Skip to main content

Strava's new app directory puts cool third-party integrations front and center

heatmap
Strava
Ever since Strava, the self-coined social network for athletes, let third-party developers access its data, the number of Strava-enabled apps has gone up exponentially. As of June, nearly 18,000 apps and products take advantage of Strava’s application program interface (API) and more are on the way. That is why Strava’s introducing a way to keep track of them all: The Strava app directory.

Strava’s directory showcases Strava-enabled apps across categories like data importers, visualizers, prints, social motivation, charity, performance, training apps, and others. They run the gamut but some let you meet new running partners based on your pace and geography, turn your activity into 3D prints, overlay data on video clips, and more.

Recommended Videos

To celebrate the app directory’s launch, Strava is highlighting a few of the best on its blog.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Tapiriik, a “data importer,” synchronizes fitness activities between a variety of sources including Strava, Garmin Connect, TrainingPeaks, Dropbox, and several more. Earn Your Name and Relive, two Strava “visualizers,” analyze your ride data and give you a nickname with a customized poster, and create 3D videos of your runs and rides.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Other Strava-enabled apps include Xert (“training”), which adjusts workout plans to suit your needs, and Everyday Hero (“charity”), which uses Strava to track your miles logged for fundraising. Nice Trails, one of the directory’s more creative listings, turns your adventures into 3D sculptures.

“In the past few years, we’ve seen an explosion in the number of cool apps being developed by members of our community using Strava’s API,” Mateo Ortega, Strava’s head of integration, said in a statement. “We created this directory to help our athletes find fun, useful, and interesting ways to get more out of their Strava data, as well as shine a light on these creative developers who are using Strava as a platform.”

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Strava is free to use, but the Premium tier ($60) adds daily schedule and riding advice, plus plans tailored to take into account the time you have to ride and the date you want to achieve your goal. You get leaderboard filters (by age and weight), a workout effectiveness ranking (Suffer Score), a real-time emergency monitoring feature, the ability to download third-party routes, and more.

Strava’s app directory is another peg in the company’s impressive ladder of achievements. More than 1 million athletes join the network every 40 days, Strava said, and its users upload 16 activities every second and 10 million every week.

It’s not the only improvement Strava has made recently. In August, it gained Beacon, a feature that lets users share distance, caloric expenditure, and speed in real time.  In March, it added Live Segments, a cyclist-focused feature that serves up real-time audio and visual cues.

Kyle Wiggers
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Kyle Wiggers is a writer, Web designer, and podcaster with an acute interest in all things tech. When not reviewing gadgets…
The best weight loss apps for iOS and Android
Weight loss feat image

Unhealthy sedentary lifestyles, underlying physical conditions, overeating, age, and eating the wrong foods are the most common reasons for being overweight, and many smartphone apps do a brisk business in helping people trim off excess pounds or maintain the weight they're already at. Apps can be enormously helpful in moderating eating habits to help people lose weight, but you want to pick the right app for optimal results -- and there are many options. Weight loss apps often offer personalized coaching, compatibility with various fitness trackers and smart scales, and help with deciphering food labels and bar codes.

Some apps also employ tracking tools to monitor your weight, food intake, and exercise habits. Others provide guidance for grocery shopping or eating out. Many seek to boost motivation by featuring community support, point systems, and documentation tools. So whether you want to lose weight for health reasons or simply because you want to, here are some of the best weight-loss specialty apps available for smartphones.
Noom

Read more
Apple’s new App Privacy labels are disconcertingly inaccurate when put to test
apple app privacy label inaccurate

Apple is often lauded as the king of privacy among the tech giants, and to a certain extent, it is. After all, unlike Facebook and Google, Apple's business model is built around selling hardware and services -- not advertising to you. But the company's new "App Privacy" label feature, which was added to the App Store last month, may be better in theory than it is in practice -- at least for now.

According to a new report from The Washington Post, the privacy labels in the App Store may not be as accurate as they should be. The report notes that many apps that say they don't collect user data actually do, and often send that data straight to the likes of Google and Facebook.

Read more
Ring allows undisclosed third parties to track you through its Android app
ring video doorbells free amazon echo show 5 doorbell pro

Amazon Ring’s Android app has been found to allow third-party trackers access to your data like your name, IP address, mobile network carrier, and more. 

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) published a report on Monday, January 27, about an investigation into Ring’s Android app. The investigation found analytics and marketing companies not mentioned in Ring’s privacy notice have access to your data directly through the Ring app.

Read more