Health Connect app: what it is, how it differs from Google Fit, and how to connect your watch

Short answer

Health Connect is the place on an Android phone where health and fitness apps share data with each other. Your watch's app writes steps, sleep and heart rate into it, and any app you allow can read them. It is not a tracker or a cloud account: Google describes it as a database stored on your device, with permissions you set per app and per data type.

On Android 14 and newer it is built into the system settings; on Android 13 and older you install it from Google Play. It replaced Google Fit as the way Android apps exchange health data — Google is deprecating the Google Fit APIs in 2026 — and it sits underneath the new Google Health app rather than competing with it. Most "it isn't syncing" problems come down to one missing permission, one app that never opened after setup, or two apps writing the same steps. Each takes about a minute to check, and the checklist is below.

If you want something that reads all of this back to you as one picture of your stress, sleep and recovery, Welltory on Google Play connects to Health Connect in a few taps — the steps are near the end.

Note: this article explains how Health Connect works, based on Google's own documentation and the documentation of the device makers named here, checked on October 21, 2026. Menus change between Android versions and phone brands, so the exact wording on your screen may differ. Where we describe Welltory, we are describing our own product, and every claim about it comes from the Welltory Help Center.

What is Health Connect?

Think of Health Connect as a shared notebook that lives on your phone. Every health app you use can be allowed to write into it and to read from it — and you decide, separately for each app, which pages it can see.

Before Health Connect, every pair of apps needed its own connection. Your running app talked to your sleep app through one bridge, your scale talked to your nutrition app through another, and if a company never built the bridge, the data simply did not travel. Health Connect replaces that web of one-to-one links with a single hub: each app connects once, to the hub, and the hub handles the sharing.

Google's own help page sums up its purpose as letting you share health, fitness and medical information with multiple apps while keeping control of your personal data on your Android device. The developer documentation states it works on Android 9 (API level 28) and higher.

Three things it is not, because these are the most common misunderstandings:

• It is not a tracker. Health Connect does not count steps or measure your heart. Something else — your phone, your watch, your ring — measures, and its app writes the result into Health Connect.

• It is not an analysis app. It stores and shares. It does not tell you whether last night was a good night or whether you are recovering from a hard week.

• It is not a cloud service. Google states that it does not use the cloud to store the data connected apps send to Health Connect. Your data sits on the phone. The apps that wrote it may keep their own copies on their own servers — that part is governed by each app's privacy policy, not by Health Connect.

Health Connect vs Google Fit vs Google Health: what changed in 2026

This is the single most confusing part of the topic right now, because three Google names cover three different jobs, and two of them changed this year.

Google Fit was Google's original fitness app and, more importantly, a set of developer APIs that other apps used to exchange data. Google's developer site states that the Google Fit APIs, including the REST API, will be deprecated in 2026, and that new developers have not been able to sign up for them since May 1, 2024. Google points developers to Health Connect for on-phone data sharing. If an app tells you it "no longer syncs with Google Fit", this is why.

Health Connect is the replacement for Google Fit's data-sharing role. It is infrastructure: a store on your phone and a permissions system. You rarely open it except to set permissions or check where your data comes from.

Google Health is the new consumer app. On May 7, 2026, Google announced that the Fitbit app was becoming the Google Health app, bringing data from Health Connect, Apple Health and medical records into one place, and said that later this year it would begin migrating Google Fit users into Google Health. Fitbit devices and the Pixel Watch pair with the Google Health app.

So the relationship is simple once you see it:

Is Health Connect the same as Google Health? No. Google Health is one of the apps that reads from and writes to Health Connect. You can use Health Connect without ever installing Google Health — for example, if your watch is a Samsung or a Garmin and you read your data in another app.

Is Health Connect replacing Google Fit? For data sharing between apps, yes. Google has said Google Fit users will be invited to move into Google Health; it has not published a final shutdown date for the Google Fit consumer app.

Is Health Connect the same as Samsung Health?

No, though on a Samsung phone they work closely together.

