Garmin Connect Collects 12 Data Types, No Ad Tracking Found

A privacy analysis of 14 fitness apps puts Garmin Connect in the middle of the pack, collecting 12 data types compared to Fitbit's 23 and Strava's 21. That's a meaningful gap, and for athletes logging daily training data, health metrics, and location routes, it matters.

The standout finding is zero third-party ad tracking in Garmin Connect. Fitbit, owned by Google, and Strava both share data with external partners. If you're syncing your Forerunner 965 or Fenix 7 every morning, your sleep scores, HRV, and GPS routes aren't being handed to advertisers.

For comparison, Whoop and Polar sit on the more privacy-conscious end of the spectrum in similar analyses, while Apple Health acts as an aggregator with its own data-sharing rules depending on connected apps. Garmin's closed ecosystem here works in its favor. Your data stays largely within their own infrastructure.

Coros users often cite simplicity and data ownership as a selling point over Garmin, but Garmin's 12-type collection is far from alarming given what it enables: detailed training load, body battery, sleep staging, and recovery metrics that athletes actually use to make decisions.

Not perfect. But 12 data types with no ad tracking puts Garmin in a solid position for endurance athletes who want smart metrics without becoming the product.