- Withings users must now pay a hefty premium to sync data to Apple Health
- The change requires a $100 annual subscription to Withings+
- Customers are incredibly unhappy with the move
The whole point of using a health and fitness tracker, one would think, is to be able to analyze your data in order to understand your own well-being. New users of Withings’ smart scales, however, have just been stung with an extortionate annual subscription if they want to enjoy that privilege.
As noted on the Withings forum, the company has decided to lock the ability to sync your wellness metrics to the Apple Health app behind a paywall. And this isn’t just some token fee either — you’ll be charged a whopping $99.99 a year. All to do what has always been free (and what many rivals still offer at no cost).
Withings apparently justified the move to the forum poster by citing unspecified “privacy measures” and an “AI connector.” Yet syncing data to Apple Health using the HealthKit framework doesn’t require any server-side processing or hefty AI lifting that might justify such an expensive fee. Instead, the paywall simply gives the impression of being an opportunistic revenue booster.
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The post on the Withings forum described the move as a “silent and incredibly anti-consumer change” and pointed out that anyone who signed up on or after October 13, 2026, would be subject to it. Existing users won’t be forced to pay, but that’ll come as little consolation to everyone else.
A controversial move
It’s safe to say that the optics don’t look good for Withings, and users have been understandably upset at the move. The original poster on the Withings forum labeled the change “an obvious cash grab” that “ruins the hardware experience and destroys the trust in the brand,” adding that “We shouldn’t have to pay a subscription to access our own health data.”
On Reddit, users echoed that dissatisfaction, saying “$99 a year is a real joke” and, about Withings’ decision-makers, “They are digging their own grave.” Another Redditor asked, “Why would I ever buy another Withings product, let alone recommend the products to other people, if you have to pay a subscription to access your own data?”
A Withings representative tried to explain that the $99.99 Withings+ subscription includes other features — including “An improved Health Assistant” and “Better-priced access to medical services” — but no user seems to care about any of that. The main concern is the decision to lock a fundamental feature behind a paywall when said feature appears to require no additional costs on Withings’ part.
Given the strength of the customer reaction already, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Withings backtrack and unlock Apple Health syncing in the near future. With many users already saying they’ll either ditch their Withings devices or abstain from buying one in the first place, the ball is firmly in Withings’ court.
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