A potentially dangerous application for the privacy of its users. Launched in 2009, Strava allows you to record various types of physical activities, such as running, cycling, and walking. With more than 100 million users in 195 countries, according to its site, it is used in particular by Emmanuel Macron’s bodyguards, as Le Monde revealed on October 27.
Therefore, the security of the President of the Republic could have been compromised. Thanks to its continuous recordings, it allowed us to follow his movements and, above all, to know where he would stay during his trips abroad, a few days in advance.
To locate and secure locations during one of these trips, bodyguards make the trip a few days before Emmanuel Macron. Some take the opportunity to go jogging, which they record on Strava, thus publicly revealing where the president will stay, although this information is confidential.
“The social network of athletes”
With Strava, users can not only record exercise, but they can also analyze it. To do this, the application synchronizes with a device, such as a smartphone or a connected watch, and records the effort data (duration, distance, heart rate, etc.).
However, some of your information can only be accessed through a subscription. Strava offers several payment plans, including a monthly one (9.99 euros/month). This subscription provides access to other features, including goal setting, training logging, and route planning.
Strava also describes itself as “the social network for athletes.” Users can share their runs and other workouts with their friends, who can congratulate them on their performance and leave comments. Thanks to Strava’s global community, you can also follow the routes taken by others and compete against them.
Danger when sharing data
By making users’ identities and trips public, this app has already harmed some of them. In 2018, for example, it made it possible to identify and locate DGSE agents who used it while jogging at lunchtime. From user accounts, Strava allows you to view their public activities on a global map. In this way it was possible to easily identify these espionage professionals who left and returned to the DGSE sites, whose headquarters are in the 20th arrondissement, as Le Canard Enchaîné explained at the time.
If these agents had used a nickname on the app, their true identity could have been discovered through their registration in official competitions, such as the Paris marathon. Indeed, the performances carried out during these events are available on the website, with various information (name, photograph of the participants, etc.). Therefore, it was enough to establish a connection between his performances during an event like the Paris marathon and those recorded on Strava with a nickname to discover his identity.
Worse yet, some of these agents use the app during their mission, making it easier to locate them. One of them, for example, was geolocated in this way while hiding in Iraq.
In 2023, Strava was also linked to the death of a Russian soldier. The latter periodically published his trips on the application. As their routes were often identical, it was possible to accurately predict their habits and, therefore, their location.
Source: BFM TV
