Garmin Connect Developer Program reopened: what changes for your integration
Garmin reopened the Garmin Connect Developer Program on 21 October 2026. It had been closed to new applications for most of the year. Teams that had Garmin on their roadmap can apply again.
This post covers the parts that affect your integration. It looks at how the tiers deliver data, the rule on credentials, what the updated agreement says about AI, and how to run Garmin on your own app in Open Wearables.
The tiers, seen from the integration side
Garmin now lists three access levels. Personal gives an individual access to their own Garmin Connect data, pulled on request. It is meant for analysing your own data and is not a route for an app with users.
Starter is described by Garmin as the starting point for organisations building apps. Data is delivered by push only. Historical data is not included, and user capacity is limited. Press reports put the limit at 1,000 connected users and say Starter is free.
Enterprise is for companies operating at scale. It adds ping/pull delivery next to push, at least one month of historical data, unlimited users and technical support. Garmin describes the commercial terms as tailored to each company. According to press reports, there is an entry fee credited against a bill for monthly active users, and billing starts on 1 April 2027.
The tier you need depends on onboarding more than on volume. A new user on Starter starts with an empty history, and data arrives from the moment they connect. If your product shows a new user their past weeks on day one, you need the backfill that comes with Enterprise.
Your app, your credentials
Under the program, every company registers its own app with Garmin and receives its own client ID and secret. Garmin's developer agreement does not allow passing the keys or the data to a third party without Garmin's written permission. Garmin has said this requirement is not new. It now applies to everyone coming through the reopened program.
Strava has a similar rule. Its API agreement, in force since 1 June 2026, says a developer may not share an API token with any other developer or third party, or use it for more than one application.
In practice, if your Garmin connection runs through another company's registration, check whether that company has Garmin's written permission. If it does not, plan to register your own app and move your users onto it.
AI and the updated agreement
The revised agreement rules out using Garmin data to train or improve your own AI models. Our reading is that running an existing model on one user's data to answer that same user remains possible with the user's consent and an AI transparency statement. Fine-tuning a model on your user base is out of scope.
This is our reading and not legal advice. Check the current agreement with your own counsel before you ship an AI feature on Garmin data.
Running Garmin on your own app in Open Wearables
Open Wearables runs in your infrastructure, so the Garmin connection is configured with your own credentials from the start. Momentum never holds your keys and never sees your data.
The setup has four steps. Apply to the Garmin Connect Developer Program under your organisation's name and register your app. Add the client ID and secret to your deployment's environment configuration. Point Garmin at your deployment's callback endpoint, which receives the data Garmin pushes. Then test the OAuth flow with a test account and confirm data arrives.
Open Wearables handles the parts that are tedious to build yourself. It runs the OAuth consent flow and the token lifecycle. It hosts the callback endpoint, and the code for it is in the repository. It also coordinates backfill requests, because Garmin runs backfill as a request-and-wait chain and does not allow concurrent backfills on one account.
Moving an existing integration onto your own app
If your users currently connect through someone else's Garmin registration, the move has two sides. On your side, you register your own app and configure it in your deployment. On your users' side, each person connects Garmin again through your app's consent screen, because their existing authorisation belongs to the other registration.
Treat the reconnection as part of the product. Tell users why they are being asked, keep it to one tap from the screen where they see their Garmin data, and track who has not reconnected after a week.
What Open Wearables does not do
Open Wearables does not grant Garmin access and does not replace Garmin's approval. You apply to Garmin yourself, and the relationship is between your organisation and Garmin. Open Wearables is the software you run so that your approved connection works next to Apple Health, Oura, Whoop and the other sources your users connect, behind one API in your own infrastructure.
Open Wearables
Open Wearables is an open-source platform that connects your application to wearable and health data providers through a single API. One normalized data model, multi-provider support in a single self-hosted deployment, MIT licensed, and health intelligence built in: normalized recovery, sleep, activity and biometric data ready for your product layer.
We offer custom deployment and integration support through Momentum. If your team needs help getting to production faster, we can set up and configure Open Wearables as part of a managed engagement. Let's talk.
Book a demo to see how Open Wearables fits your use case.
Garmin integration
View the full Garmin integration documentation on Open Wearables.