Strava: Group Activity Visibility, Privacy Controls, and Best Practices

Can people see who you run with on Strava?

Yes, people can see who you run with on Strava, but this visibility is largely determined by the privacy settings of all individuals involved in the activity and how the activity is recorded and shared.

Understanding Strava's Group Activity Features

Strava is designed to be a social platform, fostering community among athletes. A core aspect of this is the ability to share activities, including those undertaken with others. When you run with partners, Strava offers features that facilitate sharing this joint experience.

• How Group Activities Are Created

  • Automatic Grouping: If multiple athletes record an activity simultaneously in close proximity, Strava's algorithm may automatically group these activities together. This often happens if you start and finish a run at the same time and location with someone else.
  • Manual Tagging: Athletes can manually tag other Strava users in their activity after it's uploaded. This is a common way to explicitly link participants to a shared experience.
  • Beacon (Premium Feature): While primarily a safety feature, Beacon allows selected contacts to track your real-time location during an activity. While not directly about who you run with, it demonstrates Strava's capability to share information about your activity.

• Visibility of Group Activities When an activity is grouped or participants are tagged, Strava links these individuals to the same event. The visibility of this link then depends on each athlete's individual privacy settings.

Strava's Privacy Controls and Your Running Partners

Strava provides robust privacy controls, allowing users to tailor who sees their activities. Understanding these is crucial for managing the visibility of your running partners.

• Individual Activity Privacy Settings Each athlete has the option to set the privacy of their activities to one of three levels:

  • Everyone: Your activity is visible to all Strava users and potentially anyone on the internet (if your profile is also public).
  • Followers: Only users who follow you on Strava can see your activity.
  • Only You: Your activity is completely private and visible only to you.

• Impact of Group Privacy Settings When an activity is grouped or you tag another athlete, the privacy settings of all involved athletes come into play.

  • If you are tagged in an activity, and your activity privacy is set to "Everyone" or "Followers," then those who can see the activity will also see that you participated.
  • If your activity privacy is set to "Only You," you will still appear as a participant to those who can see the other person's activity, unless you specifically untag yourself.

• The "Group Activity" vs. "Workout" Distinction It's important to differentiate between simply recording a workout and actively participating in a "group activity" on Strava. While you might run with someone, if neither of you tags the other and Strava doesn't automatically group your activities, your individual activities will appear as separate workouts, and your shared participation won't be explicitly linked on the platform.

Who Can See Your Running Partners? A Detailed Breakdown

The visibility of your running partners on Strava depends on a combination of factors.

• If You're Both Public (Activity Privacy set to "Everyone"):

  • Anyone on Strava (and potentially the public internet) can see your activity and any other athletes you've tagged or who were automatically grouped with you.
  • Your activity will appear on your profile, and on the activity feed of your followers. Your partner's activity will appear on their profile and their followers' feeds. Both activities will show the other participant(s).

• If One of You is Private (Activity Privacy set to "Followers" or "Only You"):

  • If you are "Followers" and your partner is "Everyone": Your followers will see your activity and your partner (if tagged/grouped). Your partner's public activity will show you as a participant to everyone, but they won't be able to see details of your activity unless they follow you.
  • If you are "Only You" and your partner is "Everyone": Your activity is completely private. However, your partner's public activity will still show you as a participant unless you untag yourself from their activity. This is a critical point: your privacy setting for your own activity doesn't automatically hide your presence in someone else's public activity.
  • If both are "Followers": Only your respective followers will see your activities and the tagged partner. If you don't follow each other, you won't see each other's activities, but your followers will see the other person's name as a participant.

• If You're Not Following Each Other:

  • If both your activities are public, you will still appear as participants in each other's activities.
  • If one or both are set to "Followers," then only the respective followers will see the linked activity. You won't see each other's activities in your feed unless you follow them.

• If You're Using a Private Group Activity:

  • Strava doesn't have a specific "private group activity" setting beyond the individual activity privacy. The privacy is determined by each person's individual activity setting. However, if you and your partners all set your activities to "Only You," then no one else will see that you ran together.

Best Practices for Managing Your Strava Privacy

Taking proactive steps can help you control who sees your running partners and other activity details.

• Review Your Default Privacy Settings:

  • Go to your Strava settings, then "Privacy Controls."
  • Set your "Activities" default to "Followers" or "Only You" if you prefer more privacy over "Everyone."
  • Review "Group Activities" and "Flybys" settings which can also reveal shared activities.

• Understand Tagging and Untagging:

  • Before Upload: If you're concerned about a specific run, consider making it private before saving.
  • After Upload: If you find you've been tagged in an activity you wish to remain private, you can untag yourself from that activity. This removes your name from their activity details and helps maintain your privacy.
  • Communicate: Discuss with your running partners your preferences for tagging before or after your activities.

• Utilize Privacy Zones:

  • Set up privacy zones around your home, work, or other sensitive locations. This ensures that the start and end points of your activities are hidden from others, even if the rest of your activity is public. While not directly about partners, it's a crucial privacy tool.

• Regularly Audit Your Followers:

  • If your activities are set to "Followers," ensure you recognize and trust everyone on your follower list. You can remove followers at any time.

• Communicate with Your Running Partners:

  • The simplest way to ensure everyone's comfort is to have a conversation. Discuss privacy preferences before you run together or tag each other. This fosters mutual respect and understanding.

The Balance Between Community and Privacy

Strava's appeal lies in its ability to blend individual fitness tracking with a vibrant social community.

• Benefits of Group Activities:

  • Motivation: Seeing friends' activities can be a powerful motivator.
  • Accountability: Knowing others can see your runs can encourage consistency.
  • Shared Experience: Celebrating achievements and commiserating over tough workouts builds camaraderie.
  • Safety: In some cases, letting others know who you're with can add a layer of safety.

• Considerations for Data Sharing:

  • While sharing is beneficial, it's essential to be mindful of personal data. Location data, activity times, and who you're with can reveal patterns and personal information.
  • Always prioritize your comfort and safety when deciding what to share and with whom.

Conclusion: Taking Control of Your Strava Experience

In summary, yes, people can see who you run with on Strava, particularly if activities are public, partners are tagged, or Strava's algorithms group activities automatically. However, you have significant control over this visibility through your privacy settings. By understanding how Strava's group activity features and privacy controls interact, and by actively managing your settings and communicating with your running partners, you can strike the right balance between enjoying Strava's community features and safeguarding your personal information. Your Strava experience should always align with your personal comfort level regarding data sharing.