Why is google fit recording data when I'm not using it

[android jack]

I had been working with my dad for a while now and recently I had reinstalled google fit. Yesterday I got a notification congratulating me on 36 min of walking. I know I didn't leave a running app or fitness app open as I would not need it but I got this notification. Is it a glitch or can google fit track me while phone is sleeping or I'm not using it since I hardly used my phone when working.

Also if it does can it tell the difference between driving and walking?

 

[DivideYourDay]

It can tell the difference between driving and walking - and yes it's all secretly running in the background. At first I was pretty shocked by this myself since it feels creepy. But this same data is how Google can recognize where you've parked (by detecting when you go from 'driving' to 'walking'). And that feature has saved my *** way too many times for me to want to turn off this background activity tracking.

For android developers, this feature/suite is called "Activity Recognition".

 

[Fulani Filot]

I had been working with my dad for a while now and recently I had reinstalled google fit. Yesterday I got a notification congratulating me on 36 min of walking. I know I didn't leave a running app or fitness app open as I would not need it but I got this notification. Is it a glitch or can google fit track me while phone is sleeping or I'm not using it since I hardly used my phone when working.

Also if it does can it tell the difference between driving and walking?

It can tell the difference to an extent; sometimes when I'm riding a motorcycle at slow speeds due to bumpy surfaces, GF perceives it as a bicycle ride. Other times I walk so fast (downhill-assisted) that it perceives it as running. When riding motorcycles at regular speeds, GF will ignore the motion especially if the surface is not riddled with potholes.

Basically GF uses the accelerometer in your device to monitor the rhythmic moron patterns that your body exerts when walking, running or bike riding.

The accelerometer in your device may be twitchy and causing GF to make false readings. See if there's some kind of reset procedure for it so you can rejuvenate its sensing, the way there is for the magnetometer (compass...moving devuce in a figure-8 motion).

 

[Fulani Filot]

What I still don't understand is how GF can sense my movement even though the device is not on my person if I understand what "android jack" said.

 

[devermine]

Google Fit always collects your info. And if you install a fitness app it simply reaches out to that info and that's it.

 

[devermine]

As for the second question, it is Accelerometer and GPS which help the technology define whether you are walking, running, riding a bike or driving.