I’m too lazy to be a Strava user, but I’m fully aware that it’s an immensely popular app that falls somewhere between a training log and a social media platform. I’m also familiar with the business model it employs to encourage members to pay for the premium version, which is probably easier to justify mentally if it’s seen as benefiting your health — I do the same rationalizing with my Duolingo subscription. We were keen to find out whether you pay for Strava, so we ran a poll among our readers. I was quite surprised by the percentage of you who actually do.
That poll was prompted by an opinion piece from my colleague Ryan Haines, who explained why Strava went from his favorite running app to something he now barely tolerates. After years as a paying subscriber, he argued that Strava has become far too aggressive about locking away personal data and other features unless you cough up for Premium. For him, the fun and freedom that originally made Strava appealing have eroded to the point that he’s now treating it less like a training tool and more like a glorified kudos machine.