Strava
Social fitness tracking platform using GPS data.
Strava is an American fitness-tracking service that blends exercise logging with social networking. It originally focused on outdoor cycling and running using GPS data, but now supports dozens of other activity types, including indoor workouts. The platform operates on a freemium model, where some features require a paid subscription.
Strava records activity data—such as route maps, elevation, speed, timing, power, and heart rate—that users can share with followers or make public. Public activities that happen at the same time and place (like marathons or group rides) are automatically grouped. Users can log activities via the mobile app, third-party devices (including Garmin, Coros, Google Fit, Suunto, Apple Health, and Wahoo), or manually through the website or app. Strava Metro, a separate program, provides anonymized cycling data to city planners in supported regions.
The company was founded in 2009 by Mark Gainey and Michael Horvath, who met as Harvard rowing crew members in the 1980s. They first discussed the idea in the mid-1990s, and development picked up after Horvath met software developer Davis Kitchel, who had been working with GPS cycling data. The founding team also included Chris Donahue, Mark Shaw, and Pelle Sommansson. Gainey served as the first CEO; Horvath took over in 2010. After Horvath stepped down in 2013, Gainey returned until 2017, when James Quarles became CEO. Horvath returned as CEO in November 2019. In February 2023, Horvath announced he would resign, and in December 2023, former YouTube executive Michael Martin became CEO.
By 2017, over one billion activities had been uploaded. By 2020, the service had more than 50 million users and over three billion activities. In May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Strava moved some previously free features behind a paid subscription and announced most future developments would be for subscribers only. In March 2022, Strava stopped operating in Russia and Belarus due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In early 2023, the company raised subscription prices significantly in many markets—some more than doubling—and laid off about 14% of its workforce. Its last venture capital funding was a $110 million Series F in 2020. In January 2023, Strava acquired Fatmap, a company focused on high-resolution 3D maps for outdoor activities, with plans to integrate its platform.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Strava, Inc
- Released
- 2009
- Operating system
- Android
- iOS 13 or later
- Web browser
- WatchOS
- Wear OS
- Language count
- 24
- Genre
- Fitness
- License
- Proprietary
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Strava, which means 'strive' in Swedish (though spelled 'sträva' with an 'ä'), was founded in 2009. Co-founders Michael Horvath and Mark Gainey first met in the 1980s as members of Harvard University's rowing crew. In 2007, they began developing an athlete-focused social platform, returning to an idea first discussed in the mid-1990s. Development accelerated after Horvath met Davis Kitchel, a software developer independently working with GPS cycling data. The founding team included Mark Gainey, Michael Horvath, Davis Kitchel, Chris Donahue, Mark Shaw, and Pelle Sommansson. Gainey served as the first CEO, with Horvath succeeding him in 2010. The company raised a Series A funding round of $3.5 million in 2011. Horvath stepped down as CEO in 2013; Gainey resumed the role until 2017, when James Quarles succeeded him. Horvath returned as CEO in November 2019. In May 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Strava made significant changes to its user terms, moving some previously free features to a paid subscription. In March 2022, Strava stopped operating in Russia and Belarus because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In early 2023, Strava raised subscription prices in many markets—some more than doubling—and laid off approximately 14% of its workforce. In January 2023, Strava acquired Fatmap, a company focused on high-resolution 3D maps for outdoor activities. In February 2023, founder and CEO Michael Horvath announced his resignation; in December 2023, Michael Martin, former executive at YouTube, became the new CEO. On March 5, 2025, Strava moved into a new headquarters on four levels of the 181 Fremont tower in San Francisco. In May 2025, Strava acquired the running app Runna and the cycling app Breakaway.
Reader's Guide
Strava's significance lies in its integration of GPS tracking with social networking, creating a platform where users can record, share, and compare physical activities. The service records data such as route summaries, elevation, speed, timing, power, and heart rate, and allows activities to be recorded via its mobile app or third-party devices. Its social features include posting exercises with maps, pictures, and videos, as well as a 'kudos' like button and comment functionality. The Beacon feature enables real-time location sharing with safety contacts. Strava maintains leaderboards for segments, including fastest times known as KOMs/QOMs for cycling and CRs for running, though these have faced criticism for including times from athletes banned for doping or logged by motorized vehicles. Strava Metro, a program marketed to city planners, uses cycling data from supported cities and regions. The platform has also been used for GPS drawing, known as Strava art. Privacy concerns have arisen repeatedly: the 2017 Global Heatmap inadvertently mapped military bases, including U.S. bases in Syria and forward operating bases in Afghanistan, as well as HMNB Clyde in the UK. Subsequent investigations in 2022, 2024, and 2025 revealed similar vulnerabilities involving security personnel at military bases in Israel, French submariners, and world leaders' security teams. In 2023, heat map data was reported to reveal home addresses of highly active users in remote areas, and Strava was used to identify an alleged arsonist in Raleigh, North Carolina. In 2024, 'Strava jockeys' in Singapore performed runs for clients using shared login credentials, which Strava stated violates its terms of service.
More in Satellite Navigation and GPS
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced