Any good European sport watches?
Was going to buy a new run watch, and thought I would switch from Garmin to Suunto. Sent a mail to customer support, and got an auto reply that Suunto is moving operation to China. Including app and userdata 😢
Asked AI to break it down for me: This privacy policy update indicates some significant changes to how Suunto will handle your data, particularly regarding operations in China. Here’s what it means for your privacy concerns:
Key Changes:
- Suunto is transferring several key operations to their Chinese group companies, including customer service, repairs, web operations, and app development
- These Chinese entities will now jointly collect and process your personal data alongside Suunto Oy (the main Finnish company)
- Data will be transferred from the EU to China, which lacks GDPR-equivalent privacy protections
Privacy Implications:
- Your personal data (likely including running routes, fitness metrics, location data, and account information) will now be processed in China
- China has significantly different data privacy laws than the EU, with fewer protections for individual privacy and more government access
- While Suunto mentions using “standard contractual clauses” (SCCs) to protect data, these are a legal mechanism that many privacy experts consider insufficient when transferring data to countries with intrusive surveillance laws
What This Means For You:
- If you purchase a Suunto watch and use their services after October 10, 2024, your data will be subject to these new arrangements
- Your running data, location information, and personal details would potentially be accessible to Chinese authorities under Chinese law
- The Chinese companies will have access to and control over many aspects of your customer experience
If privacy is a significant concern for you, you might want to:
- Consider alternative sports watch brands with different data policies
- Research how data localization works with specific models (some watches can function with limited cloud connectivity)
- Review the full privacy policy to understand exactly what data is collected and how it’s used
Suunto was bought in 2022. Took three years to move operations apparently.
Silly move - hailing from Finland was a big plus and I already considered going with Suunto with my next watch. As I am fine with the manufacturing process, storing user data outside of Europe isn’t something that is a plus aspect against Garmin… So there is just Polar left? 😩
Then it’s just Polar left?
Withings is from France: https://www.withings.com/us/en/
(more fashion/hybrid smart watches, not full-featured running watches)
Had some spectacularly bad customer support experience with them. Watch stopped charging well within the warranty period and it was an absolute nightmare trying to get them to fix/replace it. Either systemic incompetence or a deliberate tactic to try to avoid making good on the warranty.
Polar is awesome, bought mine 6 months ago
Ah fuck, I just purchased a Suunto Race last year over a Garmin, because it was Finnish company 😭
There’s Polar, another Finnish company but I don’t know much where they operate nowadays
Ah fuck, I just purchased a Suunto Race last year over a Garmin, because it was Finnish company 😭
Suunto hasnt been Finnish for many years now ? I have an old Suunto from just before they were bought out originally (2018) by a Chinese company and they were then on sold in 2022 to another Chinese company.
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2022/01/suunto-owners-again.html
It’s not Garmin so there is that bonus.
Damn it
Here is the original text I from Suunto:
_We have updated our Privacy Policy, to reflect the upcoming organizational changes over the next three months, after which the Group companies of Suunto in China will provide customer services, repair services, web operations, mobile & cloud development, and other key functions, and jointly collect and process your data with Suunto Oy. As a data protection measure, we shall use the standard contractual clauses approved by the European Commission under Article 46.2© of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and applicable supplementary measures or by other lawful procedure specified in Chapter V of the GDPR. The updated Privacy Policy will go into effect October 10, 2024, and Your continued use of the services will be subject to the new Privacy Policy.
Please review the updated privacy policy at https://www.suunto.com/Privacy-Policy/.
Let us know if you have any further questions. We will try our best to assist you.
Suunto Customer Support_
It’s hard to find any electronics that is EU, or for that matter non-Asian. The entire electronic supply chain is in Asia centered around China, so they will have a competitive edge.
I move to Polar from Garmin over a decade ago and will never go back. Love my Polar.
Is it possible to use Polar completely offline? I mean with Garmin, the Connect app must be connected to internet in order to serve the data and stuff. I tried Gadgetbridge, but the notifications just do not work well.
I would like smartwatch that doesn’t need cloud. I want to keep my data on my hardware and display them with software of my choice.
I haven’t tried with my new one. With my old one yes, I just transferred to my computer with the dongle/charger.
