“Security weaknesses on many popular fitness trackers may allow hackers to access or potentially manipulate user data, a study showed Monday.” …
Gotta wonder what level of personal consequence would result from a hacker “manipulating” fitness tracker data. Plus, I wonder how many hackers are out there feverishly pursuing how many steps I take.
Oh the horrors, somebody knows my resting heart rate. :-?
Your resting heart rate is now 74, MotherOfDragons. It has been increasing since you started on the cupcakes 4 weeks ago. And don’t even get me started on your diminishing exercise routine.
– Your local friendly hacker
And that I walked only 8,094 steps yesterday, short of my daily goal.
Maybe the hackers can figure out why my resting heart rate is still well over 100 despite medication. Go, hackers, go.
ha @hebegebe , good one :).
btw it’s 56.
@romanigypsyeyes, I’ve had to be put on Zebeta, which is doing a better job of lowering my resting heat rate than Coreg (a different beta blocker). I’m taking the minimal dose of 5mg-- was originally scheduled to increase it but it’s doing such a good job of keeping my resting heart rate in the 50-80 range, we are leaving me at 5 mg. my exercising heart rate no longer ramps up to astronomical levels and stays below 120. I’m pleased and sleep better.
Your step count and heart rate are probably not the type of data that makes someone salivate. You consumption patterns are - combined with datapoints from millions of other users who voluntarily pre-segmented themselves by age, weight, geo location, etc., and while each individual user does not suffer any damages from someone knowing what they eat for breakfast, that someone can become very rich off the collective data. 
just wait until your health insurance co, or employer is sold that information…
@HImom sent a PM
Many employers already know that… People volunteer their Fitbit info in office “races.”
Yep, H’s employer sends us free fitbits, and we’re linked in to their health tracker. We get big discounts on how much we pay for health insurance for hitting different fitness levels.
Privacy is dead.
Many people sync their fitness trackers with their phones, so I don’t know if that could be a concern.
My friend said she, her H and their D had to answer a whole slew of invasive questions and get “counseling” from unqualified people over the phone to lower their health insurance premiums a ton. They did it. One of the " suggestions" given on the phone to her MD H on dealing with stress was to go and yell in the stairwell at work. Fortunately, he never did it or probably would have had severe professional consequences.
If I choose to participate in some ongoing program with my insurer, could get an extra measly $50. I filled out the questionnaire to get the first $50 (not providing much data). Used the money toward Rx co-pays, as it is on a health debit card.
I’m just grateful that our insurance has a relatively low annual out-of-pocket maximum, which reached and now insurer is supposed to pay 100% until the end of the calendar year.