Google has released a new platform and API that helps Android app developers safely gather health and fitness data from different devices. It’s called Health Connect, and Google is building it in collaboration with Samsung.
With this Samsung partnership, Google hopes to simplify connectivity between apps and allow app developers to bring together health and fitness data from different sources with more ease.
The Health Connect API should also help establish centralized privacy controls for Android customers.
Samsung Health is adopting Health Connect
The platform supports a variety of fitness data categories and types, including activity, sleep, nutrition, body measurements, heart rate, and blood pressure.
Samsung is adopting Health Connect, meaning that data gathered from Galaxy wearables will be sharable across other devices and experiences with more ease. Conversely, Samsung Health users should be able to access data collected from other health platforms.
“We appreciate Samsung’s collaboration as we roll out Health Connect to foster richer app experiences while also providing centralized privacy controls for users,” shared Google on its android developer blog
This is an effort to unify health experiences across the Android platform, so Google is also working with developers, including MyFitnessPal, Leap Fitness, and Withings, as part of an early access program.
Of course, privacy is an important aspect, and platforms using the Health Connect API will give users more privacy controls as to what health and fitness data they can share across apps and devices.