Samsung Health is Samsung's own health app and the companion for Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Ring. It measures, stores and displays your data, and it has its own permissions for third-party apps.

Health Connect is the neutral hub. Samsung's developer documentation says Samsung Health has synced with Health Connect since version 6.22.5 (October 2022), once you grant the permissions. Data from a Galaxy Watch goes to Samsung Health on the phone first, then on to Health Connect.

One technical detail matters here: Samsung notes that Health Connect does not run on Wear OS watches — it runs on the phone. Your watch never talks to Health Connect directly. It talks to its own app on the phone, and that app writes to Health Connect.

On a Samsung phone you therefore have a choice for every other app: connect it to Samsung Health directly, or connect it to Health Connect. Some apps support both. Pick one per app — more on why under "data sources and priority".

What data does Health Connect store — and where?

Google's help page groups the data into these categories:

• Activity — steps, distance, exercises, calories burned

• Body measurements — such as weight and body fat

• Cycle tracking

• Nutrition

• Sleep

• Vitals — heart rate, blood pressure, blood glucose and others

• Medical records — allergies, conditions, medications, lab results

Google's developer documentation adds that newer data types include skin temperature, exercise routes and mindfulness sessions.

Two caveats are easy to miss. First, Google states that not every app connected to Health Connect supports every data type. A watch might write sleep and steps but not skin temperature; a reading app might read steps but ignore exercise routes. The fact that Health Connect can hold a data type tells you nothing about whether your devices put it there.

Second, what reaches Health Connect is the raw-ish measurement, not the device maker's interpretation of it. A company's own scores usually stay inside its own app. Garmin, for example, shares a set of wellness and workout data with Health Connect — steps, heart rate, sleep, calories, floors, weight and body fat among them — while metrics such as training load, training effect and HRV status are not on the list, according to Garmin's support documentation as reported by Tom's Guide in July 2025. Garmin can change that list, so its own support page is the current word. If you expected to see your watch's readiness or energy score in another app and it never appears, this is usually why — not a broken setup.

Where it is stored: on your phone. Google describes Health Connect as a database stored on your device and says it does not use the cloud to store data that connected apps send to it. That has a practical consequence: if you change phones, your Health Connect data does not appear on the new one by itself. On Android 14 and newer, Google offers Scheduled export, which saves your Health Connect data as a ZIP file to a cloud storage app you choose — daily, weekly or monthly — and an Import data option under Manage data → Backup and restore to bring it back. Google notes that health records are not included in export and import.

How to find or install Health Connect on your phone

Where Health Connect lives depends on your Android version. Google's instructions (checked October 21, 2026):

Android 14 and newer: it is part of the system. Open Settings → Security and privacy → Privacy controls → Health Connect. On some phones it is quicker to type "Health Connect" into the Settings search bar.

Android 13 and older: download Health Connect from Google Play. Then open Settings → Apps → All apps → Health Connect and tap Open.

"Why can't I see the Health Connect app?" On Android 14 and newer there is no separate icon in the app drawer, because it is a system setting rather than an app — use the Settings path above. On older versions, check that it is installed from Google Play.

Google also notes that Health Connect does not support multi-user profiles, such as an Android Work Profile. If you set up your health apps inside a work profile, they will not see your personal Health Connect.

How to connect apps and watches to Health Connect

The general pattern is always the same, whatever the device:

1. Pair the device with its own app (Samsung Health, Google Health, Garmin Connect, the Oura app, and so on).

2. In that app, turn on sharing with Health Connect and choose which data types it may write.

3. In each app that should read the data, grant read permissions in Health Connect.

4. Open both apps once after granting permissions. Google notes that some apps have to be started from within the app before they sync.

Google's own setup steps inside Health Connect are: open Health Connect and tap Get started → under Permissions and data, tap App permissions → turn on the apps you want to sync → choose the data permissions to share → tap Allow.

Here is how that looks for the devices people ask about most. Every brand's own help page is in the references.

