https://communityhub.strava.com/insider-journal-9/an-update-to-our-developer-program-13428
The gist of it is that Strava just killed its free API, and will now require developers to have a subscription.
At Strava, we care deeply about developers, and the health of the developer ecosystem. There are now 241,000 Strava API developers, up from 185,000 last year. Starting today, all current and future applications will automatically receive access to the Standard developer tier. This allows you to serve up to 10 athletes and start building immediately, completely eliminating the previous queue.
This essentially kills thousands of tools people build using the free API.
If you’re looking to move away from Strava, so far I’ve found four open source alternatives:
- CubeTrek - Open-source GPS track manager with 3D topography visualization for outdoor activities.
- Endurain - Self-hosted fitness tracking service for running, cycling, and more with full data control.
- RunnerUp - An open source run tracker for Android.
- Geo Activity Playground - Data analysis and visualization based on GPS tracked outdoor activities.
- OpenTracks - A privacy-focused sport tracking application for Android that records GPS tracks and supports Bluetooth sensors without any internet access or ads.
I was a paying customer for over 10 years and it just got worse and worse. I quit several years ago and haven’t looked back.
As it turns out, I love and I have always loved cycling and don’t need anyone else to see that.
I’m not saying that anyone else should behave the same way, you do you, but it was so freeing to just ride for the love of riding. No more “600m of circles” to make it to 200k, no more kudos to every workday commute, just the open road (or trails) and the freedom it provides.
Yes, I no longer race, but I do privately keep a record of my efforts and rides, but they’re now a side effect of the thing I love - not part of the focus.
Eh the social aspect never was the point for me. It was more tracking progress. That said this was a good reminder to cancel my sub as I haven’t used it enough in the last year to justify it. If anyone has self hosted options I’d love to see those.
Yeah, I recently got Strava, but I’m about at the point of ditching it. I run alone. Garmin keeps any stats just fine, and doesn’t inject any social media into it. I have a couple friends on Garmin, but I have to actively look for their stuff, and they for mine, which is exactly how I like it. Otherwise, I run, and then I can go see how things look, and it gets added to the archive.
Well said
EN SHI TTI FI CA TION
Hey guys, just so you know. In the future
If private company = company will fuck you over to your and their own detriment.
Build a product -> make it free or very affordable -> create dependency -> collect user data to improve product resulting in more dependency -> create a near market monopoly if possible -> make it paid only or make the free version a lot worse so users have to pay -> cross fingers that no alternative emerges or just buy it and shut it down if you can.
Always the same pattern.
Another great alternative is Geoactivity Playground if you use Strava to get overall statistics for your rides. You can import a Strava export or simply put some GPX files in a folder. It’s great:
And the garbage takes itself out.
Wait so is this going to affect my Garmin sending info to Strava?
deleted by creator
Oh so they want me to pay a Garmin sub and a Strava sub? Fucking hell. The enshitifacation contimues
From the linked article:
Two things that aren’t changing: every Strava athlete can still access and download their data for free, at any time – and wearable and device integrations are not affected.
Because of investor pressure to generate actual meaningful revenue, Strava is going to rapidly enshittify leading up to their IPO and after it. The unfortunate thing is that they’ll largely get away with it, because there’s really no alternative for users to move to.
The alternative is stop using. Like every other platform that enshitified, once you know you can live outside the ecosystem, you can live free.
I missed this one. Was it like Heroku used to be or something?
Whether it’s a back-alley transaction or a multinational corporation transaction “the first one is free” is a marketing tactic that seems to work time and time again.
I switched to CubeTrek 2 years ago and have been generally happy with it. I sometimes miss the social aspects, but then I just text my friends and we ride bikes together anyway.
I was a happy user of Endomondo before underarmour killed it.
I want it back. I hate using strava.
Maybe something to do with the location leaks from private strava accounts? Public figures and aircraft carriers and such. It may provide some kind of control to put this behind some kind of control. Not solving the problem though.
RunnerUp is an app ive been using for a while and it does the basic gps tracking for your activities and even has an option to tell you if your pace is slower or faster than you set. You can connect it to your Strava account to upload data to if you want, but otherwise the data is on your device. I don’t know about smartwatch compatibility, but I use the phone app and just put my phone in my Nathan’s Belt.
It says all apps will have automatic access to the standard tier. How is that killing anything? It sounds more like they’re removing an approval process.
Edit: ok but further down it also says “subscription required”. I’m confused.
Starting today, all current and future applications will automatically receive access to the Standard developer tier. This allows you to serve up to 10 athletes and start building immediately, completely eliminating the previous queue.
Then on june 30th
Subscription required for existing Standard Tier developers. A Strava subscription will be required to access the API as a Standard Tier developer. Active developers* without a current subscription are entitled to 3-months free. If you’re eligible, you will have received a code via email. Extended Access Tier developers are not affected.
So do all future applications automatically receive access or is a subscription required??? Repeating what it says does not provide any clarifying information!
deleted by creator
next sentence
Starting today, all current and future applications will automatically receive access to the Standard developer tier. This allows you to serve up to 10 athletes
Yeah that’s why I’m confused. It says it’s automatic, then later says a subscription is required.
I guess the automatic has the 10 user limit. and the subscription is needed for a proper app that people use.
How many people are personally operating more than 10 athletes? Are there that many enormous super-athlete families that all rely on Strava?
It’s for the API, meaning when you code an app and use strava you have a maximun of 10 users, everything else is just gone.
10 users using your app isn’t much.
So each person gets their own API key when installing some custom app. This is normal procedure. I’m not seeing an issue with that part.
That is absolutely not normal procedure. Apps generally use one universal API key per API surface, not unique keys per user.
normal procedure? where exactly have you seen that be done? for that every user would have to register a developer account and fumble with an API key