Strava has decided to tighten access to its data. Developers who create applications using your information will have to pay $12 per month. The company justifies the change by pointing to a 448% increase in requests due to artificial intelligence and mass data scraping. Until now, access was free. Now that cost will end up in your pocket.
The paywall hiding a real technical problem 🔒
Behind the discourse of technical sustainability lies a business model. Strava charges for premium subscriptions, but also wants to monetize the API used by third parties. The increase in mass requests, many of them automated by AI, was saturating servers without generating direct revenue. The solution is not to filter access by quality, but to charge. Thus, the independent developer pays or disappears. And if the app you use has to pay, sooner or later they will raise the price or include advertising.
Don't worry, it's for your safety (and for their wallet) 💰
Strava says it protects your privacy. Sure, just like a security guard who charges you an entry fee to watch over you. Now it turns out the problem wasn't strangers seeing your routes, but that they weren't paying to see them. Next time you upload a segment, remember: you're not just sharing your effort, you're also funding the company's next ad. And you, with your premium subscription, paying to be the product.