Samsung Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Ring

The watch syncs to Samsung Health on the phone. Samsung's documentation gives the path: in Samsung Health, Settings → Health Connect → App permissions → Samsung Health, or in phone Settings, search for Health Connect and go to App permissions → Samsung Health. Open Samsung Health after granting permissions. To force a sync, Samsung suggests Settings → Sync with Samsung account → Sync now in Samsung Health. The timing of watch-to-phone transfers follows Samsung's battery-saving policy, so it is not instant.

Google Pixel Watch and Fitbit

Both pair with the Google Health app (formerly the Fitbit app). Google's steps: in Google Health, tap Connections → Partner apps, then under Add connections tap Sync your favorite health apps → Set up, accept, choose the data, and decide whether Google Health may also access historic and background data. Google recommends allowing that for a fuller picture. To check it worked, go to Connections → Partner apps → Manage Health Connect; a status like "Synced just now" means it is working. Google requires Android 9 or higher and an adult Google Account for this.

One date matters if you use a Fitbit with other apps: Google states that starting October 30, 2026, the Fitbit Web APIs will no longer be supported, and partner apps using them need to be reconnected to keep syncing. Google also states that people who sync through Health Connect are not affected. If a Fitbit-connected app stops updating around that date, Google's advice is to reconnect your account through that partner app; if the app supports Health Connect, syncing through Health Connect is the route Google says is not affected.

Garmin

Garmin Connect can share data with Health Connect from inside the Garmin Connect app, following Garmin's own instructions. Garmin describes this as a one-way transfer: Garmin writes into Health Connect but does not read data back from it, according to Garmin's support documentation as reported by Tom's Guide in July 2025. On that list, steps, heart rate, sleep, weight and workouts arrive; Garmin's own training scores are not on it.

Oura, Polar, Withings, Coros and others

Each of these makers publishes its own Health Connect instructions, and the Welltory Help Center links to them: Oura, Polar, Withings and Coros among them. The pattern is the same as above — switch sharing on in the maker's app, then grant read permissions to whichever app should see the data.

Permissions and privacy: what an app can see

Health Connect's permission model is more granular than most people expect, and three rules explain nearly every "why can't this app see my data" question.

Permissions are per app and per data type. Allowing an app to read your steps does not let it read your sleep. Allowing it to write workouts does not let it read your heart rate. You can review and change all of this under App permissions in Health Connect.

By default an app sees recent history, not your whole history. Google's help page states that once you grant access, connected apps can see the last 30 days of data plus anything written afterwards. Some apps ask for an additional permission to read older data — Google Health asks for "historic data" access during setup, for example. If a newly connected app shows only the last month, this is the reason, not a fault.

Background access is a separate permission. Google's developer documentation describes background reading as a capability that lets an app keep accessing data while it is not open. Without it, some apps only update when you open them.

Deleting and controlling your data. Google states that you can delete all your data, specific data types, specific entries, whole categories, or everything from a previously connected app, and that you can schedule data to delete automatically after a set time. Deleting removes data from Health Connect on your phone; Google adds that other apps or devices may still have a copy. If you want something gone everywhere, you also have to delete it in the app that originally recorded it.

Medical records follow different rules. The 30-day limit does not apply to health records, and individual medical-record entries cannot be deleted one by one, according to Google.

Apps have to declare what they do. Google states that apps must declare what they collect and share before they can use Health Connect. That does not make every app equally careful with your data — it means the app has stated its intent, and you can read that statement before you allow it.

Data sources and priority: why your steps double

When two apps write the same kind of data — your phone counts steps in your pocket, your watch counts the same steps on your wrist — Health Connect has to decide what the total is. Google's explanation: when multiple apps write the same data type, the data is merged, and where the data conflicts, the app higher on the priority list wins.

You control that list. Google's path: open Health Connect → Manage data → Data sources and priority → choose a category. Under App sources you can:

• Add an app — it starts contributing to the totals for that category.

