Measure your Heart Rate on Smartphone, Track Breathing on Smartphone, Measure Respiratory Rate on Smartphone, Track your Breathing using Smartphone –
Measuring your heart rate can be a great way to monitor your heart health. We know that smart wearables these days come with such functionalities.
But we can also measure our heart rate with the help of smartphones, but it’s never been easier. A variety of apps uses our phone’s camera to measure heart rate without any kind of heart rate strap or other accessory.
Here’s how you can measure Heart Rate on your smartphone.
Measure Heart Rate, Breathing
There are variety of apps including Google Fit app that can measure breathing on both Android and iOS devices, and other third-party apps like Cardiio: Heart Rate Monitor for iOS devices, and Instant Heart Rate: HR Monitor for Android devices to measure heart rates that are free to measure heart rates.
1. Using Face Camera on Google Fit App
The features for measuring heart rate on Google Fit were firstly introduced for Pixel phones, and now available on lot of smartphones. But it is also possible that this feature may not be available on every smartphone at present.
Here’s how you can measure your heart rate on smartphone using Face Camera:
- First of all Install Google Fit App from App Store or Google Play Store.
- Now, open the Google Fit app on your smartphone.
- Log in to your Google account.
- Now, you will see Track your respiratory rate banner card.
- If you don’t see these then the feature is not available on your phone.
- Click on banner and then choose Get Started.
- Now, give camera access to the app and position yourself in the frame.
- Follow the instructions, remain still, and breathe normally until tracking is complete.
Once it’s done, you will see your breathing rate on your smartphone screen. You can also tap on Save to this to your account for future references.
2. Using Camera Lens on Google Fit App
Google Fit can also track your heath rate on some smartphones including the Pixel series using their camera lens. But it is also possible that this feature may also not be available on your smartphone at present.
Here’s how you can measure your heart rate on smartphone using Camera Lens:
- First of all Install Google Fit App from App Store or Google Play Store.
- Now, open the Google Fit app on your smartphone.
- Log in to your Google account.
- Now, you will see Check Your Heart Rate or the Heart Rate banner card.
- If you don’t see these then the feature is not available on your phone.
- Click on the banner and tap on Next to proceed and you will see instructions to place your finger over the camera lens. Tap on Next again.
- Next, you will need to allow camera access to the app to proceed.
- Now, place your finger on the main rear camera lens and click on Start Measurement
- The camera viewfinder will open and place your finger completely covering the lens.
- Keep your finger on the camera lens until tracking is complete.
Once it’s done, you will see your breathing rate on your smartphone screen. You can also tap on Save to this to your account for future references.
Note: As per Google, the result isn’t meant for any diagnosis or analyze other medical conditions. Also, you will not get the same accuracy as the medical equipment.
3. Third-Party Apps
If your phone does not support both the features listed above then you can also track or measure your Heart Rate on smartphone using any other third-party apps.
You can download third-party apps like Cardiio: Heart Rate Monitor for iOS devices, and Instant Heart Rate: HR Monitor for Android devices that are free to measure heart rates on smartphone.
How Apps can Measure Heart Rate?
Similarly to the heart rate trackers built into most fitness wearables, apps on your phone can measure your heart rate by detecting changes in blood volume below the skin’s surface – a practice called Photoplethysmography.
Every time your heart beats, the amount of blood that reaches the capillaries in fingers and face swells and then recedes. Because blood absorbs light, apps are able to capture this flow by using the flash of our phone’s camera to illuminate the skin and create a reflection.
