A look at the security and privacy of Fitbit as a health activity tracker

Jason Orlosky, Onyeka Ezenwoye, Heather Yates, Gina Besenyi

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

Given the popularity of consumer grade wearable health trackers, there is an increasing need to evaluate their accuracy and security. In this paper, we present the results of a study with 24 participants who used and evaluated a small form factor personal health device, the Fitbit Blaze. Our study includes both the analysis of data taken from an exercise-based experiment and a review of the security risks associated with current protocols used to access Fitbit device data and participant information. In addition to discussion of the FitBit’s accelerometer and pulse data as compared to clinical grade devices, we gathered and analyzed subjective participant data on usability and perception of privacy and security using both quantitative and subjective methods. Results showed that FitBit accuracy was not equivalent to medical grade devices, that a majority of risk comes from potentially fraudulent third party applications, and that users are typically justified in their concerns.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationACMSE 2019 - Proceedings of the 2019 ACM Southeast Conference
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery, Inc
Pages241-244
Number of pages4
ISBN (Electronic)9781450362511
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 18 2019
Event2019 ACM Southeast Conference, ACMSE 2019 - Kennesaw, United States
Duration: Apr 18 2019Apr 20 2019

Publication series

NameACMSE 2019 - Proceedings of the 2019 ACM Southeast Conference

Conference

Conference2019 ACM Southeast Conference, ACMSE 2019
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityKennesaw
Period4/18/194/20/19

Keywords

  • Health tracker
  • Perception
  • Privacy
  • Security
  • Validation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Hardware and Architecture
  • Software
  • Computational Theory and Mathematics
  • Computer Science Applications

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