Android Health Connect: What Fitness Apps Can Read
Wear a watch, carry a phone, try a second fitness app, and you meet the same problem fast. Each app counts in its own way, and none of them shares with the others. Android Health Connect is Google's answer: one place on the phone where health and fitness data is stored in a common structure, so apps can read it and write to it once you allow them to.
This post covers what Health Connect does, what you control, which phones can use it, and what it means if you are choosing a fitness app or building one. It draws on Google's own Android developer and help pages, listed at the end. Menu names change between Android versions and phone brands, so expect small differences on your screen.
What Health Connect does
Google describes Health Connect as Android's platform for storing and sharing health and fitness data. It keeps the data in a structured form that accounts for how each type is measured. Heart rate is an instant reading, steps are counted over a time interval, and sleep is recorded as sessions. Apps get standard ways to insert, update and delete records, and they can keep reading in the background for sync and analysis.
The practical effect is simple. Your watch app writes your steps and workouts to Health Connect. A second app that you have allowed can then read them without building a separate link to that watch brand. For a small team, that replaces a pile of one-off integrations with a single one. For you, it means a new app can start from data you already have instead of from zero.
What you control
Nothing is shared by default. When you connect an app, you choose which data types it may use, and you can turn read and write access off for each type separately. Google's help pages also note that a connected app can reach the last 30 days of data plus anything written after you grant access, and that Health Connect data is stored locally on your device. Connected apps keep their own copy of whatever they have already read.
You can pull access at any time. Turning off Allow all for one app removes all its read and write permissions, and there is a Remove access for all apps option at the bottom of the same screen. Revoking does not erase what is already stored, though. Deleting is a separate step: you can delete everything, one category, one data type, one entry, or one app's data, and you can set auto-delete so older data is removed daily. Deleting only clears the copy on your phone, so an app that already downloaded your data may still hold it.
How to check what an app can read
This takes about a minute and is worth repeating every few months. The steps below follow Google's help pages for recent Android versions.
1. Open Health Connect. On Android 14 and above it sits in Settings, under Security and privacy, then Privacy Controls. On Android 13 and lower, install the Health Connect app from the Play Store first. 2. Under Permissions and data, tap App permissions. Every app with access is listed. 3. Tap an app to see its permissions, then switch read or write off for any data type it does not need. 4. To cut an app off completely, turn Allow all off. 5. If you want the stored data gone as well, go to Data and access and delete by period, category, data type or app.
Which phones support it
On Android 14 and above, Health Connect is built into Settings. On Android 13 and lower, it is a separate app you install from the Play Store. Google's developer documentation says it is compatible with Android SDK 28 (Android 9, Pie) and higher, and apps can check whether it is present on a device. Support still depends on the individual phone, so check yours rather than assuming.
One limit to know: Google's help page says Health Connect does not work with multi-user profiles such as a Work Profile. If you keep a work and a personal profile on one phone, set it up in the personal one.
Before you trust a fitness app, and what builders should take from this
Ask these before granting access: - Which data types does it request, and does each one match a feature I will use? - Does it work if I allow only steps and refuse the rest? - What do other people in the app see: raw data or only totals? - Can I delete my account and my data inside the app? - Is there a privacy policy I can read before I connect? - Does it show where its numbers came from?
For founders, the lesson is to request the fewest data types you can justify and to explain each one on screen. One point to plan around: Google says Fit APIs are supported until the end of 2026, and points developers to a migration guide for moving to Health Connect. As a plain fact, ARTH builds Ultim8, a fitness competition app for Android whose own page says it reads steps, calories and exercise through Health Connect and keeps height, weight and birthday private to the user. The same page says it is in a friends-and-family trial, with a Google Play release planned and no date promised.
Sources and further reading
Frequently asked questions
Is Health Connect a fitness app?
No. Google describes it as a platform for storing and sharing health and fitness data. You do not log workouts in it. Other apps and devices write data into it, and apps you approve read from it.
Do I need to install it?
It depends on your Android version. On Android 14 and above it is built into Settings. On Android 13 and lower you install the Health Connect app from the Play Store.
Does turning off an app's permission delete my data?
No. Removing permissions stops the app reading or writing, but stored data stays until you delete it from the Data and access screen. Copies an app already downloaded may remain with that app.
Can an app see my full history?
Google's help page says a connected app can access the last 30 days of data plus new data written after access is granted. Health records are treated differently and can include full history with your permission.
Why does it matter for a small app team?
One integration with Health Connect can cover data from many watches and apps, instead of a separate build for each. You still need to ask for permissions clearly and keep your privacy promises.
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