Best Fitbits has been offering sleep tracking for years, but it looks like the company's feature-packed smartwatch will soon be upgraded to provide insight into snoring volume when out and about

According to 9to5Google, which decompiled the latest version of Fitbit's Android app, the ability to measure snoring volume using the device's microphone is close to going live As the screenshot below shows, the copy is all written, and the site notes that it was able to "at least easily enable the feature to be set up"

Once enabled, the feature monitors both the intensity of the sound and specific "snoring events" when the volume exceeds the reference noise level We are concerned, however, that our smartwatches are hearing us throughout the night

According to the app's breakdown, Fitbit provides analysis based on frequency ("none to mild" for those who snore less than 10% of the night, to "frequent" for those who snore more than 40% of their downtime) and volume ("very quiet" counts as less than 30 dBA and "very loud" as 90 dBA or more)

It is not clear what Fitbit owners are expected to do with this information, but it seems like a worthwhile metric to track, as snoring can seriously affect sleep quality as well as disturb others [However, snoring tracking has some drawbacks, as Fitbit points out here First, there is no way to know who is snoring, so if you are sharing a bed with someone, you may pick up their snoring instead of yours Additionally, the app notes that using white noise or other ambient sounds to help you fall asleep can also disturb your sleep

More seriously, however, snoring tracking requires the use of Fitbit's built-in microphone to measure the volume and frequency of snoring The first microphone is the Alexa feature in the Fitbit Versa 2, a smartwatch feature that is more expensive than the fitness band

Second, as one might imagine, using the microphone all night long would result in poor battery life For this reason, Fitbit seems to advise making sure the device has at least 40% charge remaining before bedtime Note that this feature requires more frequent charging"

Third, there are no two ways about it: having the microphone listen to your sleep is a bit uncomfortable Obviously, to enable snore tracking, you have to agree to the privacy policy

Whether the usefulness of this statistic can justify the extra battery consumption and potential invasion of privacy remains to be seen, but it is certainly encouraging that Fitbit is adding new features to its existing product line without forcing an upgrade to the latest and greatest