Hi All - I’m looking at possible solution for a privacy Health App to use on BraX3, ideally I’d just not have one but I do have a reasonable need to use something. Ideally it’d keep data on device for me to download to Linux OC or similar at my demand, or at worst use my encrypted cloud server (e.g. Proton or NextCloud) and not the developers own servers…
I also have a couple of the new Pebble Watches coming in a few months so hoping to ultimately be able to get the two to work together (not sure what FOSS Pebble Apps may be available now or in the near future, yet).
Anyway some apps that are referenced as privacy friendly, etc, are listed below. Does anyone have any experience with these or know anything about the developers?
Great - Thanks romluk - I’m currently running a Garmin Venu (the original model) so that’s positive news! I had Gadgetbridge suggested by someone else too. I wasn’t confident I could use the Garmin watch in a private environment without it needing the official app and calling home to Garmin… so that is good to hear.
I have, as mentioned, the new Pebble smart watches coming to test out versus the Venu (the Pebble 2 Duo and Pebble Time 2) as I expected they might have better privacy options, but not sure if they will be as good as the Garmin for the bio-metrics, despite being 5 years newer…
I"m interested in hearing about your experience. I’ve used garmin for years but I do wonder about the privacy. I have both the vivoactive 3 & 4 and a plugin GPS in my car.
Just FWIW - manufacturing is in progress and first few units have shipped from the first model (Pebble 2 Duo), more shipping in coming weeks… Mine will be delayed as I had the option to switch from White to Black for this model and took it - so they are making the white ones first. As mentioned I have one of each model coming to compare because this first smaller / more basic unit does have some minor features the bigger brother doesn’t, but the latter has heart rate monitor which I definitely need. Anyway, the original Pebbles were what inspired Apple to do the Apple Watch, and had open source software by default, so that’s what got me interested in this “phoenix project” so to speak - update on first model production here:
Yep - well that’s a big one - your data could end up in an AI somewhere at any time… This brief review and initial user experience post kinda sums it up FWIW…
Anyway I’m now officially using Gadgetbridge with my Gamin Venu on the BraX3 - so will see how it goes next week or two. I’ve requested extract of my data from Garmin so will also see how import of that goes also (when I get it in 2-14 days).
My other ideal thing is to feed in some data from my Apple Health app - on top of the Garmin Data I was recording a couple of other additional things in here (e.g. body weight). You can get it out of Apple Health semi-easily enough (in an XML file), but I’m still trying to find a way to put this into Gadgetbridge. It may be I have to have another app that Gadgetbridge feeds into, where I can add additional health info (which is how Garmin Connect and Apple Health apps worked on my iPhone…? Would be nice to keep everything in Gadgetbridge if I can.
On a separate note it has paired easily with my Venu (1st generation) watch and initial experience is it looks very user friendly. So while there are some functionality compromises (around firmware updates and watch-faces and similar) with regard to daily use and health & fitness data it looks pretty good…
…which leads to my early comment about getting the new Pebble watches to try out. So will be interesting to compare them. But I must say the first impressions of Gadgetbridge do have me reconsidering possibly a Venu 4 long-term - as several people I know or follow online (and rate) have raved about this compared to the older Venu 2 - and I initially backed the Pebble watches due to the FOSS nature and expectation syncing a proprietary device like Garmin and using it regularly would be problematic on a degoogled device; which obviously is not really the case.
As an aside here’s the latest on the Pebbles - Pebble App Store is now active, first units have shipped, old apps and watch-faces have been made compatible with the new models (which have larger screens), and so on…
Thank you for the details. I do love my Garmin Vivoactive 4. I was using Garmin Training Center many years ago when it was an app that you had on your computer. I miss it. I will be interested in trying out GadgetBridge as it sounds promising.
Several years ago, I believe Garmin had a ransomware attack because they were out for a few days and that was the scuttlebutt online. Of course, with that kind of hack all your information is potentially and probably exposed.
Not only do I love the Garmin watches, but I have a Vivoactive 3 that I still use and works well. The only thing I notice is a lack of extra features with it. So yes - I agree that I hope they can work long-term with gadgetbridge.
Just a further update - my Venu has been working well - better than I had expected pre-getting my BraX3. So I have ended up getting a brand new Venu 3 to replace it. There are still some annoying things you can only do via a Garmin app (& account), but these aren’t ongoing and only need occasional or once only connection (e.g. downloading watch faces).
I’m also in the process of importing all my historical data from Garmin to Gadgetbridge app - although that’s proving a bit more difficult than the Gadgetbridge instructions suggest… Maybe its the whole trying to process 13,000 tiny files thing. Once done I can delete all my history from Garmin.
At this stage I’m probably going to cancel my Pebble Watches, I’d love to still get them and try them out, and support the revived idea of FOSS smart watches. But the Venu 3 & 4 models just have so much more functionality and especially support for stuff I need for my health (as well as more fitness related stuff) than the current Pebbles do.
Anyway with Gadgetbridge and Venu 3 combination I am just trying to see if there is a way to:
Record regular body weight readings
Record daily hydration (previously done in Garmin Connect app - EDIT: but should be doable on the phone)