Google has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Fitbit for $7.35 per share in an all-cash deal that values the wearable tech company at $2.1 billion.

The deal had been reported earlier this week, raising concerns around what the search engine giant planned to do with the biometric and location data from people’s devices.

In a blogpost, Google’s senior vice president for devices and services Rick Osterloh attempted to quell this, stating that “privacy and security are paramount”, promising to put users in control and “give you transparency about your data”.

He continued: “Similar to our other products, with wearables, we will be transparent about the data we collect and why – we will never sell personal information to anyone.

“Fitbit health and wellness data will not be used for Google ads, and we will give Fitbit users the choice to review, move, or delete their data.”

The statement explained that while Google has made progress with partners in this space with Wear OS and Google Fit, it saw an opportunity to invest even more in Wear OS as well as introduce Made by Google wearable devices into the market.

“By working closely with Fitbit’s team of experts, and bringing together the best AI, software and hardware, we can help spur innovation in wearables and build products to benefit even more people around the world,” wrote Osterloh.

“Our hardware business is still relatively young, but we’ve built a strong foundation of capabilities and products, including Pixel smartphones and Pixelbooks, Nest family of devices for the home, and more.

“Google also remains committed to Wear OS and our ecosystem partners, and we plan to work closely with Fitbit to combine the best of our respective smartwatch and fitness tracker platforms,” he added.

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