Key Takeaways
- Health Connect now offers backup/restore features for your health data.
- You can export the data to any cloud storage provider of your choice, including Google Drive.
- Manual export and an option to save the data locally are not available.
Health Connect acts as a centralized place for all health and fitness apps to store and exchange data with each other. Originally started as a standalone app, Google baked Health Connect right into Android 14. Despite its usefulness, one of the biggest limitations of Health Connect was the lack of a backup/restore tool. So, if you switched devices, you had to bid adieu to your health data. In September 2024, we spotted Google working on a fix for this limitation. Two months later, this feature is finally rolling out.
Related
What is Health Connect and how do I use it?
What you need to know about the local Android service that connects all your fitness apps
Google appears to have silently rolled out a Health Connect update, adding the option to back up and import your data. You can now schedule Health Connect to export your health data in a ZIP file on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. You can save the exported data to Google Drive or any other cloud storage provider.
There’s no way to manually export the data or save it locally on your device, likely for privacy reasons. You must set a schedule and then wait for the tool to export the data.
When switching devices, you can use the tool’s Import option to restore your health data from the last available backup. If you turn off Health Connect backup in the future, it won’t delete your existing backups. The only other way to migrate Health Connect data across Android devices is to transfer data using a cable connection during the initial setup.
As Android Authority‘s Mishaal Rahman notes, Health Connect’s backup/restore tool might not be fully functional yet. Exporting the data only created an empty ZIP file. I tested the tool on two Android phones, one running Android 14 and another Android 15 QPR2, and faced the same issue.
Google likely rolled out the backup/import tool to Health Connect through a Google Play System update. So, it should presumably fix the bug via a Play System update as well.
To access Health Connect’s backup and import tool, navigate to Settings > Security and privacy > Health Connect > Manage data. If you don’t see the option, you might have to wait a few more days for Google to roll out the feature to your device.
If, like me, you value your health data and want to carry it across devices, make sure to set up an export schedule once the tool goes live for you.
