For me the change is ownership was just the last straw, their incredibly crappy app and the difficulty in downloading my data was a more significant factor.
The app is pretty smooth and nice, syncing is usually good, maybe it's a bit limited in the stats it offers, but for me (tracking my weight, calories, and active hours) is good enough. Didn't try other apps though, so can't compare. I have been using it for over 2 years now almost daily and I'm pretty happy with it, especially that I can track my table-tennis activities and see how hard I actually tried.
I flip-flop on that. I mean you just get more relevant and useful ads? Running shoes on sale? Cool if I need some.
But you also don't want ads publicizing private health info to people who are nearby. Like, I don't want to sit down and watch "TV" at a friends house and have to wonder why I'm seeing ad after ad for valtrex.
I used to be on the relevant ads side of the equation. Then I realized that I have been pumping data into Google for two decades and I still get terrible ads. I've let Google peek into many parts of my life and they aren't giving me more useful ads now then they did in 1998.
Plus, if I need shoes it's not hard to find shoes. I order from Zappos and they show up tomorrow.
I’ve had the same experience. I left Fitbit for Garmin early 2015 and switched back to Fitbit early 2017. Garmin has better overall health tracking but the app user experience is (was?) woefully lacking. I enjoyed and enjoy the Fitbit app and its 90% of the reason I went back.
However I am one of the ones trying to de-Google, so I’ll see how a data dump goes. Trying to find a device that toes the line between health tracker and smart watch as artfully as the Versa 1 does that isn’t produced by a monster Corp should be fun as well