Jimmy Westenberg / Android Authority
TL; PhD
- Strava provides users with privacy control over critical information through its latest updates.
- Users can now hide the start or end of a run at any location, or hide their map completely.
- You can also hide biometric data and jot down private notes.
- Subscribers will find it easier to find and access personalized statistical maps.
Strava It may be a “social network for athletes,” but as with any social media, privacy will become an issue sooner or later. With the latest update, Strava allows users to control the information they want to share and hide key location data from the public.
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Strava has allowed you to hide your home address by setting the privacy zone option. A key change in the new update is the ability to hide any other start/end positions. As with the privacy zone settings, you can hide up to one mile at the beginning or end of a run. With enough map and location information, it is not difficult to determine where a person frequently goes, but this should be a welcome update anyway.
Taking things to the next level, you can now hide your map completely. Not only will your friends and followers not see the map, but they will also hide this data in the global heat map, and it will be basically unavailable anywhere on Strava. Of course, you can view your activities and maps on the app. But any part of the map, or the entire map, if you wish, will be grayed out to show hidden content. Please keep in mind that these new privacy features only apply to future uploads after setting.
You can hide more than just the roadmap. Strava also added options to hide biometric data, speed and power. The update also adds a private notes section for athletes to add ideas separate from their public stories. When viewing your activity, you can find this new option in the upper right corner of the mobile app. On the web, you can find it via the pencil icon on the left side of the screen.
Finally, Strava also introduced an easier way to find personalized statistical maps for subscribers. This will allow you to select and view polylines based on key data such as heart rate, pace, altitude, etc. You could do this before by using specific hashtags such as #elevationmap. This update makes it easier to preview and select them now.
Strava is already one of the best fitness apps you can find, especially for runners and cyclists. These new privacy features should make it better for anyone who doesn’t like sharing so much information on the platform.