cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/45508744

I’m looking for privacy-conscious options for a cycling computer or possibly a wearable fitness tracker.

Recording activities has become sort of a journal for me. I like being able to look up when I did a particular ride/hike, or how long it took, where I hit a max speed, whether or how often I’ve taken a certain road, etc. I also like seeing basic metrics like average speed/distance/time YTD, year over year, or for specific date ranges.

I do track heart rate and time in zones, but would be willing to let that go. I never wear a wearable 24/7 and don’t track sleep/hydration/stationary workouts.

I’ve been using Garmin devices for years, and really like them for ease of use - getting all of my data into one place “just happens automatically” and is available for further analysis. But, I don’t like that that one place is, well, Garmin, not to mention that their supporting and data visualization apps are completely enshittified at this point.

Three alternatives spring to mind:

  • go back to a “dumb” computer (maybe not such a bad thing!)
  • keep my Garmin devices but take them offline - mount them as USB and copy the files locally
  • use a phone-based app like CoMaps

Are there any good alternatives out there? Maybe even an all-in-one platform like Garmin, but where the company really puts privacy front-and-center… or platforms that facilitate storing data locally?

Thanks!

  • Nils@lemmy.ca
    3·
    9 hours ago

    It depends on your threat model (how much you want to share).

    Any device would leak a bit of information, either when it pings the satellite or cellular network, and some devices even ping nearby devices.

    go back to a “dumb” computer (maybe not such a bad thing!)

    It is difficult to find anything “dumb” nowadays. If you go to the vintage route, make sure they have a common cable, and that you can export/import the files using some easy to read format like GPX. To avoid getting stuck in proprietary bullshit.

    That is even more important if you like to plan your route on your PC and send to the device.

    keep my Garmin devices but take them offline

    This will leak less information than your mobile device. Depending on the device, you can find open-source software that can make your life a lot easier for transferring files and reading them.

    use a phone-based app like CoMaps

    Can be an easy route. If you have your phone on you all the time, you are already leaking some information anyway.

    or possibly a wearable fitness tracker.

    Some of them require a proprietary app that definitely will phone-home with your info.

    You can try GadgetBridge to avoid that https://gadgetbridge.org/gadgets/ but the supported devices list is small.

    Maybe even an all-in-one platform like Garmin, but where the company really puts privacy front-and-center

    No, sadly. The best you can find are community made open-source apps alternatives trying to bridge the gap.

    Garmin used to show their source code back in the day. https://developer.garmin.com/open-source/linux/

    • 𞋴𝛂𝛋𝛆@lemmy.world
      4·
      8 hours ago

      I’m not sure about software, but in my crash, the law firm paid to have the files extracted from an old crushed Garmin 810 IIRC the model. It was the 8xx series. They person said it only had to be connected to USB to access the files. The data is just a CSV with the waypoints and sensor data. Once the file is extracted, it is basically just spreadsheet fodder.

      Not sure about newer stuff.

      From my experience with brands, Lezyne is just a small crew of nerds. They have experience with PIC microcontrollers and usually use them. Same with Campagnolo digital shift stuff from a decade ago.

      Most are shooting for USB drive emulation for file transfer. So on Linux, you will need membership in the dialout group, and the udev rules.d file with the manufacturer ID and device ID from the microcontroller to access the files directly and any serial stream that may be present. The instructions are the same as any basic Arduino setup.

      If you find or guess the baud rate and get a serial port connection, they usually have an API menu.