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I'm looking for privacy-conscious options for a cycling computer or possibly a wearable fitness tracker.

Recording activities has become sort of a journal for me. I like being able to look up when I did a particular ride/hike, or how long it took, where I hit a max speed, whether or how often I've taken a certain road, etc. I also like seeing basic metrics like average speed/distance/time YTD, year over year, or for specific date ranges.

I do track heart rate and time in zones, but would be willing to let that go. I never wear a wearable 24/7 and don't track sleep/hydration/stationary workouts.

I've been using Garmin devices for years, and really like them for ease of use - getting all of my data into one place "just happens automatically" and is available for further analysis. But, I don't like that that one place is, well, Garmin, not to mention that their supporting and data visualization apps are completely enshittified at this point.

Three alternatives spring to mind:

  • go back to a "dumb" computer (maybe not such a bad thing!)
  • keep my Garmin devices but take them offline - mount them as USB and copy the files locally
  • use a phone-based app like CoMaps

Are there any good alternatives out there? Maybe even an all-in-one platform like Garmin, but where the company really puts privacy front-and-center... or platforms that facilitate storing data locally?

Thanks!

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[-] skarn@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 16 hours ago

This! If you have good hardware that works, it's good to keep it if possible.

My smartwatch/activity tracker is indeed a Garmin Instinct 2s with Gadgetbridge. It really does most of what the proprietary app does, and gives you near absolute control over your data.

this post was submitted on 12 Apr 2026
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