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The title doesn't feel accurate: per the article the watches don't actively leak your personal data (e.g. via issues in the Garmin Connect platform), but instead the data they generate is totally readable at rest via USB.

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And what can be seen as a loss for privacy is a win for openness. Honestly, if you've stolen my watch I'm going to be pissed you stole my watch, I don't really care if you know I'm a slow runner.

My takeaway is that Garmin could probably stand to put a layer on top of this to stop it being embarassingly accessible while continuing to keep the data in open user-readable standards. This could be as simple as "(optionally, default do) prompt for a PIN on the device when mass storage / MTP is requested".

I don't find Apple's watch offering compelling, but I can appreciate that it won't just dump all your data e.g. at a customs checkpoint.

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