Google pauses Fitbit app social features ahead of Google Health transition

At a glance:

• Google is temporarily disabling social features in the Fitbit app — including messaging, leaderboards, and friend management — to prepare for the rollout of the Google Health app.
• The Fitbit app's social profile will be replaced by a Google Account–based profile that drops custom usernames, custom photos, and personal health details such as sex, height, weight, and location.
• Eligible users should receive the Google Health app by May 26, at which point a new social experience with expanded leaderboard options will become available.

What Google is pausing and why

Google has announced that it is putting a temporary hold on the Fitbit app's social features as part of the broader migration from Fitbit to the upcoming Google Health app. Starting immediately, users will no longer be able to send messages, add or remove friends, or view an updating leaderboard. Google says the pause is intended to ensure the migration process goes smoothly and that no user data is lost or misaligned during the transition.

The social layer has been a staple of the Fitbit experience for years, giving users a way to compare step counts, compete on activity streaks, and stay motivated through peer interaction. Removing it, even temporarily, marks a meaningful change in daily usage for active Fitbit community members.

What the new social experience will look like

When the Google Health app reaches all eligible users by May 26, it will introduce an updated social experience with more leaderboard options than Fitbit currently offers. However, the social profile itself is being streamlined in notable ways. Each user's profile will display only their name, email address, and the profile picture tied to their Google Account, and users will be prompted to approve sharing that information the first time they log in.

Several customization options are being dropped. Users will not be able to choose a unique username or set a custom photo for their social profile. Personal details such as sex, height, weight, and location will no longer appear on the profile, and the privacy settings that previously controlled sharing of those fields will not carry over. Direct messaging — both sending and receiving — will be removed, along with the Groups and Community Feed features. Kid accounts will also be affected, as they will not be able to have or add friends in the new app.

Features that will not survive the migration

Beyond social changes, the move from the Fitbit app to Google Health will also eliminate several health-oriented features that have no direct equivalent in the new platform. Users will lose access to estimated oxygen variation (EOV), a metric that tracks fluctuations in blood oxygen levels during sleep. Snore detection, which is available exclusively on the Fitbit Sense and Fitbit Versa 3, will also disappear after migration.

Minute-by-minute skin temperature data, a granular tracking feature useful for spotting trends over time, is being dropped as well. The badge system — a gamified element that rewarded users for hitting milestones — will not transfer to Google Health. Finally, integrations with Lifescan devices, used primarily by people managing diabetes, will be severed in the transition.

Google has noted that users who are still logging into the Fitbit app with a standalone Fitbit account rather than a Google Account will need to re-add their friends once they move into the Google Health app.

Timeline and what to watch next

The social feature pause is already in effect, and Google expects the Google Health app to reach all eligible users by May 26. Users do not need to take any action right now; the app update should arrive automatically on eligible devices. For those who rely heavily on Fitbit's competitive and community features, the interim period will feel noticeably quieter.

It remains to be seen whether Google will reintroduce any of the dropped features — such as direct messaging or custom usernames — in future updates to Google Health. The company has signaled that the May 26 rollout represents the first version of the new social layer, which could mean further refinements are on the roadmap. For now, Fitbit power users should expect a more stripped-down social experience at launch and plan accordingly.