Strava
- Your data trains their AI unless you opt out by form or email.
- Your data is used for personalized ads, including by third-party ad companies.
- Data is shared with partners and affiliates; you can opt out.
- The policy describes staff access for safety and legal checks.
GPS and health data can be public by default, used for ads and AI.
Agent Trust Hub uses AI and may make mistakes. Review reports and confirm their contents before relying on them.
Collected
Account info, GPS routes, optional heart-rate data, contacts, photos, device details, and cookies.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
““Activity Data” is information about the activities you record or upload to Strava, such as equipment usage, date, time, distance, speed, pace, perceived exertion, power, cadence, and geolocation information.”
Training
They use your data to run Strava, personalize it, show ads, and train AI models.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“We use information to enhance the quality, reliability, and/or accuracy of our AI Features by creating, developing, training, testing, improving, and maintaining AI and ML models run by Strava or our service providers.”
Sharing
If you are 18+, your profile and activities are public by default; ads partners can get data unless you opt out.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“If you are 18 years or older, certain information, including your profile and your activities, is set by default to be viewable by “Everyone.””
Kept
They keep account data until you delete it; after you delete, they say it can take up to 45 days.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“Following deletion of your account, it may take up to 45 days to delete your personal information and system logs from our systems.”
Controls
You can tighten sharing, download data, delete your account, and opt out of ad sharing in settings.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“You can opt out of us sharing your personal information for third-party targeted advertising through the “Do Not Share My Personal Information” link on our website or the “Personal Information Sharing” setting in the app.”
Fine print
Subscriptions auto-renew with no Strava refunds.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“No refunds or credits will be provided by Strava, unless set out in these Terms.”
Expand “Read the exact line” to see the source alongside the explanation.
What you can turn off
The controls and opt-outs their own documents describe, and where they say to find them.
Tighten who can see activities and your profile
Privacy controls in the app (adults default to Everyone)
Turn off sharing for targeted ads
Website footer “Do Not Share My Personal Information” or app Privacy Controls “Personal Information Sharing”
Download then delete your account
Log in to download data; delete account via the instructions linked in the Privacy Policy
If a switch is not where they say, the deletion request above still applies.
Line by line
The lines that matter most, worst first.
When you sign up as an adult, your runs and rides can be seen by anyone on the internet unless you change settings.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“If you are 18 years or older, certain information, including your profile and your activities, is set by default to be viewable by “Everyone.””
For example, a stranger could search your name and see the streets you run on every morning.
They can copy, change, and pass on your photos, routes, and posts, including in ads.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“You grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, , , worldwide license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, publicly perform and display any of your Content”
For example, they may show your name and a ride photo in a paid ad for a bike brand.
Your activity and other data can be used to train Strava’s AI, unless you use whatever choices they offer.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“We use information to enhance the quality, reliability, and/or accuracy of our AI Features by creating, developing, training, testing, improving, and maintaining AI and ML models run by Strava or our service providers.”
For example, your GPS tracks could help train a route-recommendation model.
They can shut your account with no warning for many reasons, including inactivity or unpaid fees.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“You agree that Strava may, under certain circumstances and without prior notice, immediately suspend or terminate your account and/or access to the Services.”
For example, a long break from logging runs could lead to a closed account before you export your history.
If someone sues them because of what you posted or how you used the app, you may have to pay their legal bills.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“You agree to and hold Strava and its subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, officers, employees, agents, representatives, partners, and licensors harmless from: any claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys’ fees”
For example, if a photo you uploaded sparks a lawsuit, they can ask you to cover their lawyers.
Paid subscriptions generally are not refunded if you cancel mid-cycle.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“No refunds or credits will be provided by Strava, unless set out in these Terms.”
For example, if you cancel a yearly plan after a week, you still pay through the period.
Ad companies can track you across sites and apps to show Strava ads.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“We advertise our Services through third parties, and may use cookies and other tracking technologies to support targeted advertising and serve relevant ads”
For example, after viewing a challenge, you might see Strava ads on other websites.
If you allow contacts, they keep copying your address book to find people you know.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“You can choose to share contacts from your mobile device or social networking accounts. If you share this information, we will regularly access and store it to help you connect with Strava users you may know.”
For example, they may store your friends’ phone numbers even if those friends never join Strava.
After you delete your account, copies can stay on their systems for about a month and a half.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“Following deletion of your account, it may take up to 45 days to delete your personal information and system logs from our systems.”
For example, your last ride file may still sit in backups for 45 days after you leave.
