Strava activity visibility update

Hmm, I must be doing something wrong. My rides today are not here. I know they are in Garmin Connect.

Oh, and Garmin Connect shows that I am sharing with this site.

Could it be as simple as Garmin takes much longer to share data?

@david a big win here could be if you can send activities to Garmin with configuration options (like spoofing the device) ala RunGap. Is this possible? I assume it is, seeing as there are many other platforms that do it (see GitHub - jat255/fit_file_uploader: A small tool to edit and upload FIT files produced by indieVelo to Garmin Connect)

This could help intervals.icu standalone as the go to middleman for activity syncs… along with a graphical refresh of those connections perhaps, clearly showing inputs and outputs.

Don’t see the ‘Big win’ here but I may overlook something…
The file coming from your device/app/… would then first have to go to some ‘middleman’ that runs it through a utility to spoof the device type. And only then it can go to Garmin which will (with the Garmin device id) forward it to Intervals.
How are you going to route the file in an automatic way?
If it needs manual intervention, you can simply load it directly in Intervals.
The whole fuss here is that ‘automatic’ uploading of activity files for devices/apps that don’t have an API themselves will no longer work…

Ok zwift → wahoo → intervals seems to work. Just need a lezyne solution now.

This isn’t a comment directly about the Strava changes, it’s how intervals.icu can be the new go-to middleman platform for synchronisation between devices and platforms, which it sounds like David is considering:

Getting activities in to the Garmin ecosystem and considered for Training Load is a big issue for many, who use awkward convoluted workarounds.

Garmin had some kind of outage for approx 30 minutes starting around 9h30 today (GMT+2). Very many errors in the Intervals.icu logs. It seems to have been resolved now and there was a spike in activities coming in after which usually indicates that they were not lost. If your activity doesn’t show up soon you might need to download it from GC and upload here.

It is certainly technically possible but I need to be very careful not to annoy Garmin. I would need to discus it with them first and I suspect they wouldn’t like mass spoofing very much.

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I can’t say I noticed. For me, the activity would be named the same as the plan, which is the core session, eg. 5x5m VO2 or “endurance ride”.

I guess everyone is different in how they name their workouts and activities.

You’re thinking that you would be able to get Garmin to allow upload of (completed) FIT files to their ecosystem?

Because that’s what I gather from this discussion. The whole aim of spoofing is to let Garmin think the fit is recorded on their device so it will be forwarded out.

That might be one aim, but the main one I see is to have the activity considered for Garmin training metrics and badges.

Yeah. That too. But the question is still. No one (except possibly legacy api approvals - tho if Strava can change their API T&c. Makes sense that Garmin can change theirs too) has access to be able to upload completed activity Fit Files (automatically) into the Garmin ecosystem (except for a few main - BIG - partners)

but still… it is out of sync after re upload, Strava name remains as is and reuploaded activity on intervals takes name from that day workout.

@david is any posibility not to change name after re upload of downloaded fit files?

I think as a single user of intervals who only uses for self monitoring, this does not affect me…?

If you’re uploading data from Strava, they claim to forbid any processing of those data. Most platforms will be processing the data…

There’s a press statement dated 19/11 that’s a little contradictory to their T&Cs.

Updated on Nov. 19

We wanted to provide some additional context around the changes to our API Agreement and the impact for our users and developers. We currently anticipate these changes will impact less than .1% of applications and proactively notified the majority of those affected last week.

Enhanced Privacy and User Control

*Privacy and user control are at the forefront of our platform. As a result, we are committed to evolving our API practices as regulatory requirements and user expectations shift. This includes the decision to limit the ability of a user’s data to be displayed by third-party apps in ways the user may not expect. Specifically, we want to thoughtfully address situations where users connect to a third-party app and are unaware that their data is being surfaced not just for their own use and visibility, but also to other users (for example, in a public feed or heatmap). The latest API changes address this scenario and provide a more consistent framework for Strava user data. *

Training AI Models

*We believe in the potential of AI to transform the athlete experience–whether it’s delivering more personalized insights to help you reach your goals, generating route or training recommendations, or countless other possibilities. But innovation in this space must be handled responsibly and with a firm focus on user control. As part of our generative AI features, we are committed to implementing thoughtful solutions that prioritize user control and the ability to opt out. *

*Third-party developers may not take such a deliberate approach to training AI models and as a result, we believe the best decision for the platform and for users is to prohibit the use of data extracted from Strava users in this manner. Our previous terms already disallowed the use of Strava user data in model training and development but we’ve made this more explicit in light of the increasing activity in this space. *

No Impact to Most Developers

*We recognize that our platform thrives because of the creativity and dedication of third-party developers who build tools to complement and extend Strava’s capabilities. We are steadfast in our commitment to fostering this ecosystem. We anticipate that these changes will affect only a small fraction (less than .1%) of the applications on the Strava platform–the overwhelming majority of existing use cases are still allowed, including coaching platforms focused on providing feedback to users and tools that help users understand their data and performance. *

*Collectively, these changes reflect our commitment to ensuring that Strava remains a trusted platform for athletes and developers alike. That means holding ourselves—and anyone building on our platform—to high standards. *

###

Posted on Nov. 15

Strava’s open platform has empowered third-party developers to create tools that enhance the experience for our global community. As our community and technology evolve, we are updating our API terms to continue our commitment to privacy and security for our users.

Effective November 11, the updated API agreement introduces three key changes that provide Strava users with greater control, security, and a consistent experience:

Stronger Privacy Standards: Third-party apps may now only display a user’s Strava activity data to that specific user. Users will continue to have access to their personal Strava data across apps connected to our platform, though there may be differences in how this data appears.

Data Use Limitations: Our terms now explicitly prohibit third parties from using any data obtained via Strava’s API in artificial intelligence models or similar applications.

Protecting the Strava Experience: Additional terms have been added to protect Strava’s unique look and feel and functionality, helping users easily distinguish between Strava and third-party platforms.

These updates reinforce our commitment to user privacy and provide a more secure, seamless Strava experience across all connected platforms. These changes are essential to maintaining a high standard of data protection and platform integrity, now and in the future.

Yeah, saw this too, seems they probably want to go one little step back (or say they do) because they didn’t see the reaction of their users coming.

Telling people it’s only 0.1% sounds very harmless. But I bet there are 10 thousands of “apps”, maybe even a lot more (everyone can create an app to use this API, I even did that, though it’s not public). So if it’s only the 10 biggest apps (0.1% of 10000), nevertheless many users are affected.

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So I interpret this as “this will not affect intervals.icu”
Am I reading this wrong?

With Strava, who knows… :smile:
Hopefully the bit I marked as bold “referring to coaching platforms” means Intervals is not affected as originally intended.

I posted this on another local cycle forum. With Strava their T&Cs say one thing and the press release something something else.
image

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The T&C’s are pretty clear on this one and they trump the press release. No-one other than the athlete is allowed to see the data. I suspect I am going to have to implement that at the very least.

I have a call with Strava on Thurs so I will soon find out one way or the other.

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Yes but surely they wouldn’t publish a statement like that only to then tell the coaching platforms the exact opposite again, right?
To me this sounds like a “we’ll leave it in the T&Cs and make an exception for coaching platforms”. So then they can remove that exception whenever they like in the future.

If there’s an exception, then it needs to be in the T&Cs. That’s the only thing anyone can go off, and it would be risky to run a business on the basis of a non-binding exception to the official document.

I don’t understand their latest update. Maybe <0.1% of apps are affected, but maybe that includes all the single user apps like Gerald’s, which is a strange way to approach statistics. Strava seems very confused about what they’re doing here

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