Health Connect: what it is, how to set it up, and why apps can’t see your steps

What Health Connect is

Health Connect is a shared place for health and activity data on Android. Watch apps, sports apps and step counters write to it; other apps read from it — always only what you allow. A nutrition app, for example, can see the steps your watch app wrote there.

What matters is where the data lives. In its help, Google describes Health Connect as a database stored on your device and states explicitly that it doesn’t store data from connected apps in the cloud. So it’s not an account or a web service, but a local store on your phone.

The second thing: Health Connect is mainly a go-between. Another app has to send steps to it — the exception is phone step tracking on Android 14 and newer (see below). If nothing writes to it, there’s nothing in it.

Where to find Health Connect on your phone

It depends on your Android version:

Phone makers customize Settings, so labels can differ. The fastest way is to type “Health Connect” into the search bar in Settings — Google mentions this route in its developer documentation, too. On Android 13 and older, you can also add Health Connect to Quick Settings.

A few practical notes:

• Health Connect works on Android 9 and newer.
• When you upgrade to Android 14, your data and permissions move to the system version automatically, and you can then uninstall the separate app.
• Health Connect doesn’t support the Android work profile (or multiple user profiles in general).

How to let apps read and write

In Health Connect, each app has separate permissions to read and to write, for each data type. A watch app needs to write steps; an app that only displays steps needs to read them.

1. Open Health Connect.
2. Under Permissions and data, tap App permissions.
3. Select the app.
4. Turn on Allow all, or just the individual data types the app needs (for example Steps).

In practice, it usually works the other way around: the app itself offers to connect to Health Connect and shows the system permissions screen. Google points out that some apps have to start syncing in their own settings — the switch in Health Connect alone isn’t enough then.

By default, a newly connected app can only see data from the 30 days before you granted permission, plus everything new. It only sees older history if it asks for a special permission.

Data sources and priority: who wins when two apps write steps

Steps are often written by two apps at once, for example by your watch and your phone. Health Connect then merges them, and when the data conflicts, it gives priority to the app higher in the priority list. Google explains it with an example: if two apps write steps for the same hour, the steps from the one with higher priority count.

To set the order:

1. Open Health Connect.
2. Tap Manage data → Data sources and priority.
3. Select the Activity category (that’s where steps belong).
4. In the App sources list, touch and hold the handle next to the app’s name and drag it up.

You can also exclude an app from the totals (Edit → Remove). It can still write, its data just won’t count toward the totals.

One catch: Health Connect only removes duplicates by priority for activity and sleep, and only when an app asks for aggregated data. Some apps read all the individual entries and merge them in their own way. That’s why the same day can come out differently in different apps. If you want to be sure, let only one app write steps and turn off step writing for the others.

Steps straight from your phone (Android 14 and newer)

On Android 14 and newer, Health Connect can record steps from the phone on its own. It starts as soon as an app gets permission to read steps. These entries are labeled with your phone’s name and have the lowest priority by default, so steps from a watch take precedence. Google recommends having the latest Google Play system update installed for this.

If you don’t want your phone tracking steps, turn it off in Health Connect in the Devices section: select your phone and turn off Steps.

Why an app can’t see your steps: checklist

Go through the points in order. The problem usually turns up within the first three.

1. Are the steps in Health Connect at all? Data and access → Activity → Steps → See all entries. If the list is empty, the source isn’t writing — the problem is in your watch app, not in the app that reads steps.
2. Is the source allowed to write steps? App permissions → your watch app → Steps.
3. Is syncing turned on in the source app, too? Garmin Connect, Samsung Health and Mi Fitness each have their own switch. You’ll find the steps in the guides for Xiaomi, Garmin and Samsung Health.
4. Did the data get from the watch to the phone? The watch sends data to its app on the phone, and only that app writes it to Health Connect. Open your watch app and let it sync.
5. Is the app that reads steps allowed to read them?
6. Is that app reading at all? Recent Access → See all recent access shows which apps read or stored data in the past 24 hours.
7. Is it older data? By default, a new app can’t see further back than 30 days before permission was granted.
8. Are the sources getting mixed up? If there are suspiciously few steps or twice as many, check Data sources and priority.
9. Is the app running in a work profile? Health Connect doesn’t work there.
10. Is everything up to date? Update your watch app, the app that reads, and on Android 13 and older also Health Connect from the Play Store. It can also help to turn the permission off and turn sync back on from the source app.

