I’m not talking about someone searching out specific segments to take the KOM/QOM - that’s Strava sniping. I’m talking about “followers” who seem to be waiting for you to post that next workout so they can immediately give it the “thumbs up”. On a pretty regular basis I’ll get a notification within 60 seconds that someone has given me kudos. I guess that isn’t necessarily strange but when it’s a trainer ride with a reported moving time and distance of 0, no map of a route, no notes from me indicating I did, then WTF are you throwing kudos at? And how do you know that I literally just completed a session?
Change your privacy settings or stop complaining.
Change your privacy settings or stop complaining.
Or ask the person doing it
.
Regardless of stalking, setting your account to private is a good idea.
Regardless of stalking, setting your account to private is a good idea.
Why? I have every other social media private but for the life of me can’t figure out why I would care about Strava. Yes, it’s pretty easy to figure out where I live but I’m not really sure how that matters since it’s public info.
Regardless of stalking, setting your account to private is a good idea.
Why? I have every other social media private but for the life of me can’t figure out why I would care about Strava. Yes, it’s pretty easy to figure out where I live but I’m not really sure how that matters since it’s public info.
Do you ever post pics with your bike on there? Is it worth stealing?
Do you race? I could imagine someone glancing through race pics and shopping for pretty bikes. Then, they could match the bib number to a name from the results, find you on strava, then scope your workouts to find out where you live.
You can make your profile private so that only people you allow to follow you can see your workouts.
I haven’t really paid attention to the details but I’m pretty sure there are multiple peoiple who do it from time to time. I don’t care enough to engage in a discussion with them about it. It’s just curious that 1 - my daily activities are so interesting that they have automatic notifications set up, and 2 - they find something worthwhile in a session that has absolutely no information about what I did.
Or ask the person doing it
I don’t worry about THOSE Strava stalkers.
I worry about the people I’ve never met and have absolutely no connection with who “Follow” me. What’s up with that? Why do they do that? A few come over from seeing my rides on Zwift. The others? I don’t have a clue how they find me.
Regardless of stalking, setting your account to private is a good idea.
Why? I have every other social media private but for the life of me can’t figure out why I would care about Strava. Yes, it’s pretty easy to figure out where I live but I’m not really sure how that matters since it’s public info.
Do you ever post pics with your bike on there? Is it worth stealing?
Do you race? I could imagine someone glancing through race pics and shopping for pretty bikes. Then, they could match the bib number to a name from the results, find you on strava, then scope your workouts to find out where you live.
You can make your profile private so that only people you allow to follow you can see your workouts.
Fair point if I lived in a house… but I’m in an apartment complex with something like 80 units.
I don’t worry about THOSE Strava stalkers.
I worry about the people I’ve never met and have absolutely no connection with who “Follow” me. What’s up with that? Why do they do that? A few come over from seeing my rides on Zwift. The others? I don’t have a clue how they find me.
Yeah… a couple of handfuls of friends/training partners and I follow each other but I get frequent notifications that randoms (usually in South America or Asia, it seems) are “now following” me, or are requesting to. My training is certainly not that impressive to warrant international attention.
Got one this morning from somebody in India, coincidentally.
Regardless of stalking, setting your account to private is a good idea.
Why? I have every other social media private but for the life of me can’t figure out why I would care about Strava. Yes, it’s pretty easy to figure out where I live but I’m not really sure how that matters since it’s public info.
Do you ever post pics with your bike on there? Is it worth stealing?
Do you race? I could imagine someone glancing through race pics and shopping for pretty bikes. Then, they could match the bib number to a name from the results, find you on strava, then scope your workouts to find out where you live.
You can make your profile private so that only people you allow to follow you can see your workouts.
Yeah, I’m sure the guys who steal bikes spend a lot of time searching for people on strava with nice bikes so they can steal them rather than just walk by bike racks with poorly locked bikes to steal. Really you think this is a common occurrence? I’d bet my life savings that it’s a 1 in a billion occurrence at best.
Regardless of stalking, setting your account to private is a good idea.
Why? I have every other social media private but for the life of me can’t figure out why I would care about Strava. Yes, it’s pretty easy to figure out where I live but I’m not really sure how that matters since it’s public info.
Do you ever post pics with your bike on there? Is it worth stealing?
Do you race? I could imagine someone glancing through race pics and shopping for pretty bikes. Then, they could match the bib number to a name from the results, find you on strava, then scope your workouts to find out where you live.
You can make your profile private so that only people you allow to follow you can see your workouts.
Yeah, I’m sure the guys who steal bikes spend a lot of time searching for people on strava with nice bikes so they can steal them rather than just walk by bike racks with poorly locked bikes to steal. Really you think this is a common occurrence? I’d bet my life savings that it’s a 1 in a billion occurrence at best.
It’s not just to steal bikes. It’s also to track your patterns so that they can steal anything in your house, or your car. Imagine if I followed you, and knew that every Tuesday and Thursday you go out for an afternoon ride and you wouldn’t be home despite your car being parked out front. Before the presence of social media, good thieves had to stake you out…actually watch to see if your car is there or not, check to actually see what time you come home, your habits, etc… Now the good thieves can simply sit at their computer and figure most of it out…cherry picking the easiest targets that take minimal scouting.
Or worse yet…if your married and some sicko is stalking your wife. If they see the lights on, but you just finished a ride 20 miles away…they know your wife is home alone.
This is why strava has privacy zones that you can set around your house. So on strava your public route doesn’t end at your house.
Or worse yet…if your married and some sicko is stalking your wife. If they see the lights on, but you just finished a ride 20 miles away…they know your wife is home alone.
The paranoia… wow. Stranger and worse things have happened in life but again 1 in a billion.
They read your blog and thought you wanted them to look at the strava items you posted
.
This is why strava has privacy zones that you can set around your house. So on strava your public route doesn’t end at your house.
And you can make it so they have to request to follow you. Then you can grant it or not.
Yeah, I’m sure the guys who steal bikes spend a lot of time searching for people on strava with nice bikes so they can steal them rather than just walk by bike racks with poorly locked bikes to steal. Really you think this is a common occurrence? I’d bet my life savings that it’s a 1 in a billion occurrence at best.
I don’t know how common or if at all but it has been a debated topic for awhile. I also think it more then makes sense that a thief would use strava or some type of social media to look for high end bikes to steal.
Honestly I strongly suspect it’s marketing. If you have some random thumbs up you, you are more likely to use Strava and engage with it.
Oh for sure. It is a super low occurrence, but it happens: https://road.cc/content/news/136239-police-warning-thieves-using-strava-target-expensive-bikes-wales
So, it is a non-zero threat.
But really, what are you gaining by allowing random strangers to see your workouts? I don’t need kudos from people that I don’t know. I am OK without that validation.
I readily give kudos to friends I follow…even for mundane workouts. To me, it’s just an acknowledgment that I recognize the time they’re putting in to improve. If it’s an exceptional workout or something funny I’ll add a comment. I get the same response from my regular followers. Lord knows, at my speeds, I need all the encouragement I can get!