Fitbit has been owned by Google for several years
Google has announced an upcoming significant limitation in the functionality available to users of its Fitbit wearable devices. Specifically, Google will remove third-party apps and watch faces from the Fitbit App Gallery in June 2024.
Google justifies this move on the basis of “regulatory requirements”, without going into details yet. The change only affects users in the European Economic Area and is most likely «innovation» due to the new Digital Markets Act (DMA).
The restriction will affect users of Fitbit Sense 2, Fitbit Sense, Fitbit Versa 4, Fitbit Versa 3, Fitbit Versa 2, Fitbit Versa Lite, Fitbit Versa and Fitbit Ionic. According to Google, third-party apps will be available to download and install until June 2024. Fitbit and Google apps will continue to be accessible after this date. It remains unclear whether users will be able to bypass this restriction, for example by specifying a different location.
In the fall of 2023, Fitbit stopped selling in almost 30 countries around the world.