Strava Privacy: How to Hide Activities from Specific Users and Control Your Digital Footprint

How do I hide my activity from one person on Strava?

To effectively hide your activity from one specific person on Strava, the most direct and comprehensive method is to block that individual. This action prevents them from viewing any of your current or future activities, following you, or interacting with your profile.

Understanding Strava's Privacy Controls

Strava, as a leading fitness tracking platform, offers various tools to manage your personal data and activity visibility. While many users enjoy the social aspect of sharing their runs, rides, and workouts, there are legitimate reasons why you might want to limit who sees your performance, routes, or even your very presence on the platform. Understanding the hierarchy of Strava's privacy settings is key to effectively tailoring your experience.

The Direct Method: Blocking a User

Blocking a user on Strava is the most definitive way to ensure they cannot see your activities or interact with your profile. This action severs the connection entirely, offering a robust solution for targeted privacy.

• What Blocking Does:

  • The blocked user is automatically unfollowed by you, and you are unfollowed by them.
  • They will no longer be able to see any of your activities, past or future.
  • They cannot follow you again or send you follow requests.
  • They cannot see your profile details, including your statistics or gear.
  • You also will not see their activities or profile.

• How to Block a User (Step-by-Step):

  1. Navigate to Their Profile: Open the Strava app or website and go to the profile page of the person you wish to block. You can usually find their profile by searching for their name or by clicking on their name in your follower list or an activity feed.
  2. Access Options: On their profile page, look for the '...' (three dots) icon, typically located in the top right corner (on mobile) or near their name (on web). Click or tap this icon.
  3. Select 'Block': From the dropdown menu that appears, choose the "Block" option.
  4. Confirm Action: Strava will ask you to confirm your decision. Read the implications and confirm to proceed.

Once confirmed, the user is blocked, and your activities will no longer be visible to them.

Alternative Strategy: Adjusting Activity Visibility (General Privacy)

While blocking is for a specific person, Strava also allows you to control the general visibility of your activities. This is useful if you want to limit who sees your activities more broadly, but it is not designed to exclude a single individual without blocking them.

• Setting Activity Privacy (Per Activity or Default):
  • During Upload/Editing: When you upload or edit an activity, you have the option to set its visibility.
  • Options Include:
    • Everyone: Visible to all Strava users, including non-followers and those who visit your profile.
    • Followers: Visible only to your approved followers.
    • Only You: Completely private, visible only to you.
  • Default Privacy Settings: You can set a default privacy preference in your Strava settings so that all new activities automatically adopt your chosen visibility (e.g., always "Followers").
• Limitation: If the person you want to hide from is one of your followers, setting activities to "Followers" will still show them the activity. This method is effective only if you set the activity to "Only You" (making it private for everyone) or if the person is not a follower and you've chosen "Followers" visibility.

Using "Hide from Leaderboards" and "Flyby" Settings (Specific Privacy Aspects)

Beyond general activity visibility, Strava offers granular controls for specific features that might reveal your activity or presence. These settings do not hide your entire activity from someone, but they can limit certain aspects of visibility.

• Hide from Leaderboards:
  • This setting prevents your activities from appearing on public segment leaderboards. If the person you're trying to avoid is checking leaderboards, enabling this ensures your times won't be displayed there.
  • Where to find: This is usually an option within your activity privacy settings or a general privacy setting.
• Flyby:
  • The "Flyby" feature allows you to see other athletes who were near you during an activity and vice-versa.
  • You can disable Flyby for your activities entirely or set it to "Only You" to prevent anyone from seeing your presence via this feature.
  • Where to find: Privacy Controls > Flyby.

Why You Might Need This Feature

Users choose to hide their activity from specific individuals for a variety of reasons, including:

• Personal Privacy: Simply not wanting certain people to know about their fitness habits or locations.
• Competitive Reasons: To avoid giving insights to rivals or to prevent unwanted comparisons.
• Safety Concerns: To maintain personal safety by not disclosing routes or timings to specific individuals.
• Social Dynamics: To manage relationships on the platform without fully unfollowing or disconnecting.

Important Considerations

• Blocking is Mutual: When you block someone, you also lose the ability to see their activities or interact with their profile.
• Review Regularly: It's good practice to periodically review your overall Strava privacy settings to ensure they align with your current preferences.
• Digital vs. Real-World: Remember that digital privacy controls manage your online presence. For more complex social situations, consider broader communication or boundaries outside of the app.

Conclusion: Tailoring Your Digital Footprint

Strava provides robust tools for managing your privacy, allowing you to tailor your experience to your comfort level. For precise control over who sees your activities, especially when targeting a single individual, the "Block User" feature is the most comprehensive and effective solution. By understanding and utilizing these settings, you can enjoy the benefits of Strava while maintaining your desired level of personal privacy.