I’m looking for privacy-conscious options for a cycling computer or possibly a wearable fitness tracker.

Recording activities has become sort of a journal for me. I like being able to look up when I did a particular ride/hike, or how long it took, where I hit a max speed, whether or how often I’ve taken a certain road, etc. I also like seeing basic metrics like average speed/distance/time YTD, year over year, or for specific date ranges.

I do track heart rate and time in zones, but would be willing to let that go. I never wear a wearable 24/7 and don’t track sleep/hydration/stationary workouts.

I’ve been using Garmin devices for years, and really like them for ease of use - getting all of my data into one place “just happens automatically” and is available for further analysis. But, I don’t like that that one place is, well, Garmin, not to mention that their supporting and data visualization apps are completely enshittified at this point.

Three alternatives spring to mind:

  • go back to a “dumb” computer (maybe not such a bad thing!)
  • keep my Garmin devices but take them offline - mount them as USB and copy the files locally
  • use a phone-based app like CoMaps

Are there any good alternatives out there? Maybe even an all-in-one platform like Garmin, but where the company really puts privacy front-and-center… or platforms that facilitate storing data locally?

Thanks!

  • skarn@discuss.tchncs.de
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    21 hours ago

    This! If you have good hardware that works, it’s good to keep it if possible.

    My smartwatch/activity tracker is indeed a Garmin Instinct 2s with Gadgetbridge. It really does most of what the proprietary app does, and gives you near absolute control over your data.