Fitbit launched a health study within its fitness app to determine whether data from its trackers and smartwatches might be used to detect Covid-19 (coronavirus) symptoms.

In a blog, it explained users will be quizzed on whether they have recently had flu or Covid-19 itself, what their symptoms were, and details of medical history and demographic. It is a voluntary study, currently open to users in the US and Canada aged at least 21-years old.

Information provided will be analysed alongside tracker data to “assess relationships between signs and symptoms of Covid-19 and other influenza like illnesses, and metrics that can be collected with a wearable device”, as the company assesses the potential to build a detection algorithm.

If a meaningful correlation is discovered, the company said it could introduce new features to warn users about “their possible disease status” and use anonymised data to inform public health officials about the spread of illness in specific areas.