DistanceRecord: Health Connect distance data

What Google says DistanceRecord is

Captures distance travelled by the user since the last reading. The total distance over an interval can be calculated by adding together all the values during the interval. The start time of each record should represent the start of the interval in which the distance was covered.

If break downs are preferred in scenario of a long workout, consider writing multiple distance records. The start time of each record should be equal to or greater than the end time of the previous record.

Quoted from Google’s DistanceRecord Jetpack reference, last updated 2026-06-24, read 2026-10-03.

Class

androidx.health.connect.client.records.DistanceRecord

Google's category

Activity

Record type

Interval

Unit class

androidx.health.connect.client.units.Length

Mandatory fields

distanceendTimemetadatastartTime

Added in (Jetpack)

1.1.0

Permissions

The exact strings Google’s data-types table declares for DistanceRecord. Google’s page: “Before requesting any permissions, your app must declare them in the manifest.”

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.health.READ_DISTANCE" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.health.WRITE_DISTANCE" />

import androidx.health.connect.client.permission.HealthPermission
import androidx.health.connect.client.records.DistanceRecord

val permissions = setOf(
    HealthPermission.getReadPermission(DistanceRecord::class),
    HealthPermission.getWritePermission(DistanceRecord::class),
)

The 6 fields of DistanceRecord

Types and descriptions as Google’s reference prints them. The range column quotes Google’s own range annotation or sentence; a dash means Google states none, which is not the same as no validation.

Aggregate metrics

The AggregateMetric constants Google defines on DistanceRecord. The value type is the T in Google’s AggregateMetric<T> signature. Every aggregate metric across all records.

Google’s read-data guide: “For cumulative types like StepsRecord, use aggregate() instead of readRecords() to avoid double counting from multiple sources and improve accuracy.” and “The aggregation API also contains logic to handle duplicate records, and lessens the chances of rate limiting.”

Read DistanceRecord in Kotlin

The shape of Google’s own read example, with DistanceRecord and its names filled in. Get the client with HealthConnectClient.getOrCreate(context) after checking getSdkStatus.

import androidx.health.connect.client.HealthConnectClient
import androidx.health.connect.client.records.DistanceRecord
import androidx.health.connect.client.request.ReadRecordsRequest
import androidx.health.connect.client.time.TimeRangeFilter
import java.time.Instant

suspend fun readDistance(
    client: HealthConnectClient,
    startTime: Instant,
    endTime: Instant,
): List<DistanceRecord> {
    val response = client.readRecords(
        ReadRecordsRequest(
            DistanceRecord::class,
            timeRangeFilter = TimeRangeFilter.between(startTime, endTime),
        )
    )
    // One page of up to pageSize records (default 1000); follow
    // response.pageToken for the rest.
    return response.records
}

import androidx.health.connect.client.HealthConnectClient
import androidx.health.connect.client.records.DistanceRecord
import androidx.health.connect.client.request.AggregateRequest
import androidx.health.connect.client.time.TimeRangeFilter
import java.time.Instant
import androidx.health.connect.client.units.Length

suspend fun aggregateDistance(
    client: HealthConnectClient,
    startTime: Instant,
    endTime: Instant,
): Length? {
    val response = client.aggregate(
        AggregateRequest(
            metrics = setOf(DistanceRecord.DISTANCE_TOTAL),
            timeRangeFilter = TimeRangeFilter.between(startTime, endTime),
        )
    )
    // get() is declared as returning a nullable value.
    return response[DistanceRecord.DISTANCE_TOTAL]
}

Setting up the client, the permission flow and Play Console declaration: integrating Health Connect step by step.

HealthKit counterpart

No verified HealthKit counterpart. The cross-platform matrix only pairs metrics checked against both Apple’s and Google’s documentation, and DistanceRecord is not among them yet. A similarly named Apple type may exist on the HealthKit reference, but a name match is not a verified mapping.

The metric on other platforms

This guide lists DistanceRecord beside the types on the other platforms this site covers whose own descriptions name the same metric, each quoted, with how each one is read.

• Distance Tracking API: Walking, Running and Activity Distance by Platform

Questions

What permission does DistanceRecord need?

Google's Health Connect data-types table (read 2026-10-03) declares android.permission.health.READ_DISTANCE for reading DistanceRecord and android.permission.health.WRITE_DISTANCE for writing it, and says apps must declare permissions in the manifest before requesting them.

Which aggregate metrics does DistanceRecord support?

Google's Jetpack reference defines 1 on DistanceRecord: DISTANCE_TOTAL (AggregateMetric<Length>). Pass it in the metrics set of an AggregateRequest and read it back from the AggregationResult.

What values does DistanceRecord.distance accept?

Google's reference types distance as Length. Its description reads: "Distance in Length unit. Required field. Valid range: 0-1000000 meters."

Is DistanceRecord an interval, instantaneous or series record?

Google's data-types table lists DistanceRecord as Interval, and defines that column as indicating "whether the data is recorded at an instant in time or over an interval". Its mandatory fields are distance, endTime, metadata and startTime.