- Fitbit has a Sleep Journal feature in the works
- An APK Teardown revealed the feature under construction
- It could be an AI-powered feature
According to a recently-unearthed bit of code, Fitbit is looking at introducing a new sleep feature soon to Fitbit Premium subscribers. A Sleep Journal functionality would allow users of the best fitbit trackers and smartwatches to log their sleep as usual, and make notes in-app when prompted, about any sleep problems they had via text or even a voice note. The Fitbit app then uses this information to generate more personalized sleep tips.
Discovered by Android Authority during an APK teardown (a process that looks at unfinished app code) the feature is still bare-bones and under construction, but it looks as though the feature will be AI-powered. Fitbit may plan to use generative AI to pick up on key words and phrases in your journal entries, offering you advice based on those key phrases.
The feature was found by Android Authority in the Fitbit app (version 4.30.fitbit-mobile-110146981-694155636), and it allegedly “appears to be early on in development”. The UI is apparently quite basic at the moment, although the development team is clearly keen for Fitbit’s big userbase to engage with the feature - one message suggests “To get deeper insights and more personalized suggestions for better sleep, complete your journal each day.”
If you don’t submit an entry, a reminder pops up saying “Sharing what impacted your sleep helps create more personalized insights and tips”, with an option to go back if you decide not to fill in the Sleep Journal feature.
This is likely to be a Fitbit Premium feature, based on the pricing schemes for other experimental AI services like Oura Advisor. Given that it’s fairly early on in development, we wouldn’t expect it to land until 2025.
Analysis: generative AI is coming to Fitbit
I imagine this service will be similar to Oura Advisor, the experimental generative AI service used by the Oura Ring companion app, in that it uses text prompts to summon the correct wellness advice, personalized to your needs by cross-referencing your sleep and exercise data. If you sleep poorly and do a lot of exercise, you might be encouraged to dial it back in the evenings. Such is the power of generative AI.
We may be jumping ahead of ourselves (after all, there’s no hard evidence it will be an AI feature) but entering your sleep data into an artificial intelligence owned by Google, a company with a notoriously loose grasp on data privacy, may be a sticking point for some users.
Some, but not all; for others, the convenience will be worth it. A report from the National Institutes of Health found that “sleep diaries are the gold standard for subjective assessment of sleep variables in clinical practice. Digitization of sleep diaries is needed, as paper versions are prone to human error, memory bias, and difficulties monitoring compliance.” This live, responsive version of a sleep diary could be just what the doctor ordered.
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