Fitbit has admitted that its Surge fitness wearable can cause skin irritation as a number of users report rashes.
Back in December, Fitbit felt impelled to deny that one of its current fitness wearables, the Fitbit Charge, was causing skin irritation.
It used fairly strong and categorical wording to point to its own stringent development and testing processes, and to claim that the levels of irritation being reported were no different to any other item of jewellery.
The reason for this defensiveness is obvious. The company was forced to recall and relaunch the Fitbit Force range around this time last year following similar complaints.
The problem back then seems to have been the use of nickel in the Force’s band – something that has been eliminated for recent devices.
It’s easy to see why Fitbit might not appreciate a second bout of complaints with its latest fitness tracker. However, the complaints have continued with the company’s top-end wearable, the Fitbit Surge.
Fitbit has conceded to TechCrunch that skin irritation might affect a very limited percentage of users, and that the advice from its dermatologists is to keep your wrist clean and dry. It also claims that you should take the Fitbit Surge off from time to time to give your wrist a rest.
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It’s also worth pointing out that the Fitbit Surge comes with a warning that “Prolonged contact may contribute to skin irritation or allergies in some users. If you notice any signs of skin redness, swelling, itchiness, or other skin irritation, please discontinue use or wear the product clipped over a piece of clothing.”
The question now is whether those levels of irritation are unusually high for Fitbit Surge users.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.