Strava Privacy: How to Make Your Account Private and Control Your Data

How to Make a Strava Account Private?

Adjusting your Strava privacy settings allows you to control who sees your profile, activities, and personal data, ensuring a more secure, personalized, and comfortable experience on the platform.

Understanding Strava's Privacy Philosophy

Strava, by design, fosters a community-driven environment where athletes can share their activities, connect with others, and engage in friendly competition via segments and leaderboards. However, this inherent social nature means that default settings often lean towards public visibility. For many users, particularly those prioritizing personal safety, data control, or simply a more private tracking experience, understanding and customizing these settings is paramount. Taking control of your privacy on Strava empowers you to tailor the platform to your specific needs, balancing community engagement with personal discretion.

Core Privacy Settings: A Step-by-Step Guide

Securing your Strava account involves navigating various settings, accessible via both the mobile app and the website. While the interfaces may differ slightly, the underlying principles and options remain consistent.

Accessing Your Privacy Controls:

• On the Mobile App: Tap the "Gear" icon (Settings) in the top right corner of your "You" tab, then select "Privacy Controls."
• On the Website: Hover over your profile picture in the top right corner, click "Settings," then select "Privacy Controls" from the left-hand menu.

Once in "Privacy Controls," you'll find a comprehensive suite of options:

Adjusting Profile Visibility

This setting determines who can see your full profile page, including your activity summary, follower count, and recent activities.

• Profile Page Privacy:
  • Everyone: Your profile is visible to all Strava users, and your activities may appear in public feeds.
  • Followers: Only users you've approved as followers can see your full profile. Non-followers will see a limited view.
  • No One (Private Account): This is the most restrictive setting. Your profile is not searchable, and only your approved followers can see your profile and activities. You must manually approve all follow requests.

Controlling Activity Visibility

This is perhaps the most crucial setting for individual activity privacy. It dictates who can see the details of your runs, rides, and other workouts.

• Activities:
  • Everyone: Your activities are publicly visible, appear on leaderboards, and can be seen by anyone on Strava.
  • Followers: Only your approved followers can see the details of your activities.
  • Only You: Your activities are completely private and visible only to you. They will not appear on leaderboards or in feeds.
• Default Activity Visibility: You can set a default for all new uploads, but remember you can always manually override this for individual activities after they're uploaded.

Creating Privacy Zones

Privacy Zones allow you to hide the start and end points of your activities around specific addresses (e.g., your home or workplace).

• How to Set Up Privacy Zones:
  1. In "Privacy Controls," select "Privacy Zones."
  2. Enter an address and choose a radius (e.g., 0.5 miles, 1 mile).
  3. Any activity starting or ending within this zone will automatically have that portion of the map hidden from others. The start/end point will appear as a generic location outside the zone.

Managing Group Activities and Flybys

These settings control how your activities interact with others on Strava.

• Group Activities:
  • Everyone: Any Strava user can see that you were part of a group activity.
  • Followers: Only your approved followers can see your participation in group activities.
  • No One: Your activities will never be automatically grouped with others, and your name will not appear on other athletes' group activities.
• Flyby:
  • Everyone: Other users can see when you were near them during an activity via the Flyby feature.
  • No One: You will not appear in Flyby, and you cannot see others in Flyby.

Opting Out of Leaderboards and Segment Explorer

If you prefer to avoid the competitive aspect of Strava or wish to keep your efforts entirely private, these settings are key.

• Leaderboard Privacy:
  • Everyone: Your activities can appear on public segment leaderboards.
  • No One: Your activities will not appear on any segment leaderboards, even if your activity visibility is set to "Everyone" or "Followers."
• Segment Explorer:
  • Everyone: Your activities contribute to segment data, and others can see your efforts when exploring segments.
  • No One: Your activities will not be included in segment exploration data.

Data Sharing with Third-Party Apps

Strava integrates with many other fitness apps and devices. It's crucial to manage which of these have access to your Strava data.

• My Apps:
  • Regularly review the "My Apps" section within your Strava settings.
  • Revoke access for any apps you no longer use or trust. This prevents unnecessary data sharing.

Why Prioritize Strava Privacy?

Beyond the simple act of hiding your activities, a robust privacy strategy on Strava offers several tangible benefits:

• Enhanced Personal Safety: Preventing the inadvertent sharing of your home address, work location, or frequented routes can mitigate risks related to stalking, burglary, or unwanted attention.
• Reduced Social Pressure and Comparison: For many, fitness is a personal journey. Hiding activities from public view can alleviate the pressure of comparison, allowing you to focus on your own progress without external judgment or the need to constantly "perform" for an audience.
• Data Control and Digital Footprint: In an age of increasing data awareness, controlling who sees your fitness data is part of managing your overall digital footprint. You decide what information about your routines is public.
• Tailored Experience: A private account allows you to use Strava purely as a training log and analysis tool, rather than a social network, if that aligns better with your personal fitness philosophy.

Best Practices for Strava Privacy

Even after adjusting your settings, ongoing vigilance is recommended:

• Regularly Review Settings: Strava occasionally updates its features and privacy controls. Periodically revisit your "Privacy Controls" to ensure they still align with your preferences.
• Be Mindful of Defaults: When new features are introduced, check their default privacy settings.
• Utilize Privacy Zones Diligently: Ensure your home, work, and any other sensitive locations are covered by privacy zones.
• Think Before You Share: Before making an activity public, consider whether you're comfortable with everyone seeing the details, especially if it's a new or unusual route.
• Educate Yourself: Stay informed about Strava's privacy policy and any changes they implement.

Conclusion

Making your Strava account private is a straightforward yet powerful step towards a more secure and personalized fitness tracking experience. By leveraging the comprehensive privacy controls available, you can enjoy the analytical benefits of Strava while maintaining control over your personal data and ensuring your safety. Prioritizing your digital privacy in the fitness realm is as important as the training itself, allowing you to focus on your performance with peace of mind.