Health Connect

Last updated
Health Connect
Developers Google
Samsung
Initial releaseNovember 14, 2022;2 years ago (2022-11-14) (beta)
March 2023;2 years ago (2023-03) (general availability)
Operating system Android 9 Pie and later
Platform Mobile app
Android system service
Type Health informatics
API platform
License Proprietary
Website health.google/health-connect-android/

Health Connect (formerly Health Connect by Android) is a health informatics platform developed by Google in collaboration with Samsung for the Android operating system. The platform was announced in May 2022 at Google I/O and launched in public beta that November, serving as a centralized repository and API that lets health and fitness applications securely share and synchronize user health data across devices and services. [1] [2]

Contents

With the release of Android 14, Health Connect moved from being a standalone application downloaded through the Google Play store to a framework module integrated directly into the Android operating system. [3] [4] As of May 2024, more than 500 applications have integrated with the platform. [5]

History

Development and announcement

Google announced Health Connect in partnership with Samsung at the Google I/O developer conference on May 11, 2022. [2] The two companies developed the platform to address a longstanding problem in Android's health and fitness ecosystem: different applications maintained their own separate data repositories, which made it difficult for users to get a unified view of their health information across multiple services. [6]

The platform was developed with early access provided to select partners, including MyFitnessPal, Leap Fitness, and Withings. [2]

Beta launch and adoption

On November 14, 2022, Health Connect became available in public beta as a downloadable application on the Google Play store. [7] More than 10 health, fitness, and wellness applications launched integrations at the same time, including Fitbit, Samsung Health, Peloton, MyFitnessPal, Oura, and WeightWatchers. [8] [9]

The service left beta in March 2023 and started coming pre-installed on Google Pixel devices. [10]

Integration into Android 14

In May 2023, Google announced plans to make Health Connect a core part of Android 14, moving it from a standalone app to an integrated system service. [4] This change put Health Connect in the Android Settings menu by default on devices running Android 14 or later. For older devices (those running Android Pie (version 9) through Android 13) Health Connect remains available as a downloadable app. [11]

When users upgrade their devices to Android 14, the system automatically migrates existing Health Connect data and permissions from the standalone app to the system-integrated version. [12]

Relationship with Google Fit

As Health Connect developed, Google began winding down the Google Fit platform. In 2022, the company announced that Google Fit APIs, including the REST API, would remain available until June 30, 2025, with Health Connect taking over as the primary platform for health data management on Android. [13]

Features and functionality

Platform architecture

Health Connect works as an on-device data repository, storing health and fitness information locally on the user's Android device in encrypted form. [14] It provides a standardized API that lets applications perform CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations on health data, subject to user permissions.

The system works with Android SDK version 28 (Android Pie) and higher, giving it broad compatibility across the Android ecosystem. [14]

Supported data types

Health Connect handles more than 50 standardized health and fitness data types, organized into six main categories: [14]

In March 2025, Health Connect added support for medical records in FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) format, opening up integration with electronic health record systems. [15]

Privacy and permissions

Users get granular permission controls that let them manage data access on a per-app, per-data-type basis. [10] Specifically, users can:

All data in Health Connect stays on the device in encrypted form. There's no automatic sync to cloud services unless the user explicitly sets that up through individual apps. [2]

Adoption and ecosystem

Platform adoption

As of May 2024, more than 500 applications have integrated with Health Connect. [5] Among major fitness platforms, approximately 20% of Peloton's new members use Health Connect, contributing to a 10% increase in members using the platform to log workouts over time. [16]

Supported applications

As of 2025, Health Connect works with numerous health and fitness platforms, including: [10]

The platform pulls in data from wearable devices including Wear OS smartwatches and compatible fitness trackers. [10] Garmin added official Health Connect support in July 2025, allowing one-way data sharing from Garmin devices to Health Connect. [17]

Technical limitations

Health Connect doesn't handle certain specialized health metrics, such as electrocardiogram (ECG) readings and some proprietary metrics that individual device makers have developed. [10] Also, not every app with Health Connect integration can read data written by other apps. Some services can only write data to the platform.

See also

References

  1. Lardinois, Frederic (May 11, 2022). "Google and Samsung team up to make sharing data between health and fitness apps easier". TechCrunch. Retrieved October 27, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Introducing Health Connect, a new API for Android app developers to securely access user health data". Android Developers Blog. May 11, 2022. Retrieved October 27, 2025.
  3. Rahman, Mishaal (February 8, 2023). "Android 14 has built-in support for Google and Samsung's Health Connect platform". XDA Developers. Retrieved October 27, 2025.
  4. 1 2 Malik, Aisha (May 10, 2023). "Google's Health Connect platform is coming to Android 14 with new features". TechCrunch. Retrieved October 27, 2025.
  5. 1 2 "Level up your apps with the latest features from Android Health". Android Developers Blog. May 2024. Retrieved October 27, 2025.
  6. "Google, Samsung Partnership Creates Health Connect — What is It?". iTech Post. May 16, 2022. Retrieved October 27, 2025.
  7. Malik, Aisha (November 14, 2022). "Google's Health Connect app is now available in beta". TechCrunch. Retrieved October 27, 2025.
  8. "Leading Health and Fitness Apps Roll Out Health Connect Integrations". Android Developers Blog. November 14, 2022. Retrieved October 27, 2025.
  9. Cadenas, Cesar (November 14, 2022). "Google's Health Connect beta is here to cut down your health app confusion". TechRadar. Retrieved October 27, 2025.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Walker, Andy (November 13, 2024). "What is Google Health Connect and how do I use it?". Android Authority. Retrieved October 27, 2025.
  11. "Check Health Connect availability". Android Developers. Retrieved October 27, 2025.
  12. "About Health Connect integration to Android 14". Google Inc. Retrieved October 27, 2025.
  13. "What is Health Connect and How is it Different from Google Fit?". MedM. 2024. Retrieved October 27, 2025.
  14. 1 2 3 "Health Connect". Android Developers. Retrieved October 27, 2025.
  15. "Google launches new healthcare-related features for Search, Android". TechCrunch. March 18, 2025. Retrieved October 27, 2025.
  16. "Health Connect brings together Peloton, ŌURA, and Lifesum for deeper health and fitness insights". Android Developers Blog. August 2023. Retrieved October 27, 2025.
  17. "Garmin data sync with Google Health Connect is now working". Gadgets & Wearables. July 8, 2025. Retrieved October 27, 2025.