In the age of digital fitness tracking, Strava stands out for its community and features. But while Strava motivates many to start and maintain fitness routines, its default settings, which make your profile and activities visible to everyone, bring privacy risks:
- Exposed personal locations: Your home and workplace locations can often be deduced from your profile and activities.
- Routine vulnerability: Regularly shared routes and routines may make you predictable to unwanted observers or even attackers.
- Real-time location dangers: Live activity updates could inadvertently reveal your current whereabouts, increasing risks like theft or personal harm.
A cautionary tale: A Russian commander who was sniped and killed while jogging was likely located by his assailant using the popular running app.
Let’s step up your privacy settings. You can get motivation and kudos from your community while minimizing exposure beyond it.
How to update the visibility of your profile and activities
1. Go to 'Privacy Controls':
- In the app, tap the 'Settings' gear icon, usually found in the top right corner. On the website, look for 'Settings' in the dropdown menu under your profile picture.
2. Adjust 'Profile Page' and 'Activities' Settings:
- In the 'Privacy Controls' section, you'll find settings for both your 'Profile Page' and 'Activities.'
- Change both of these to 'Followers.' This means only people who follow you and whom you approve can see your profile details and activities.
3. Review Your Followers:
- It's a good time to review who's following you. If there are people you don't know or trust, consider removing them from your followers.
4. Consider Additional Privacy Features:
- Strava also offers enhanced privacy options, like setting up 'Map Visibility' around certain locations (like your home or office) to further obscure exact start and end points of your activities.
Wondering what other problems are lurking in your social media accounts? Don’t have time to dig through settings pages? Privacy Party can help identify risks, offer expert recommendations, and fix privacy issues for you, to save you time.
