Health Connect uses device sensors to generate data for certain data types through built-in on-device tracking. With this capability, Health Connect can record metrics like steps, distance, and active calories burned without requiring this data from other apps.
This device-level tracking ensures data consistency across all apps connected to Health Connect and frees your app from needing to implement its own algorithms, such as deriving distance or active calories from step counts.
Data types with built-in tracking
Health Connect supports built-in tracking for the following data types:
| Data Type | Description | Featured Guides |
|---|---|---|
| Active calories burned | The estimated calories burned by the user during activity, based on their step count. |
Workouts guide |
| Distance | The estimated distance covered by the user based on their step count. |
Workouts guide |
| Steps | The number of steps taken by the user, detected by device sensors. |
Workouts guide Track steps guide |
Health Connect only begins tracking a data type when an app requests and receives permission to read it. If no apps have permission for a given type, Health Connect doesn't track it.
User controls
Users can disable built-in tracking for any data type at any time from Health Connect settings in Android System Settings. If a user disables tracking, Health Connect stops generating new data of that type but retains all previously recorded data.
To find Health Connect in Settings, see this Android Help article.