I've seen it stated as fact a hundred times here that the fitbit 'pinged' near WC's place. Is this an actual fact or just speculation?
Fitbit's don't ping.
In order to get any location data from fitbit, a number of things have to happen :
1) You have to link the fitbit to your phone to enable "connected GPS", this then uses the GPS chip within your smartphone to record location information.
2) You have to start the fitbit app on your smartphone
3) You begin your run, the fitbit will start recording your location but only on the fitbit device.
4) The fitbit has to be synced either with a smartphone or PC. In order for this to occur the smartphone or PC "MUST", have an internet connection (either wifi or cellphone).
So the data really only exists either on the fitbit device or fitbit's servers, the synced device is just a device in the middle to pass the data to the servers.
Note, the data doesn't get uploaded to fitbit servers continuously, fitbit's site is a bit elusive about how often syncing occurs, it states if you sync with a PC it's roughly every 15-30 minutes, on a smartphone it says periodically throughout the day.
What this means is when LE ask fitbit for the data, it's only up to the point of the last sync. If you had wifi turned off on the phone (to save battery), and your cellnet coverage was poor at home, it could be a long time before the data was synced, after returning from a run. Typically I would return home, have a shower, grab a drink and then sync and see how bad my run was....
Having said all that, GPS data can be very useful :
you can look at previous routes to see if you always run a similar route
you can check interval times (e.g. how long it takes to run 1KM), and from my own experience if you run at a fairly consistent pace, you can spot if you have to wait 5-10 seconds to cross a road, or 10-30 seconds to stop and re-tie a shoe lace. If you stopped to have a short chat with someone this would clearly show up.
Finally, the GPS data is usually accurate enough not only to see which side of the road you run, but sometimes even what side of the pavement (sidewalk), and if you suddenly veered off course to cross the road, this would be highly visible if you zoom in on the map.
So, if they have the data from the last run it would be very useful, but even without it, it could prove useful for establishing patterns and other anomalies....