Facebook gets into fitness tracking with purchase of popular iPhone app Moves

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Screen Shot 2014-04-24 at 10.12.03 PM

Facebook has been on quite the buying spree lately. After snatching up Oculus VR, the social network is now acquiring a popular fitness tracking app for the iPhone. ProtoGeo Oy, the Finnish app maker behind Moves, announced today that it is joining Facebook.

“Since we launched Moves, we’ve been focused on running a simple and clean activity diary that millions of people have enjoyed using,” said the announcement. “Now, we’re joining Facebook’s talented team to work on building and improving their products and services with a shared mission of supporting simple, efficient tools for more than a billion people.”

Moves was released on the App Store in January of 2013, and it now has an Android client, web interface, and API for third-party developers. Using the iPhone’s built-in sensors and the M7 co-processor in the 5s, Moves is able to track different kinds of exercise and record where you go throughout the day. Its main interface is composed of moving bubbles that show distance traveled while walking, running, and cycling.

A timeline shows where you went during the day, including the exact distance traveled between destinations. Besides functioning as a pedometer, Moves is able to keep track of calories burned.

The makers of Moves caution that the app will continue to be available as a standalone download and not “commingle data with Facebook.” The purchase is interesting considering that Facebook recently announced a Nearby Friends feature for its main mobile app.

Source: ProtoGeo Oy

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