Fitbit, a maker of one of the largest-selling fitness and heart rate tracking devices in the U.S., found itself on the receiving end of a class action lawsuit filed Tuesday. The suit alleges that the trackers do not track and record accurate heart rate readings at all, contrary to the claims made in the company's advertisements.
The lawsuit was filed by three plaintiffs, one in California, one in Wisconsin and one in Colorado, according to Fox News. The suit alleges that when each of the plaintiffs used their tracking devices as advertised, the devices turned up inaccurate readings. In one instance, the allege inaccuracy was said to be as high 78 BPM (Beats Per Minute). Hence the plaintiffs could not see these measurements as reliable at all.
Fitbit claims that the heart rate tracking that its "PurePulse" sensor gives is better than that given by a typical machine at the gym, as the former monitors heart rates even when a person is not doing a physical exercise. The sensor's ability to track minute changes in the volume of blood flowing through blood vessels is supposed to give this sensor its superior ability, according to the Daily Mail.
"We do not believe this case has merit. Fitbit stands behind our heart rate technology and strongly disagrees with the statements made in the complaint and plans to vigorously defend the lawsuit. Fitbit is committed to making the best clip and wrist-based activity trackers on the market," the company said in a statement, according to Ars Technica.
"Our team has performed and continues to perform internal studies to validate our products' performance... But it's also important to note that Fitbit trackers are designed to provide meaningful data to our users to help them reach their health and fitness goals, and are not intended to be scientific or medical devices," it added.
Fitbit markets its products using lines such as "Every Beat Counts." The Fitbit stock fell nearly 18 percent in trading on Thursday despite the company introducing a new tracking product to rival Apple.
