Strava's Latest Updates: Dark Mode, AI Insights, Night Heatmaps, and More

Strava, the popular fitness app, is rolling out a series of highly anticipated features, aimed at enhancing user experience and making the platform more versatile. With new leadership at the helm, Strava is set to introduce dark mode, AI-driven insights, night heatmaps, and a family subscription plan.

Dark Mode is Finally Here

Dark mode has been a long-awaited feature for many Strava users, especially those active on Reddit forums. This summer, Strava will finally roll out dark mode, available to both subscribers and free users. You can choose to keep the app in dark mode permanently or have it match your phone's settings.

“There’s been a lot of investment that had to go in for an app that launched in 2009 to be able to get to a place where we could launch dark mode,” says Matt Salazar, Strava’s chief product officer.

AI-Enabled Features: Athlete Intelligence and Leaderboard Integrity

Strava's new AI-enabled features aim to make training data more accessible and insightful. The Athlete Intelligence Beta uses large language models to create digestible summaries of your training data, offering plain English insights into your performance, goals, and suggestions for improvement. It’s designed to help whether you’re prepping for a race or recovering from an injury.

Unlike some competitors, Strava has opted out of implementing a chatbot. Instead, the focus is on providing valuable summaries and insights directly to the user.

Additionally, Strava is introducing AI-enabled Leaderboard Integrity. This feature will use machine learning to detect and flag suspicious activities, such as an impossibly fast e-bike ride mislabeled as a regular bike ride, ensuring fair competition on the platform.

Night Heatmaps for Safer Training Routes

In an effort to make the app more appealing and useful for women, Strava is adding night heatmaps. These maps show which routes are popular between sunset and sunrise, helping athletes find well-trafficked paths for nighttime activities. While it doesn’t provide information on lighting or population density, it’s a step towards safer nighttime training.

Family Subscription Plan

Strava’s new family subscription plan aims to make premium features more affordable. You can add up to three other people to a plan, with no restrictions on who you can include. The pricing details are still being finalized and may vary by region. The plan will be tested in select markets this summer, with a global rollout planned by the end of the year.