Public and Private on Strava, Komoot, Garmin and Suunto

For years I have used Sportstracker, and then Strava and Komoot and others. Whether I use one platform or another isn’t much of a concern. I can send my data everywhere. The question is whether I make that data public, private, or a hybrid compromise.

With Suunto and Sportracker I usually keep almost everything private because I can’t highlight zones that I want to keep private. With Komoot it requires cropping the start and end point to hide where you live. With Strava you highlight where you live, work, where friends live or work and then it automatically hides activities to and from those points. Specifically it hides the first 200 meters or more, depending on how privacy conscious you are.

Sometimes, especially recently, people follow me on Strava and their accounts are private. In those cases I don’t follow them unless they follow me first and even then I think twice about following them. In some cases I will notice that someone follows me but I don’t follow back. Instead I consider whether to ask for permission, in person, before doing anything.

For me Strava is a social network, so I treat it as such. For others it is an uncomfortable form of exhibitionism, so they keep their accounts private. I respect this.

I take generation, age and more into consideration when deciding whether to follow someone back. If they’re older or younger I might hold off. I usually prefer to ask women first as a courtesy, after they have followed me. Sometimes I add guys and they ignore the request. That’s why I prefer to ask first. In one or two cases I was added by people, after several group rides together.

Komoot for Drawing and Finding Routes

Whereas Strava is social I find Komoot is great for sharing new routes and drawing them. It’s quick, easy, and intuitive. It is also possible to save routes offline for future use. When you’re hiking it can be good to have the map to check whether you are on the right path. It also provides a way of seeing the profile and type of landscape, whether it’s hilly, flat and whether the roads are for cars, or hiking paths.

Suunto and Sportstracker

Suunto and Sportstracker used to be Movescount and Sportstracker until they were combined, and then made to be “app only” with no website being available anymore. I find that these apps are good, but that they are not as popular except among Suunto users.

Garmin Connect

It is an interesting irony that despite so many of us using Garmin devices we do not add each other on Garmin Connect. We automatically gravitate towards Strava and Komoot.

And Finally

If more people had public accounts it would be easier to see whether individuals are fast or slow cyclists, to discern whether riding with them would be easy or hard. In hiking it doesn’t make much difference but in cycling it does. The most comfortable group ride I had was with the Morges Women cycling group, because the group was at the speed it advertised it would ride at. It was slow enough to be comfortable, rather than a challenge to keep up with.

In the end Strava is good for keeping track of what you’re doing, and of events for groups that you are part of. I rarely see conversations taking place so whether you follow someone or not doesn’t change much. That’s why I’m comfortable with not automatically following people unless they follow first, or if I ride with them regularly, or after a hike or two.