Privacy Concerns Prompt Strava to Revise Data Sharing Policy: Users Discover Garmin, Runna, and TrainingPeaks Stats Unintentionally Exposed
Unveiling the Stir: Strava's Controversial Data Misstep
Strava, the popular fitness app, has found itself in hot water following a controversial trial, which saw the publication of private workout data belonging to users who synced their devices with Garmin sports watches, Runnar, and TrainingPeaks apps.
Shocked users took to the internet, expressing their dismay at finding detailed workout data publicly available, complete with pacing notes, custom workout names, and coaching comments previously labelled as generic activity titles.
"This should have come with a heads-up," lamented Reddit user alexanderhumbolt. "There are plenty of us who aren't keen on sharing such private details."
In response to the backlash, Strava acknowledged that the altered visibility of workout data was part of a two-day test, which it had since terminated.
Strava's statement read, "On June 2, we conducted a test to display workout titles and descriptions. Hearing from our community, we ended the test on June 4. We value feedback and have no plans to revisit this."
To Keep Your Gear in Sync: Syncing your Strava account allows the app to automatically post workout data from your Garmin sports watch, although usually, this data is limited to basic stats like your time, distance, and pace, all labeled with generic monikers. Further details from Runnar and TrainingPeaks apps were also made public during the test.
What Went Public? Users reported a variety of private data surfacing on their Strava feeds during the trial, including coach notes, custom workout titles, pacing guidance, personal targets, and training descriptions.
Strava's past is not without controversy. In 2018, it generated security concerns after releasing a heatmap that inadvertently exposed the movements of military personnel stationed at bases worldwide.
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"Alexanderhumbolt, a Reddit user, expressed his concern about the privacy of his personal data when Strava's test of data-and-cloud-computing technology made detailed workout data from sports activities like Garmin sports watches, Runnar, and TrainingPeaks apps publicly available, rather than just the basic stats."
"Strava's incident of publishing private workout data during its data-and-cloud-computing technology test reminded users of another controversy from 2018, when the company released a heatmap that inadvertently exposed the movements of military personnel stationed at bases worldwide."