Heart-rate style health data from connected apps is not supposed to be sold or used for ads.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“If we collect health information from these integrations (such as heart rate), we will not sell or use it for advertising or other similar purposes; we do not disclose it to third parties without your prior consent”
For example, they say they will not sell your Garmin heart-rate numbers to an advertiser.
Words to know
Legal words from the lines above, in plain English.
- precise geolocation
- Your exact position, usually from GPS, often accurate to within a few metres. For example, an app can tell not just your city but which building you are in right now.
- service providers
- Outside companies that handle your data on the app's instructions, such as a cloud host or an email sender. For example, the company that stores the app's files in the cloud sees your data but only does what the app tells it.
- personal data
- Any information that is about you or can be linked to you, from your name to your phone's ID. For example, your email, your IP address and the list of apps on your phone are all personal data.
- opt out
- Something is on by default and stays on until you find the setting and turn it off. For example, your chats may be used for training unless you go into settings and switch it off.
- third parties
- Any company or person other than you and the app, such as advertisers, partners or analytics firms. For example, an analytics company that receives a record of every screen you tap is a third party.
- targeted advertising
- Ads chosen for you based on what you have done across other apps and websites, not just this one. For example, you look at shoes in one app and see shoe ads in a totally different app the next day.
- worldwide license
- You let the company use your content anywhere on earth, usually for free and for as long as it likes. For example, a video you post can be shown in ads in any country without asking you again.
- sublicensable
- The company can pass its rights over your content on to other companies without asking you. For example, an app can let an advertiser or a partner reuse your video under the licence you gave.
- royalty-free
- The company can use your content without ever paying you for it. For example, your photo can appear in the app's ads and you get nothing.
- indemnify
- You promise to pay the company's legal costs and losses if your use of the service gets it sued. For example, if you post a song you do not own and the label sues the app, you owe the app's lawyer bills.
- affiliates
- Other companies owned by or connected to the same parent company. For example, if you use one app, its sister apps under the same owner may also get your data.
- cookies
- Small files a website saves on your device so it can recognise you and remember what you did. For example, a cookie keeps you logged in and can also tell an ad company which sites you visited.
How we got here · grade C · score 41/100 · 15 of 15 policy answers backed by a verified quote · 1 not stated
What does the app collect beyond what it needs to work?
They collect more than needed to log a workout: precise GPS, optional contacts, photos, health metrics, device IDs, and cookies.
Does it record your voice, face or body, and what happens to that?
Not stated in the documents.
Are your chats and uploads used to train AI models, and is that off by default?
They say they use information to train AI and ML models and point to “choices to contribute,” but they do not describe an in-app off switch in these pages.
Can employees or contractors read your conversations, and when?
They say they may review accounts, content, and reported direct messages to enforce rules and safety, not as routine sampling of all chats.
Are you profiled or tracked for advertising?
They use cookies, Google Analytics, and other third-party tools for targeted ads, with an opt-out for sharing.
Do they sell or share your data, and can you opt out?
They share with partners and ad networks and let you opt out of sharing for targeted advertising; they say they do not sell connected health data.
What rights do they take over what you type and what the AI makes?
You keep copyright, but you give a broad sublicensable license, adult content is public by default, and some public routes stay licensed forever.
How long do they keep your data after you delete it, and can you delete it in the app?
You can delete your account yourself; they say personal information and logs may take up to 45 days to go.
Does it build a lasting memory or profile of you, and can you see, edit or turn it off?
They build performance scores and a personalized feed from your data, but these pages do not describe viewing or turning off a lasting AI memory.
Do they commit to basic security, and have they leaked data?
They say they use administrative, technical, and physical safeguards aligned with industry standards. No audit or leak history is described.
Is there a real age gate, and are teens protected?
The service is for people 13 and older, with extra limits under 18, but age is based on what you tell them, not a described ID check.
Will they tell you when the rules change, and is the policy specific?
They say they will post a revised policy with an effective date and give prominent advance notice of material changes. These copies themselves have no date line.
Can they close your account without warning, and can you get your data out first?
They may immediately suspend or terminate your account without prior notice for many listed reasons, in their discretion.
If something goes wrong, who pays?
The app is “as is,” liability is capped at $50 or a year of fees, and you must indemnify them for claims tied to your content or use.
Do subscriptions renew on their own, and can you get a refund?
Subscriptions auto-renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the period ends, and Strava says it provides no refunds unless the Terms say otherwise.
The privacy policy is 3,982 words at a professional or legal expert level (Flesch reading ease 19.8); the terms are 7,529 words at a professional or legal expert level.
