Strava's global heatmap could reveal the location of your home, according to researchers

Findings suggest setting your account to private mode does not mean your Strava data is private, although it is easily turned off

Strava heatmap east coast USA
(Image credit: Strava)

Privacy and safety concerns have been raised about Strava’s global heatmap feature, with research suggesting that it could reveal user locations, even on private mode.

Researchers at the North Carolina State University in Raleigh found that they could locate the start and end point of activities, especially in low-populated areas.

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Tom Thewlis
News and Features Writer

After previously working in higher education, Tom joined Cycling Weekly in 2022 and hasn't looked back. He's been covering professional cycling ever since; reporting on the ground from some of the sport's biggest races and events, including the Tour de France, Paris-Roubaix and the World Championships. His earliest memory of a bike race is watching the Tour on holiday in the early 2000's in the south of France - he even made it on to the podium in Pau afterwards. His favourite place that cycling has taken him is Montréal in Canada.