should runners rethink Strava for safety reasons?

It's very easy to stalk some people on the internet. They post their workouts on Instagram with glamour shots plus then the workout goes on Strava. And yet, I've never heard of anyone being stalked or assaulted or murdered because of this. Instead, it seems like most murders of female runners are crimes of opportunity.

I'm old now, and it's interesting how the harassment sort of disappears once your youthful attractiveness disappears. But as a female runner, it drives me nuts when people say I shouldn't run alone or shouldn't run at night. Relatively few female runners are murdered. Far more female runners die in car accidents, for example. Should we all stop riding in cars? Running brings me great joy, and with a full time job and three kids, I have limited opportunities to do it. Sometimes those opportunities are alone and/or before it's fully light outside, or at dusk. Life is full of risk, and I hate treadmills.

With that said, please lock up known violent criminals for everyone's sake.

It all comes down to this - some men are desperate simps.

I am neither and I run fast without having a strava account.

Yes they definitely should, at least change to followers only to avoid the creeps and purge your followers list routinely

Yep, fly-by gives other users the ability to see you even if you just briefly crossed paths during a run. This is automatic and something that has to be turned off by the user themselves in settings. Also automatic, you will be added to segment leaderboards where people can find you there.

I make my account private, turn off fly-by's and segment leaderboards, and only accept people I trust.

The scary people are those like TMADDDHASFNE. He is so creepily obsessed with Parker Valby. He probably already stalks her but if she made her Strava public, it would definitely be a safety issue due to creeps like TMADDDHASFNE.

I'm basically going to turn my entire Strava profile private and maybe even delete it because of this.

It's not even just the men that are borderline stalkers. I think a lot of lonely, chronically online people get addicted a certain audiencing that's NOT good for you. In addition to over-training, the lack of privacy on public runs opens up everyone to stalkers/borderline personality disordered folks (not gaslighting, just stating the feeling i get when someone recognizes me on a trail from the shoes I'm wearing....).

I wish more pros actually would post just like a summary of their workout onto Strava instead of their GPS. Then I would feel a lot less creepy for "following" how they're training... insofar as it would therefore be away from their home

bicycling.com

Computer Scientists Claim Strava Has a “Privacy Loophole.” Here’s What You Need to Know.

A new report claims that users of Strava are susceptible to anyone finding their personal information. Here's how to keep your info private and stay safe.

Open link

Is there an option to show the miles and paces and whatnot without showing the route?

It looks like there is, but there should be a way to change who is allowed to view the map. There should be an option to allow on followers or people you follow or something like that to see it.

A creeper who simply learns a jogger's schedule because they run by their area everyday doesn't need Strava.

Instead of avoiding Strava, it is better for women to run in groups or to run at times of day where there is high foot traffic. But since that won't work for everyone's schedules, it is an argument for running after work when more people would be out. Early morning running is the most risky for all. A strapping male could just as easily get held up at gunpoint during an early morning run by robbers.

Strava is a pos. Strava is the devil.

It is ruining the essence of long distance running. The poetry of it. The goodwill hunting effect of it.

When you go for a run on a forest trail for 10 miles, not because a coach told you to, but because you can.

Nowhere in the article does it say that the killer figured out where the guy regularly ran by using Strava. It is pure conjecture by the writer.

All of my neighbors, most of whom I've never met, know where I regularly run. None of them are on Strava.

What?

You think an illegal from Venezuela was tracking someone on Strava? LOL

You assume Parker actually does mileage on the road.

Sounds like a personal choice issue. Do or don’t based on what you’re comfortable with posting.

Creepie guys hang out at parks and Forrest preserves. it’s like a magnet to them. Especially at dawn.

In my 25 years I have seen guys you know are pervs head off into the woods together at dawn. I understand they even have parking arrangements that tell potential partners they are there for the same purpose. one guy dropped his shorts in my rear view mirror and started playing with it.

My point? Be less concerned about Strava yet be super aware of where you are running and these Rando guys just hanging out at 6:00am.

The matching for this feature is fairly strict. You have to run a very large percentage of the run together for it to match/group. I've done parts of runs with friends and been surprised when it didn't group them. A friend and I recently ran separate workouts on the track, and it didn't group us.

There is a button to leave or manage the group. Or you can just set your profile to private.

Someone mentioned the flyby feature. That's now automatically off/private, but was originally public.