Millions of people wear fitness trackers, but FOX25 Investigates found that you aren't the only one with access to your own data.

 

Fitness trackers can monitor activity, heart rate, and sleep patterns and are conveniently worn around your wrist. The information is supposed to be your own and to help improve your fitness, but lawyers are finding that it can be used in certain cases.

 

PROVING ACTIVITY LEVEL IN COURT

 

Attorney Bruce Hagen specializes in cases involving bike crashes. He started asking clients for activity data a year ago in order to prove in court how active their client was prior to crashes.

 

In Canada, a personal trainer used her own Fitbit data to prove how her life changed after an accident. A company used the data to compare her activity level to the public average for a woman of her age and job.

 

TRACKING DATA USED AS EVIDENCE

 

Tucked away in the middle of Amish country, a Florida woman was staying at her boss's house and called 911 to report a sexual assault by an unknown intruder. Detectives doubted the woman's story, and police say evidence from the woman's Fitbit helped catch her in a lie. By looking at the amount of steps the woman took, detectives say they could tell she was up and walking around during a time she claimed to be asleep.

 

Though it won't work in every situation, Fitbit data can be relevant in cases involving injuries, accidents, or insurance claims.

 

FOX25 reached out to Fitbit, but the company did not want to comment. On its website, the privacy section promises to keep your data safe and never sell it, but does say it will disclose your data to comply with a valid legal process, like a warrant or subpoena.