Google revealed just over a month ago that the Google Fit app will soon help users measure their heart rate as well as the respiration rate using only their phone’s cameras. Well, the company has today announced that the feature has not started to roll out. The healthy-monitoring features of the Google Fit app are currently limited to the Pixel smartphones. However, Google has promised that it will soon be expanded to other Android smartphones as well.
The health-monitoring tricks are currently limited to Google’s Pixel smartphones
In order to measure your heart rate, all you have to do is hold your finger over your Pixel phone’s rear camera lens and apply a little bit of pressure. The Google Fit app will detect the pulse in your fingertip to measure your heart rate. However, Google advises in clear words that the heart rate readings taken by the camera are not intended for medical use, as so is the respiratory rate calculated using the front camera.
In order to measure the respiratory rate, you’ll have to keep your Pixel smartphone on a stable surface and then sit still in its view. Now, the Google Fit app will monitor the movement of your chest cavity as you sit still and breathe, and will then present you the respiratory rate in breaths per minute. Google recommends that if you’re wearing masks or hats, they should be removed for accurate results. Additionally, if you’ve just finished a vigorous physical activity, you should take some rest and return your breathing to a normal level before taking the reading.
The heart and respiratory rate readings are not intended for medical use
Once you’ve taken your heart or respiration rate reading, you can choose to save it in the app as a health log for a lengthy assessment over time. And in case you’re worried about the privacy of your health data. Google assures that the video stream used for measuring the heart and respiratory rate is processed on-device and in real-time, which means no data is uploaded to Google’s servers.
You can watch the video below on how to measure your heart or respiratory rate via the Google Fit app using only your Pixel smartphone’s camera:
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