Health Connect is a powerful Android-based platform that acts as a central hub for health and fitness data. Developed by Google in collaboration with Samsung, it provides a secure and unified way for different health and fitness apps to share data with one another. For your clients, this means that data from their Samsung Health app can be seamlessly shared with other fitness tracking tools or your own custom portal, creating a holistic view of their wellness journey.
The platform is designed with a “privacy-first” approach, giving users granular control over exactly which data types they want to share and with which apps. It consolidates metrics like heart rate, sleep patterns, and exercise sessions from various sources into a single, standardised on-device repository. This reduces the fragmentation often found in the Android ecosystem and ensures that health data is consistent across all connected services.
We specialise in integrating Health Connect to ensure your digital services provide a comprehensive and accurate experience for Android users. By tapping into this central API, we can help you build features that react to a user’s real-world activity, from updating progress dashboards to triggering personalised wellness advice based on their latest sleep or exercise data.
Features
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Standardised Data Types: Access to over 40 health and fitness data categories including activity, sleep, nutrition, and vitals.
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Granular Permissions: Users can choose to share only specific data points, such as “steps” but not “heart rate”.
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On-Device Storage: Data is stored securely on the user’s device, ensuring privacy and fast access.
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Bi-Directional Sync: Capability to both read data from and write data to the Health Connect repository.
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Background Access: The ability for authorised apps to sync data even when the app is not actively open.
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Historical Data Access: Retrieve past records to show trends and progress over weeks or months.
Benefits
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Simplified Connectivity: One integration provides access to data from a multitude of Android health apps.
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User Trust: Leveraging Google and Samsung’s secure framework builds confidence in how you handle sensitive data.
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Consistency: Eliminates discrepancies between different tracking apps by using a single source of truth.
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Seamless Experience: Clients don’t have to manually log data that is already being captured by their phone or watch.
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Engagement: Use real-time data to keep users motivated with timely notifications and rewards.
How we integrate
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Permission Mapping: We define the specific data “scopes” required for your business goals to ensure a clean user experience.
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SDK Implementation: We integrate the Health Connect Jetpack library into your Android application or portal.
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Data Standardisation: We map Health Connect’s standardised units (e.g., kilocalories, meters) to your internal system’s formats.
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Background Sync Setup: We configure the necessary workers to ensure data stays up to date without draining the user’s battery.
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Privacy Controls: We build intuitive UI elements that allow users to manage their data sharing settings easily.
Technical Details
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API Version: Compatible with Android SDK version 28 (Pie) and higher; built as a system component in Android 14+.
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Data Format: Standardised JSON-like records for various metrics (e.g.,
StepsRecord,SleepSessionRecord). -
Security: Requires explicit user consent via a standardised system permissions UI.
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Unit Management: Built-in support for multiple units (Mass, Energy, Distance) to ensure mathematical accuracy.
Use Cases
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Unified Wellness Dashboard: Aggregating steps from a phone and heart rate from a Samsung Galaxy Watch into one client view.
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Personalised Nutrition: Adjusting a user’s daily calorie goal based on the “Total Calories Burned” data received from Health Connect.
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Sleep Quality Coaching: Analysing sleep session data to provide tailored recovery tips for fitness clients.
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Corporate Challenges: Creating leaderboards for employee wellness programs using verified step counts from their devices.
FAQs
Does Health Connect replace Google Fit? Yes, Google has transitioned its focus from the Google Fit API to Health Connect as the primary way for Android apps to share health and fitness data.
Is my client’s data shared with Google for advertising? No, Health Connect is designed for data sharing between apps on the device. Google’s policies strictly prohibit the use of Health Connect data for advertising or marketing purposes.
Can it work without a Samsung device? Yes. While developed with Samsung, Health Connect is a system-level feature for most modern Android devices and works with many different hardware manufacturers.
What if the user changes their mind about sharing data? Users can revoke permissions at any time through the Health Connect app or their phone settings. Our integration is built to handle these changes gracefully without breaking the app experience.
Can it track data in real-time? Health Connect is primarily a record-based system. While it can sync frequently, it is generally used to retrieve completed sessions or periodic updates rather than a live “streaming” heart rate.