After the recent furore over price increases at Strava, the fitness platform is introducing a new feature: "route photos".
An annual subscription to Strava previously cost 59.90 euros and has been increased by 15 euros to 74.99 euros. If you pay monthly, the subscription fee is now 10.99 euros instead of 7.99 euros. Basic functions are still free of charge.
Strava was the first to introduce 3D maps and introduced the three-dimensional view in route planning almost exactly a year ago. Komoot followed suit and introduced the 3D view in October. It was the other way round with the Strava feature presented today, the "route photos" map layer. The competition komoot implemented the "Trail View", as it is called there, in August 2022.
Why track photos?
To accurately plan a route that is adapted to your own ability and is also easy to estimate in terms of time, it helps to know the terrain and possible key points. Up-to-date photos of the route can help.
The photo update therefore makes route planning clearer, both on your own doorstep and when planning your next holiday. The active Strava community consists of more than 100 million active users in 195 countries worldwide. This certainly covers some possible holiday destinations.
Machine learning and community photos
After komoot, Strava thought the same thing and also uses machine learning algorithms to analyse around 2.3 million photos from almost 200 million public activities from the past year. Irrelevant content is sorted out, including images with identifiable faces or equipment - such as a bike - in accordance with data protection regulations. The remaining photos, i.e. all those that show the nature of the route, are sorted according to how recent they are. This is intended to give a better feeling of the current conditions.
Route photos at Strava in detail:
The photo update is available for all sports within the route function. In addition to cycling, mountain biking and gravel biking, running, trail running, walking and hiking also benefit from the new feature.
The "Route photos" map overlay is available to all Strava users with a Premium account. Those using the free version will only see the photos on saved routes and tracks that a Premium subscriber has sent them.
I don't want my photos to be used for Strava's track photos
Does this statement apply to you? Then watch out. Track photos of users with a public profile are automatically analysed. If you don't want this, navigate to the privacy settings and set who is allowed to see public photos, activities or the profile: "Only followers" or "Only me" are the settings you are looking for.
Sandra Schuberth
Editor