Why this matters so much: apps that read Health Connect only see what’s actually in it. Tada!, for example, counts an active day from the steps and workout minutes in Health Connect — once steps from your watch or phone are there, they count. What exactly Tada! reads is also summed up in the help article on watches and other apps.

Your steps are in Health Connect. Now turn them into a streak Tada! reads steps and workouts from Health Connect, and every day with 6,000 steps or 20 minutes of workout extends your streak. No sign-up, and your data stays on your phone. Download for iPhone

Privacy: who can see your data

• The data stays on your phone. According to its help, Google doesn’t store it in the cloud.
• Each app sees only what you allow, and you can revoke permissions at any time. Revoking a permission doesn’t delete data that’s already stored, though.
• Apps can keep a copy. Deleting data in Health Connect doesn’t remove that copy — you have to do that in the app itself.
• Apps have to declare up front what data they collect and share, otherwise they aren’t allowed to use Health Connect.
• You can delete selectively: everything, one app, a category, a data type or individual entries. Under Manage data → Set auto-delete, older data gets deleted automatically.
• Backup is optional. On Android 14 and newer, you can set up a scheduled export to a cloud storage provider of your choice (Manage data → Backup and restore).

What about Google Fit?

Google Fit is an app; Health Connect is a store. Fit can sync with Health Connect (Profile → Settings → Sync Fit with Health Connect). For developers, though, Google supports the Google Fit APIs only until the end of 2026 and hasn’t accepted new sign-ups since May 1, 2024. For step-tracking apps, it recommends moving to Health Connect. If an app offers to connect “via Google Fit,” it’s worth looking for a direct Health Connect connection instead.

Frequently asked questions

Is Health Connect the same as Google Fit?

No. Google Fit is a fitness app; Health Connect is a store on your phone that various apps can write to and read from, Google Fit among them.

Why are my steps doubled in Health Connect?

Two sources are writing steps, typically your watch and your phone. Set the order under Manage data → Data sources and priority, or let only one app write steps.

Does Health Connect count steps by itself?

On Android 14 and newer with current system updates, yes — from the phone. On older versions, it only stores what other apps write to it.

Sources

1. Google (n.d., accessed October 8, 2026). Learn about Health Connect. Android Help. link
2. Google (n.d., accessed October 8, 2026). Get started with Health Connect. Android Help. link
3. Google (n.d., accessed October 8, 2026). Manage connected apps in Health Connect. Android Help. link
4. Google (n.d., accessed October 8, 2026). Find your Health Connect data. Android Help. link
5. Google (n.d., accessed October 8, 2026). Manage your Health Connect data. Android Help. link
6. Google (n.d., accessed October 8, 2026). Troubleshoot Health Connect & send feedback. Android Help. link
7. Google (n.d., accessed October 8, 2026). About Health Connect integration to Android 14. Android Help. link
8. Google (n.d., accessed October 8, 2026). Track your steps with Health Connect. Android Help. link
9. Google (n.d., accessed October 8, 2026). Delete your data from Health Connect. Android Help. link
10. Google (n.d., accessed October 8, 2026). Back up & restore your Health Connect data. Android Help. link
11. Google (n.d., accessed October 8, 2026). Health Connect on Google Fit. Google Fit Help. link
12. Android Developers (2026). Get started with Health Connect. link
13. Android Developers (2026). Read aggregated data. link
14. Android Developers (2026). Read raw data. link
15. Android Developers (2026). Fit migration guide. link
16. Android Developers (2026). Google Fit Migration FAQ. link
17. Google (2026). Health Connect by Android. Google Play. link