Strava closes the gates to sharing fitness data with other apps

We wanted to provide some additional context around the changes to our API Agreement and the impact for our users and developers. We currently anticipate these changes will impact less than .1% of applications and proactively notified the majority of those affected last week.

Enhanced Privacy and User Control

Privacy and user control are at the forefront of our platform. As a result, we are committed to evolving our API practices as regulatory requirements and user expectations shift. This includes the decision to limit the ability of a user’s data to be displayed by third-party apps in ways the user may not expect. Specifically, we want to thoughtfully address situations where users connect to a third-party app and are unaware that their data is being surfaced not just for their own use and visibility, but also to other users (for example, in a public feed or heatmap). The latest API changes address this scenario and provide a more consistent framework for Strava user data.

Training AI Models

We believe in the potential of AI to transform the athlete experience–whether it’s delivering more personalized insights to help you reach your goals, generating route or training recommendations, or countless other possibilities. But innovation in this space must be handled responsibly and with a firm focus on user control. As part of our generative AI features, we are committed to implementing thoughtful solutions that prioritize user control and the ability to opt out.

Third-party developers may not take such a deliberate approach to training AI models and as a result, we believe the best decision for the platform and for users is to prohibit the use of data extracted from Strava users in this manner. Our previous terms already disallowed the use of Strava user data in model training and development but we’ve made this more explicit in light of the increasing activity in this space.

No Impact to Most Developers

We recognize that our platform thrives because of the creativity and dedication of third-party developers who build tools to complement and extend Strava’s capabilities. We are steadfast in our commitment to fostering this ecosystem. We anticipate that these changes will affect only a small fraction (less than .1%) of the applications on the Strava platform–the overwhelming majority of existing use cases are still allowed, including coaching platforms focused on providing feedback to users and tools that help users understand their data and performance.

Original Author: Richard Lawler | Source: The Verge