Meta Wants to Strap a Health Tracker to Your Wrist and Monetize Every Heartbeat

What Is Happening

Meta has revived its abandoned smartwatch project, internally codenamed Malibu 2, and is reportedly targeting a 2026 launch. The company previously shelved its first smartwatch attempt in 2022, but is now doubling down on wearable hardware as part of a broader push into AI powered devices.

The watch is expected to debut alongside updated Ray Ban smart glasses, codenamed Hypernova 2, likely at Meta Connect in September. Both devices are designed to act as sensor hubs for Meta's AI ecosystem, collecting biometric and environmental data to power what the company calls "personalized AI experiences."

What the Malibu 2 Will Collect

Based on reports from multiple outlets, the Malibu 2 will focus heavily on health tracking. The sensors on your wrist will record:

• Heart rate: Continuous optical heart rate monitoring throughout the day and night
• Blood pressure: A feature that Apple has struggled to ship, Meta is reportedly building blood pressure monitoring directly into the device
• Sleep patterns: Duration, quality, and stages of sleep tracked automatically
• Activity levels: Steps, exercise type, calories burned, and movement patterns
• Location data: GPS tracking tied to every activity session and potentially ambient location logging

This is not a fitness tracker from a health company. This is a biometric data collection device from the company that built the world's most profitable surveillance advertising business.

Why Meta's Track Record Matters

Meta's entire business model is built on collecting personal data and converting it into targeted advertising revenue. In 2024, the company generated over $130 billion in ad revenue, virtually all of it powered by data harvested from its users across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads.

The company's history with user privacy is well documented. Meta paid a $5 billion FTC fine in 2019 over the Cambridge Analytica scandal. In 2022, the company was fined $1.3 billion by Irish regulators for transferring European users' data to the United States. In 2024, it emerged that Meta allegedly bypassed Apple's App Tracking Transparency framework to continue collecting user data without consent.

Adding health data to this equation changes the stakes. Heart rate patterns can reveal stress levels, anxiety, and emotional states. Sleep data correlates with mental health conditions. Blood pressure readings are medical information. When combined with Meta's existing behavioral profiles, health data creates an extraordinarily intimate picture of a person's life.

How It Compares to Apple and Google

Apple has positioned privacy as a core selling point for the Apple Watch. Health data is encrypted on device, synced through iCloud with end to end encryption, and Apple does not sell advertising based on health metrics. Apple's business model is selling hardware, not data.

Google's Fitbit collects similar health data but operates under Google's advertising infrastructure. Google has stated it will not use Fitbit health data for ad targeting, though the company's privacy policies leave room for data to be used in other ways within its ecosystem.

Meta has made no comparable commitments. As one tech publication put it: "Your Apple Watch data sits in Apple's ecosystem, behind a company that has made privacy a marketing pillar and a legal battleground. Your Malibu 2 data sits with a company that patented a way to keep monetizing you after you die."

The Regulatory Gap

Health data collected by smartwatches and fitness trackers generally falls outside the protections of HIPAA, the U.S. law that governs medical records. HIPAA only applies to healthcare providers, insurers, and their business associates. A tech company collecting the same data through a consumer device is not covered.

State privacy laws like the CCPA and new laws in Indiana, Kentucky, and Rhode Island classify health data as "sensitive personal information" requiring opt in consent. But enforcement is uneven, and most consumers click through consent screens without reading them.

The EU's GDPR provides stronger protections, requiring explicit consent for processing health data and limiting how it can be used. But Meta has repeatedly tested the boundaries of European privacy law and paid the fines as a cost of doing business.

What to Consider Before Buying

If Meta launches the Malibu 2 as expected, consumers will need to weigh the convenience of health tracking against the reality of who is collecting that data and how they have handled personal information in the past.

• Read the privacy policy before creating an account. Look specifically for language about data sharing with advertisers and third parties
• Check whether health data can be stored locally without syncing to Meta's servers
• Consider whether a health focused device from a company whose primary business is advertising aligns with your expectations for medical data privacy
• Review what data deletion rights are available and whether deleting your account actually removes your health records from Meta's systems

The fundamental question is not whether a smartwatch can track your health. It is whether you want the company that knows what you like, who you talk to, and what you search for to also know your heart rate at 3 a.m.