# Strava

20 Hacker News commenters recommended Strava and 30 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 9 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** People recommend it for its privacy controls, friend groups and syncing with other fitness devices. Critics point to privacy lapses and the cost of the paid tier.

## Why people recommend it

- Privacy controls and privacy zones (3 comments): "Strava privacy zones actually work, well as long as the location isn't physically moving by itself" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47461195)) "it has excellent privacy controls so you can share as little or as much as you want" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47463673)) "provides two helpful controls you can set as your default" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47630982))
- Friends, groups and routes (2 comments): "Strava can easily function in this way and does. I've made a bunch of friends and been introduced to groups and routes" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48701231)) "Strava which is a fun way to stay in touch with my fitness friends" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47582284))
- Syncs with Garmin and other devices (4 comments): "sync everything through Strava, and then drop whichever service you don't want" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46709284)) "Strava provides additional insights on top of what Garmin provides" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47465751)) "I get workout tracking free with Garmin + Strava." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46514290))
- Useful and not degraded (2 comments): "the app is fine and it's genuinely useful" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48586534)) "So far it's largely un-ensh*ttified." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46724870))

## What people warn about

- Privacy lapses expose location risks (5 comments): "Strava and other connected + geolocation apps have been an issue for military personnel in general." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47462463)) "Strava has had a lot of privacy issues over the years, particularly with stuff like flybys." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47465124)) "Well yes, Strava is a danger to at risk adults even let alone children." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46451620))
- Default settings expose location and schedule (3 comments): "Defaulting to "opt-in" is all well and good until a human makes a mistake." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47460968)) "setting people up for their information to be made public when they forget to turn it off" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47471797)) "Strava basically exposes where you live and your sleep/ workout schedule by default" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48152072))
- Paid tier is expensive (2 comments): "make the vast majority (if not all) of features not hidden behind a paywall" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46552260)) "they are just straight up crazy expensive with their paid tier" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48530219))
- Maps lack direction arrows (2 comments): "Not that Strava mapping on a phone is any better. Why can't Strava put arrows on the direction of travel?" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48961680)) "Not helped by both Garmin and Strava not putting enough arrows on the path of travel on their maps." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47990855))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Gadgetbridge](https://hackerapproved.com/p/gadgetbridge.md): 24 recommend
- [Intervals.icu](https://hackerapproved.com/p/intervals-icu.md): 9 recommend
- [Garmin Connect](https://hackerapproved.com/p/garmin-connect.md): 5 recommend

## Where to get it

- [Visit the official site](https://www.strava.com/)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Strava", https://hackerapproved.com/p/strava/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).