injuries”. Unsurprisingly Fitbit isn’t taking this lying down and according to them, they “strongly disagrees with the statements made in the complaint and plans to vigorously defend the lawsuit.” You can read Fitbit’s full statement to the lawsuit below:
“We do not believe this case has merit. Fitbit stands behind our heart rate technology and strongly disagrees with the statements made in the complaint and plans to vigorously defend the lawsuit. Fitbit is committed to making the best clip and wrist-based activity trackers on the market. Our team has performed and continues to perform internal studies to validate our products’ performance.
PurePulse provides better overall heart rate tracking than cardio machines at the gym, as it tracks your heart rate continuously — even while you’re not at the gym or working out. But it’s also important to note that Fitbit trackers are designed to provide meaningful data to our users to help them reach their health and fitness goals, and are not intended to be scientific or medical devices.”