What you need to know
- During its Android Health segment, Google highlighted a couple of updates for Health Connect for developers and user data.
- The company is preparing to roll out background reads, which will let a developer’s app take in a user’s data to remain up-to-date when held in the background.
- History reads lets users grant access to another app so it can take in their “historical” Health Connect data, which includes information well beyond 30 days prior.
We’re still busy unpacking all that Google had in store for I/O 2024, and this next bit stems from its “Android Health” segment.
The company is highlighting another string of updates that are primed for its Android health sector for users in a Developers blog post. Google’s Health Connect is preparing to pick up support for background and history reads. Regarding the former, the post states that the developer-focused feature will give their app the ability to read Health Connect data when in the background.
Google states that this will enable a developer’s app to keep a user’s information up-to-date without manual input from the user.
History reads enters as a feature that gives a developer’s app some context so it’s not starting from zero. Google states users will have the option to grant an app access to their historical data in Health Connect. This is said to stretch beyond just the past 30 days.
While users may find both features useful, Google adds that developers must declare the permissions for them to appear. Users can accept or decline these permissions as Google ensures they control the data they share. If users no longer want to allow background or history reads, the options can be found in Health Connect’s settings.
Google plans to roll out both new features for user data “later this year.”