• Remove an app — it can still write data, but it no longer counts toward the totals.

• Reorder apps — touch and hold the handle next to an app and drag it up or down.

Three rules prevent most duplication:

• One device, one route. If a watch can reach an app both directly and through Health Connect, use one. The Welltory Help Center says the same about its own integrations: connecting a source both directly and through an aggregator leads to duplicate data and inaccurate reports.

• One owner per metric. Decide which device is the authority for steps, which for sleep, which for heart rate, and put it at the top of that category.

• Check the total, not the chart. A step count that jumped the day you connected something new is the signature of a duplicate, not of a sudden new habit.

Health Connect not syncing? A checklist that fixes most cases

Work through these in order. Most problems are solved by the first three.

1. Is the data in Health Connect at all? Open Health Connect and look at the category. If last night's sleep is not there, the problem is between your device and its own app, not between Health Connect and the app you read it in. Open the device's app and let it finish syncing.

2. Did the source app get write permission? In Health Connect, open App permissions, find the app that records the data (Samsung Health, Google Health, Garmin Connect…) and check the data type is switched on.

3. Did the reading app get read permission? Same screen, the other app. Each data type is a separate switch.

4. Open both apps once. Google notes that some apps must be started before they sync. Opening the source app first, then the reading app, often triggers the first transfer.

5. Check the priority list. If the numbers look wrong rather than missing, go to Manage data → Data sources and priority. The wrong app may be at the top, or two apps may be counting the same thing.

6. Expect a 30-day window on first connection. A newly connected app normally sees only the last 30 days unless it asked for, and you granted, access to older data.

7. Force the source to sync. On Samsung Health: Settings → Sync with Samsung account → Sync now. On Google Health: check Connections → Partner apps → Manage Health Connect for the last sync time.

8. Work profile or second user? Health Connect does not support multi-user profiles. Apps installed inside a work profile will not see your personal data.

9. Toggle permissions off and on. If everything looks right and nothing moves, switching an app's permissions off and back on — the step the Welltory Help Center suggests for its own app — often resets a stuck connection.

If none of this works, the problem is usually inside one specific app, and that app's own support page is the next stop.

What Health Connect does not do

It is worth being blunt about the limits, because they shape what you can expect from any app that reads from it.

It does not interpret anything. It will tell you that you slept 6 hours 10 minutes and walked 4,200 steps. It will not tell you that three short nights in a row are why today feels heavy.

It does not make your devices agree. If your ring and your watch both record last night, Health Connect stores both and merges them by your priority order. It does not know which one was right.

It does not carry what the maker keeps for itself. Proprietary scores mostly stay in the maker's app, as Garmin's list shows.

It does not move with you automatically. Data lives on the phone. Set up Scheduled export before you switch devices.

It does not run on your watch. It runs on the phone; the watch's companion app is the bridge.

Before you blame yourself for the setup

Most people who search "Health Connect not syncing" arrive slightly annoyed with themselves. The watch says one number, the app says another, the morning report is empty, and the quiet conclusion is I must have set this up wrong — followed by an evening of uninstalling things.

Usually you did not. You are looking at a system with three layers — the device, its app, and the hub — and each layer has its own permissions and its own timing. A gap between them is the expected result of that design, not a sign that you missed something obvious. Google's documentation itself lists half the causes on this page: the 30-day window, the app that must be opened first, the priority list.

The same idea applies to the data itself once it is flowing. When a week feels harder than it should, the honest first question is not "what is wrong with me" but "what did my body already record": three short nights, an evening heart rate that never settled, a week with no real rest day. Before you blame yourself, check what your body already recorded — and change one thing, then watch the trend over one to two weeks.

How to connect Welltory to Health Connect

These steps come from the Welltory Help Center:

1. Make sure Health Connect is available on your phone (built into Settings on Android 14 and newer; from Google Play on older versions).

2. In the Welltory app, open Menu and go to Apps.

3. Scroll down, find Health Connect and tap Connect.

4. Grant Welltory permission to read your data — the Help Center suggests Allow all, so that every data type Welltory can use is available.

