Unacceptable: Apple Health Sync is now behind a $99/year paywall for new accounts

General Discussion

October 13, 2026 15:53

Answered

Written by Matteo A

278 comments

355 likes

Hi everyone,

I’m writing this because I recently found out about a silent and incredibly anti-consumer change Withings just implemented, and I think the whole community needs to be aware of it.

Starting from October 13th, 2026, any new Withings account is forced to pay for a Withings+ subscription ($99.99/year) just to sync their own data to Apple Health.

I reached out to Customer Support and their response was completely contradictory. They claimed that syncing with Apple Health is a "standard feature that does not require a subscription," but in the very next sentence, they confirmed that "any account created after October 13th will be asked to sign up for a Withings+ subscription in order to export data" justifying it with new "privacy measures" and an "AI connector".

Let's be clear: writing data to Apple Health via HealthKit happens locally on the phone. It does not require complex cloud compute, server costs, or any "AI connector". It's a basic API call. I know we can still manually export a CSV file, but let's be real—nobody wants to manually import CSV files in 2026. Even the absolute cheapest, no-name smart scales on the market offer automatic Apple Health synchronization for free.

Taking a fundamental feature that has always been free and locking it behind a paywall for new users is an obvious cash grab. It ruins the hardware experience and destroys the trust in the brand.

I strongly urge Withings to backtrack on this terrible decision. If you agree, please upvote and reply so they hear us. We shouldn't have to pay a subscription to access our own health data.

355

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Comments

Adam Q

October 29, 2026 19:12

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Utterly ridiculous, I’m grandfathered in, but have had Withings devices for a decade - this is the line for me. When my current devices need replacing, or this company starts to penny pinch further, I’ll be looking elsewhere.

Thoroughly disappointed in Withings and management’s actions.
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Walter O

November 01, 2026 15:57

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Yep agreed. I don’t do SaaS, it’s a predatory business practice that really needs to be shut down. I was going to buy a new withings scale and BP cuff, but my old account is no longer active and I now am stuck behind a paywall for basic HealthKit integration. I can’t support predatory business practices like this and will purchase different equipment due to withings predatory decision.
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Dennis Z

November 02, 2026 06:44

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Fuck of Withings and reverse this. Btw my account is way older than 13 October and sync doesn’t work anymore.
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D H

November 02, 2026 08:02

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Seems they took a horrible turn. Will look for alternatives if this is not reversed.
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Baptiste M

November 02, 2026 08:17

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The more I think about it, the more I feel that this decision makes no sense.

Vincent Brand says, “This is a decision to prepare for our future.” He also adds that “the value lies in the data.” Our data.

If the value really lies in our data, and if they were genuinely disruptive, they could have taken a completely different approach to their business model.

For example, alongside their traditional offering, they could have made syncing with Apple Health free while introducing an alternative subscription model that includes the hardware, say over a 24-month period.

Essentially, solving one more problem for customers instead of creating another one.

Instead, they’ve diminished the value of their hardware, their services, and their entire ecosystem.

But as I’ve said before, all good things must come to an end.
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Huanyuan H

November 02, 2026 08:53

Edited

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As someone who had my Withings scale delivered on 13 October, created my account that very same day, and only subsequently found out about this change, I have to say this is truly disappointing.

This is certainly not the kind of experience I’d expect from a brand positioning itself as a premium health-tech company.
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mike

November 02, 2026 08:51

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I am grateful a friend warned me about this before I became a Withings customer. I am now looking forward to buying a Garmin Index S2 body scale instead.
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hello

November 03, 2026 03:35

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The hardware is fine. Paying $99/yr to sync data I already generated is the part that stings. Once a device has your sleep history, the subscription stops being a feature and starts being leverage. Genuinely curious how many people cancel vs. just grumble and pay.
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