--- description: The suit alleges Fitbit knowingly mislead users title: Lawsuit Says Fitbit Fitness Trackers Are Inaccurate image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1ee8b349acf45d82/698877f33c16398a3b45b733/ap_995795453939.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Lawsuit Says Fitbit Fitness Trackers Are Inaccurate by [Jason Cipriani / Fortune](/author/fortune/) ## Jason Cipriani / Fortune Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 7, 2016 5:25 AM CUT  From left: Fitness expert Harley Pasternak and actress Jordana Brewster lead a work out on behalf of Fitbit, in front of the New York Stock Exchange, June 18, 2015. From left: Fitness expert Harley Pasternak and actress Jordana Brewster lead a work out on behalf of Fitbit, in front of the New York Stock Exchange, June 18, 2015.Richard Drew—AP by [Jason Cipriani / Fortune](/author/fortune/) ## Jason Cipriani / Fortune Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 7, 2016 5:25 AM CUT Fitbit is having a bad week. On Tuesday, the maker of fitness trackers premiered a smartwatch, the Blaze. Shortly after, the company’s shares tumbled, ending the day down 18%. Now, Fitbit is [facing a class action lawsuit](http://www.lieffcabraser.com/Case-Center/fitbit-heart-monitor.shtml "undefined") alleging that its heart rate monitoring technology— which it calls PurePulse—is inaccurate, as first reported by [The Verge](http://www.theverge.com/2016/1/6/10724270/fitbit-lawsuit-charge-hr-surge-incomplete-heart-rate-tracking "undefined"). Such technology is found in its Charge HR and Surge devices, as well as the newly announced Blaze. Essentially, Fitbit uses LED lights to monitor blood flow through a user’s wrist and, by using algorithms, can determine a user’s heart rate. Similar technology is used in the Apple Watch, along with several more competing smartwatches and fitness trackers. According to the suit, three different plaintiffs said they bought Fitbit devices based off the company’s advertised promise that it accurately tracked heart rates. Fitbit’s advertising materials often contain phrases such as “every beat counts” and “know your heart” in relation the heart monitoring technology. One participant in the suit had a trainer manually count her heart rate during a workout. Her trainer recorded a heart rate of 160 beats per minute (bpm) while her Fitbit Charge HR indicated her heart rate was only 82 beats per minute, according to the filing. Two other plaintiffs are mentioned in the suit, each citing similar experiences with a Fitbit PurePulse-equipped product. The suit goes on to say that a cardiologist, who used an electrocardiogram machine to compare results, found Fitbit’s heart rate sensor consistently reported inaccurate results. With a heart rate of 110 bpm or higher, the suit states the Fitbit devices often failed to record a heart rate at all. When a heart rate was captured, the reading was off by an average of 24.34 bpm, the suit said. When contacted by _Fortune_, Fitbit provided the following comment: --- > “” --- Fitbit’s shares were down nearly 6% in mid-day trading at $22.86. [_This article originally appeared on Fortune.com_](http://fortune.com/2016/01/06/fitbit-heart-rate-accuracy-lawsuit/ "undefined") Fitbit: Lawsuit Alleges Fitness Trackers Are Inaccurate ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4170682/fitbit-lawsuit-fitness-trackers/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4170682/fitbit-lawsuit-fitness-trackers/"},"headline":"Lawsuit Says Fitbit Fitness Trackers Are Inaccurate","datePublished":"2016-01-07T05:25:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:07:13.232Z","description":"The suit alleges Fitbit knowingly mislead users","url":"https://time.com/4170682/fitbit-lawsuit-fitness-trackers/","keywords":["Tech","legal"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1ee8b349acf45d82/698877f33c16398a3b45b733/ap_995795453939.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jason Cipriani / Fortune"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1ee8b349acf45d82/698877f33c16398a3b45b733/ap_995795453939.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Harley Pasternak, Jordana Brewster","caption":"Harley Pasternak, Jordana Brewster","creditText":"Richard Drew—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4170682/fitbit-lawsuit-fitness-trackers/","name":"Lawsuit Says Fitbit Fitness Trackers Are Inaccurate"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"TIME Tech Review: FitBit Surge","description":"Time's Deputy Tech Editor, Alex Fitzpatrick, reviews the FitBit's new wearable, Surge","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/6EmaVmsb/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-02-04T20:02:16.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/6EmaVmsb.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4170682/fitbit-lawsuit-fitness-trackers/","duration":"PT1M12S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4170682/fitbit-lawsuit-fitness-trackers/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```