Withings has introduced a controversial policy change that requires new users to pay for a Withings+ subscription to automatically sync their health data with Apple Health and other third-party apps. According to a post on the company's support forum, accounts created after October 13 will need an active Withings+ membership—costing $99 per year—to enable automatic syncing. Existing users are reportedly not affected by the change.
The move has drawn sharp criticism from the fitness community, with many pointing out that basic data export and syncing is a standard feature on most wearables and smart scales. An official response from Withings on the forum confirmed the change, stating that "automatic sync to third-party apps is part of Withings+." New free users will now have to manually export and upload their data to use it elsewhere.
Withings+ subscription details and impact
The Withings+ plan, priced at $99 annually, now includes automatic syncing to Apple Health as a premium feature. Previously, this functionality was available to all users regardless of subscription status. The change means that new customers who purchase Withings devices—such as the recently released $600 Body Scan 2 scale or the $280 mid-range model—will need to pay an additional yearly fee to seamlessly integrate their health metrics with Apple's ecosystem.
Existing users who created their accounts before October 13 will continue to enjoy automatic syncing without a subscription. However, new users who opt out of Withings+ will have to rely on manual data exports, a cumbersome process that involves downloading their history and uploading it to another platform each time they want updated information.
- Withings+ subscription costs $99 per year (approximately 287 TND).
- Automatic sync to Apple Health and similar apps is now gated behind Withings+ for new users.
