Wearable privacy ratings
Apps for wearables that work without a vendor cloud.
7 wearables and health are rated against 4 public criteria, and 7 have enough evidence for a letter grade. Of the 3 with a known jurisdiction, 3 are based in a Five Eyes country, and 3 in the wider Fourteen Eyes.
Open-source wearables and health only · Criteria for this category · Suggest an addition · Markdown
| Name | Grade | Score | Data | Jurisdiction | Open source | No trackers or telemetry | No ads or data sales | Independent audit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Open source Linux distribution for smartwatches that replaces Wear OS on supported watches, with the AsteroidOS Sync companion app for Android. |
Grade B | 80 | 100% | – | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Open source Android app that connects smartwatches and fitness trackers to your phone without the vendor app or cloud account. |
Grade B | 80 | 100% | – | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Open source firmware for the PINE64 PineTime smartwatch, with notifications, step counting and heart rate over Bluetooth through companion apps such as Gadgetbridge. |
Grade B | 80 | 100% | – | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Open source, hackable smartwatch from Espruino that runs JavaScript apps, with an app loader in the browser and an Android companion based on Gadgetbridge. |
Grade D | 50 | 100% | – | Yes | No | Yes | No |
Apple's smartwatch, paired with an iPhone, that tracks activity, workouts, heart rate, sleep and cycles and stores the data in the Health app. |
Grade D | 45 | 100% | United States Five Eyes | No | Partial | Yes | Partial |
Garmin's app and web service for syncing, analyzing and sharing activity, health and sleep data from Garmin watches and fitness devices. |
Grade F | 20 | 100% | United States Five Eyes | No | No | Yes | No |
Google-owned fitness trackers and smartwatches with an app that records activity, heart rate, sleep and other health data in a Fitbit or Google Account. |
Grade F | 0 | 100% | United States Five Eyes | No | No | No | No |
Questions
What is the most private option among wearables and health?
No pick has been made yet. The table above is sorted by score, based on public evidence.
How are wearables and health rated?
Each entry answers 4 questions: open source, no trackers or telemetry, no ads or data sales and independent audit. Answers need links to evidence. See the full criteria.
Does jurisdiction matter?
Jurisdiction decides which laws can compel a provider to hand over data. Each entry shows its country and whether it is in the Five, Nine or Fourteen Eyes. The data a provider can hand over depends mostly on what it stores and who holds the keys. Read about jurisdictions and the CLOUD Act.