5. In your source app's settings (Samsung Health, Google Health, Garmin Connect and so on), turn on data transfer to Health Connect.

6. In Health Connect → App permissions, check which apps can access your data.

According to the Help Center, Welltory receives every data type it is able to process from Health Connect, and the types you actually get depend on which apps and devices write into it — most often activity, heart rate, sleep and breathing. On Android, Welltory can also connect to Samsung Health directly. The Help Center recommends Health Connect or Samsung Health as your main source instead of Google Fit, and recommends connecting each source by only one route.

If reports stop appearing, the Help Center's first fixes match the checklist above: check that the data exists in Health Connect, check that Welltory has all permissions under App permissions, and on Android refresh charts from Menu → Data → Reload.

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How Welltory helps — and what it cannot do

The limits first. Welltory is a general wellness app, not a medical device. It does not diagnose, treat or monitor any condition, and a heart rate variability (HRV) measurement is not an ECG. The Help Center notes that measurements may be less accurate for people under 18 and during pregnancy.

What it adds on top of Health Connect. Health Connect brings the data to one place; Welltory reads it and turns it into reports. On Android, the Help Center describes Sleep Analysis, built from sleep data from Samsung Health, or from Fitbit and Garmin Connect when they are integrated through Health Connect, with a Sleep Score built from sleep balance, schedule, stability and the heart rate wave overnight. It describes a Workout Analysis for workouts recorded on a Samsung Watch or Pixel Watch, with heart rate zones recalculated daily. Both are saved in the Journal, alongside your measurements and anything you tagged.

Its own HRV measurement. Health Connect carries what your devices write; Welltory also measures HRV itself. On Android that works three ways, according to the Help Center:

• With your phone camera and flash, no wearable needed. Most modern Samsung phones with the flash close to the camera are suitable; some phones are not, including the Google Pixel 6, 6A, 6 Pro, 7 and 7 Pro, because the flash is too far from the lens.

• With a Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 or newer running Wear OS, by hand or automatically through Health Monitoring, which takes readings when you are calm and still. The free version allows one manual and one automatic watch measurement a day; Premium removes the limit.

• With a chest strap that records raw RR intervals and sends them over Bluetooth 4.0, such as the Polar H10 or Garmin HRM-Pro. Straps that only use ANT+ do not work.

What it cannot take from Health Connect. Garmin, Fitbit and Oura devices send activity and sleep to Welltory, but Welltory's HRV measurements do not come from them. Do not plan on a Pixel Watch for Welltory HRV measurements right now. The Help Center currently notes that HRV measurements are unavailable on Pixel Watch devices running Wear OS 6, while other Help Center pages still list Pixel Watch among compatible watches; until those agree, check the Help Center before you rely on it. Galaxy Watch devices, including those on Wear OS 6, are not affected, according to the same note.

What you do with it. Wear what you already wear, let it write into Health Connect, and take one quiet measurement at the same time each morning. Tag the evenings that might matter — "late coffee", "two glasses of wine", "hard training". After a couple of weeks, your Journal shows which of those days your measurements and your sleep actually moved on, compared with your own history rather than anyone else's. Whatever shows up is an association worth noticing, not a diagnosis.

You can get Welltory on Google Play. If you also use other sources, our guide to combining Apple Health, Garmin and Oura data explains the duplication trap in more detail, and measuring HRV without a wearable covers the camera method. For what happens to your data once it leaves the phone, see what happens to your health data.

How we made it

Made with AI tools, then edited and fact-checked by the Welltory team. See our Editorial & AI policy. Every step and claim about Health Connect, Google Health, Samsung Health, Fitbit and Garmin is taken from those companies' own documentation, checked on October 21, 2026; every claim about Welltory is taken from the Welltory Help Center.

Jane Smorodnikova, co-founder of Welltory, built the methodology behind how we read physiological data.

Written by Tatsiana Yashyna.

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