I recently upgraded to Fitbit Alta HR. It is much better than Fitbit Flex that I had been using for past many years. And the best part is the heart rate tracking, which also helps in getting better Sleep Quality outputs.
Fitbit Alta HR captures Heart Rate periodically (at few second intervals)
What was missing?
However, one thing that I missed with Alta HR and the Fitbit App was the display of the Heart Rate data. For instance, below is my Heart Rate during an Emotionally Charged Up Environment at Workplace. Note, I was sitting with No Physical Activity!
Heart Rate Variation while sitting – but with Emotions Running High!
If you notice, the Fitbit App shows Heart Rate data in 5-minute intervals. And the self-quantification person that I am, that was not enough. I wanted the entire data that Alta HR recorded. Thus, I began working on getting that reliably.
The End Result, & How You Can Use It
I have created a web version where you can review your Heart Rate data quickly.
Get your Heart Rate Chart at https://exain.com/fitbit
Remember to see the Tutorial on how to retrieve your “Client ID” from the Fitbit website.
Note: The application I have created saves the heart rate data in a database. It means that I will have your heart rate data. However, I am not asking for or collecting any user information. So despite the fact that I have the heart rate data, I cannot link it with an individual.
I have open sourced the entire code, and it is available on GitHub.
https://github.com/technotablet/fitbit
How it works
- Fitbit allows developers to connect to its API after authentication through the OAuth2 Protocol.
- Since the heart rate data is personal to a user, Fitbit does not permit third party developers to access heart rate data of another user.
- You will need to authenticate yourself on the Fitbit Developer Portal and create an “App” on it. It is a relatively simple process, and if you are connecting to my service at https://exain.com/fitbit, then you can view the tutorial on YouTube.
Now Go – Track your HB!
Vivek's blog 