Fitbit adventures, challenges, and open groups are headed to Google’s graveyard

Close-up of Pixel Watch showing a list of recent apps, including Fitbit Today and YouTube Music.

The Google-fication of Fitbit continues. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Fitbit users: better one-up your friends in challenges while you still can. Starting March 27th, Fitbit will remove all adventures, challenges, and open groups from its app.

It’s a striking move. Before 2019’s Google acquisition (and closure in 2021), Fitbit frequently touted its community and social features as a major strength. Its challenges — competitions between Fitbit users — have been part of Fitbit’s platform for over 10 years and copied by nearly every other smartwatch and fitness-tracking platform. Adventures were introduced later as a type of immersive challenge, where users could take virtual tours of places like Yosemite National Park while hitting step goals. Meanwhile, open groups are exactly as they sound: groups where...