Fitbit gets quick replies and menstrual cycle tracking
The latest update to the Fitbit app allows users to respond to texts and track female health information. Here's who gets these features.
Fitbit finally rolls out two features users have been asking for: text response and female health tracking.
If you have Fitbit's Versa or Ionic smartwatch, you'll now be able to respond to texts from your phone or other messaging services like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. The feature only works if you have an Android phone (for now) and only allows users to respond with prewritten messages. Until now, Fitbit had allowed users to view only incoming texts across their devices with screens.
Female health tracking has now officially rolled out to all users in the Fitbit mobile app. In addition to logging your cycle in the app, the Versa and Ionic will also display cycle information and alerts on the watch interface.
To unleash the new features, users must first update to the latest version of the app from their phone.
How do Android quick-replies work?
You'll be able to quickly answer incoming texts by choosing one of Fitbit's five pre-programmed responses or certain emojis. The five responses include: "Yes," "No," "Sounds good!," "Can't talk now, will reply later" and "What's up?" Or program your own responses from the app.
Fitbit Versa.
Female health tracking with Fitbit
Fitbit is not the first app to offer period tracking to women. But if you already use the app, it lets you view all your health data in one spot. According to Fitbit, this means women will be able to see how their menstrual cycle affects other health indicators like sleep, weight and food intake.
If you've opted in to this service, you will see a new female health tracking box on the dashboard grid in the app. Tap to answer a few questions about the length of your cycle and last period and start logging.
Women can keep tabs on their menstrual cycle on the Fitbit app or find out when their fertility window is if they're trying to get pregnant.
You can register the intensity of your period, discharge consistency and other premenstrual symptoms like cramps, acne and breast tenderness. Once you've logged your first period, the app will be able to calculate your estimated fertility window and next period and send you alerts for both.
And it gets smarter as you log. Fitbit says it takes about two cycles for the app to really get to know your cycle to make more accurate predictions.
If you're a Versa or Ionic user, you can also check to see how many days until your next period and fertility window from your wrist by swiping up from the watch face. But you still can't register any information from your wrists, which would've set it apart from other apps.
We'll be testing out the new features in the coming weeks, so check back to find out how they hold up in our day-to-day use.
