Google is closing the door on third-party Fitbit apps and clock faces this month

Owning an older Fitbit smartwatch increasingly feels like watching its once-crowded toolbox empty out, one feature at a time. Google has already trimmed music features, restricted third-party apps on newer models, and removed familiar Fitbit perks during the move to Google Health. Now, another door is closing, and this time even a factory reset could cost you something you can’t get back.

Starting November 28, 2026, Google’s Fitbit App Gallery will stop offering third-party apps and clock faces, leaving only those made by Fitbit and Google. The company confirmed the change in an official community announcement, with an updated support page spelling out what it means for existing installations and future downloads.

Starting on November 28, 2026, you can no longer install or update third-party apps and clocks on Fitbit smartwatches. After this date, your installed apps and clock faces from third-party developers will continue to work. However, if you choose to delete an app or clock face, or factory reset your device, you will no longer be able to re-install it.

The change covers the Fitbit Sense and Sense 2, the Versa lineup from the original model through Versa 4, including Versa Lite, and the recalled Ionic. The Sense 2 and Versa 4 already shipped without third-party app support, so owners of older models have more to lose.

Apps and clock faces you’ve already installed won’t disappear on November 28. But delete one, switch to a different face and remove the old one, or factory reset your watch, and you won’t be able to download that third-party favorite again. Existing third-party apps and faces also won’t receive further updates.

This isn’t Google’s first move in this direction. In 2024, it pulled third-party apps and faces from the Fitbit Gallery in the EU, citing new regulatory requirements. At the time, Fitbit owners elsewhere could still browse those options. The new announcement brings that restriction to the wider Fitbit audience, without providing a new reason for the change.

Google says its own apps and clock faces will remain available and recommends updating the companion Google Health app to version 5.12 to keep them working properly.

So if your older Fitbit still has a beloved custom face or a useful third-party app, think twice before tidying up your downloads. Soon, what stays on your wrist may be all you get.