If you thought your ex was dramatic, wait until you hear about this one. Strava and Garmin, two giants of the fitness world who’ve been happily working together for years, are officially not on good terms. Yes, the fitness power couple might be heading for divorce.
So, what’s the tea?
Trouble in paradise
Strava, often dubbed the Instagram of fitness, has long been the go-to app for tracking workouts, sharing routes and comparing times with other runners and cyclists. Meanwhile us Garmin girlies happily to log our miles, which we then sync with Strava.
But that happy partnership is now under serious strain. Strava is suing Garmin in the US, claiming the company has copied some of its most iconic features – segments and heat maps.
What are they fighting about?
If you’ve ever chased a PB on your local hill segment or checked which running routes are most popular, you’ve used these features. Strava says Garmin has essentially recreated them within its own platform, despite a 2015 agreement promising not to.
On top of that, Garmin has apparently told Strava that from November, any workout uploaded from a Garmin watch must include a Garmin watermark. If Strava refuses, Garmin has threatened to block users from uploading data altogether. Ouch.
Strava hits back
Strava’s Chief Product Officer, Matt Salazar, has spoken out on Reddit, calling Garmin’s move “blatant advertising” and saying it would ruin the user experience. He insists Strava is fighting to keep uploads free from forced logos or branded watermarks.
In other words, Strava doesn’t want your post-run upload to double as an ad for Garmin watches. Fair enough.
What this means for us
Right now, everything’s still working fine. Your Garmin runs should still sync with Strava as normal. But if the two can’t patch things up before November 1, things could get messy. Data sharing between the platforms might stop, leaving users having to choose sides.
It’s a bit like when your favourite band breaks up. No matter what happens, someone’s going to be disappointed.
So, will Strava and Garmin kiss and make up, or is this the end of fitness tracking’s most iconic partnership? Watch this space.
