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Fitness and location privacy

Review fitness-route privacy before sharing an activity

Check future defaults and existing activities, hidden map areas, connected apps, community contributions, Garmin course privacy and any active LiveTrack session.

Sources checked .

Conceptual illustration

Choose a Strava activity audience and review older uploads

Strava separates future defaults from the audience of an existing activity. Strava: activity audiences and future defaults

  1. Open Settings from the You tab in the mobile app, then Privacy Controls and Activities. Inspect Everyone, Followers or Only You and choose the intended audience for future uploads. Strava: activity audiences and future defaults
  2. For an older activity, open its three-dot menu, Edit Activity, then Visibility. On the website, use the activity's pencil/edit control. A changed default does not automatically rewrite past audiences. Strava: activity audiences and future defaults

Inspect map visibility separately

Strava provides default map controls and individual activity overrides. Strava: hidden-map controls and limits

  1. In Privacy Controls, inspect Map Visibility. Start/end and entire-map defaults apply to future activities; the address-based option can affect past and future activities except those individually edited. Strava: hidden-map controls and limits
  2. For a specific activity, open its three-dot menu and Edit Map Visibility. Review the hidden portion or entire-map choice. An individual edit overrides defaults for that activity. Strava: hidden-map controls and limits

Review app access instead of relying on the map preview

Private-activity permission can include Only You activities and hidden route points. Strava: private-activity API permissions

  1. Before authorizing an app, read the requested data scope. Compare its purpose with access to private activities and hidden areas. Use the receiving service's privacy controls for its own activity copy. Strava: private-activity API permissions

Remove an unwanted Strava app connection

Strava documents access review and revocation under My Apps. Strava: My Apps access review and revocation

  1. On the Strava website, open the profile-picture menu, Settings, then My Apps. Inspect listed connections and revoke an app's access if it is no longer wanted. Review the other service's controls for data already held there. Strava: My Apps access review and revocation

Review hidden details and activity grouping

The FAQ warns that some hidden details may remain visible elsewhere or be inferred. Strava: hidden details, grouping and shared copies

  1. Inspect Hidden Details when editing an activity, including start time or selected metrics. Also inspect Group Activities privacy if the goal is to limit showing whom you moved with. These choices have different scopes from hiding a route map. Strava: hidden details, grouping and shared copies

Check community contribution separately from a personal map view

Strava describes community-powered contributions in its activity privacy guidance. Strava: activity audiences and future defaults

  1. In Privacy Controls, inspect Product Improvement and the community-powered features contribution choice. Read that scope before deciding whether to opt out. Changing how a private Personal heatmap is displayed is a separate task. Strava: activity audiences and future defaults

Review Garmin defaults, activities and courses individually

Garmin's U.S. help provides different controls for these items. Garmin: global, activity and course privacy

  1. In Garmin Connect, open More, Settings, then Profile & Privacy for global choices. For a particular uploaded activity, use More, Activities, All Activities, then that activity's three-dot menu, Edit Activity and Privacy. Garmin: global, activity and course privacy
  2. For a course in the app, inspect Training & Planning, Courses, the course's edit control and Privacy. The web guide has a separate Public/Private choice above the course summary. Match the instructions to the installed version. Garmin: global, activity and course privacy

Review live location sharing before the activity starts

Garmin documents LiveTrack sharing settings and compatible-device Auto Start. Garmin: LiveTrack sharing, Auto Start and stopping

  1. In Garmin Connect, inspect More, Safety & Tracking, then LiveTrack. Review Sharing Settings and any Auto Start selection for the intended device. Garmin: LiveTrack sharing, Auto Start and stopping
  2. If the goal is to end an active session, use Stop LiveTrack or end the activity recording. Pausing alone can leave location updates running. Garmin also documents LiveTrack Data & Privacy and an Opt Out choice for the feature. Garmin: LiveTrack sharing, Auto Start and stopping

Questions and answers

Does changing the Strava audience default fix all older activities?

Strava says that default applies to new uploads. Strava: activity audiences and future defaults

Do Strava map restrictions automatically carry to a connected service?

Strava says those settings are not transmitted with shared activity data. Strava: hidden details, grouping and shared copies

Does one Garmin activity setting describe every course?

Garmin documents separate course privacy controls. Garmin: global, activity and course privacy

Sources and scope

Primary documentation checked 10-24-2026. Strava's activity audience, map display and app-permission scopes are kept separate; the guide does not assume every existing activity uses a current default. Garmin steps follow its current U.S. public instructions, with feature and device qualifications. These are documentation-based steps, not physical-device or private-account testing.

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