Strava’s new Edit Map Visibility provides greater privacy control

Fitness tracking app Strava has updated its Privacy Zones feature, bringing out its new Edit Map Visibility functionality to give greater privacy control for its users.

Previously Privacy Zones could be created generated to hide up to 1 mile from the start/end at a specific location by entering an address or GPS coordinate, and then selecting the size of the privacy radius.

Now users will have three ways in which they can hide their location in their privacy controls under ‘additional controls’:

• Hide up to 1 mile from the start/end at a specific location (current)
• Hide up to 1 mile from the start/end no matter where they are (new)
• Hide map completely for all activities (new)

The new controls on Strava can either be applied as default settings (to all activity uploads) or applied to individual activities as you please.

Users will be able to see what is hidden on their maps when viewing their own activities, but no one else will if these settings are applied.

Riders should bear in mind that with this you will not appear on any segment leaderboard that starts/stops within your privacy zone and you cannot hold or earn any KOMs/QOMs/CRs/Local Legends on those segments.

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Privacy zones will not affect routes in most cases, as the two most common ways of creating routes—Routebuilder and Mobile Routes—are not covered by the update.

For these, there is the following disclaimer which warns about this exposure: ‘Public routes are for the whole Strava community to enjoy.’

Route visibility can currently be toggled between ‘Public’ or ‘Private’—there is currently no followers-only Routes share option. However, Strava says having close-shared Routes which can be shared exclusively with a certain group is definitely on its agenda, particularly as it plans to further improve it’s offering for clubs.

Strava introduced its Group Challenge feature earlier this year, for example, which allows riders to set challenges amongst their friends, and it sounds like this is just the beginning of updates for the apps club/group use functionality.

Strava notes there is a third way to build routes - ‘Route from Activity’ - which enables you to create a route from another athlete’s activity. “In this instance, that athlete’s privacy zone will be enforced,” says Strava.

www.strava.com