Google Health API or HC Sync?
Google Health API reads cloud health data; HC Sync reads records uploaded from Android Health Connect with user permission. Google’s verification guidance limits unverified apps to 100 users and requires verification before public release. This comparison explains the different data sources, production requirements and when each approach fits your application.
Last updated: 2026-11-04. Source for the 2026 service details: Google app verification guidance.
What is the Google Health API?
Google calls it the next generation of the Fitbit Web API, for health and fitness data from Fitbit, Pixel Watch and other third-party devices and apps. Support for the legacy Fitbit Web API and its OAuth endpoints ended on 30 September 2026, and Google is turning them off.
What does Google require before public release?
Google's app verification page says:
- Most Google Health API scopes are restricted, and verification must be finished before public release.
- An unverified app is limited to 100 users.
- Apps with restricted scopes must also complete an annual security assessment (CASA). Google gives 2-3 weeks for tier-2 apps and 4-6 weeks for tier-3 apps, with third-party assessor fees of $500 to $4,500.
That is a reasonable bar for health data, and it is also real calendar time before you can launch to more than 100 people.
How do Google Health API and HC Sync compare?
| Google Health API | HC Sync | |
|---|---|---|
| Where data is read | Google's cloud | Health Connect on the user's Android phone |
| Best for | Fitbit and Pixel Watch users | Anything that writes to Health Connect, including Samsung Health |
| Verification | Required past 100 users; annual CASA for restricted scopes | None from you. Users grant Health Connect permissions in your app |
| Platform | Web API | Android only |
| Integration | Google OAuth per user | Android library, then REST and signed webhooks |
When should you choose Google Health API?
- Your users are mainly on Fitbit or Pixel Watch and you want data straight from Google's cloud.
- You do not want to ship an Android library.
- You are willing to go through verification and the CASA assessment.
When should you choose HC Sync?
- You already have, or are building, an Android app.
- Your users' data comes from several apps and watches that all write to Health Connect.
- You want to launch this week, not after a security assessment.
If you need both, they are not exclusive: use Google's API for Fitbit cloud data and HC Sync for what lives on the phone.
What does HC Sync provide?
- REST:
GET /v1/summaryfor daily totals,GET /v1/recordsfor raw records,GET /v1/usersfor sync status. - Signed webhooks on every sync, with retry and replay.
- An MCP server, if you want an AI agent to read the data.
How much does HC Sync cost?
Free for 5 synced users. Starter is $29 a month for 100 users, Indie $149 for 1,000, Studio $299 for 20,000.
How can you try it without a phone?
POST /v1/sample-data loads a week of sample data for a test user, so you can call the REST API before you write any Android code. Check your setup or get free keys.
Get free keys Check your setup
What else should you know?
Does HC Sync work on iPhone?
Not yet. Health Connect is Android. Apple HealthKit is next if you ask for it.
How do I delete a user’s data?
DELETE /v1/users/{id} removes everything for that user immediately.
Where is data stored?
Records are stored in the US and deleted after 13 months.