[Closed] STRAVA THEFT!!!!!

Stato's suggestion is a good one. I've just removed my postcode and set up 5 privacy zones in surrounding streets nearby.

Just tried it and that doesn't work to affect the size of the privacy zone - if I type in "London" for example it creates the usual sized (500-1000m) privacy zone around wherever Google determines the centre of London to be.

I think 'London' is pushing the limits a bit there! I dont think its quite that clever, or maybe it is but we just cant access it as Strava wont tell us the best way to use it. What i can tell you is ive managed to make a zone twice the diameter of the one i get if i put the postcode in, so you'll need to do a bit of trial and error to get it to work. Of course if you have the older, larger zones, you dont need to bother with this bodge at all.

Just had a catch up, thatnks to all for the usefull comments, much appreciated, glad there is so much like minded interest in this kind of theft.
I was un aware of the 192 address search either, thanks for that

Just junked my account. I quite linked Strava and it's concept the security issues concern me more.

They are not going to buy me a new bike if it went missing.

Pity they don't do a bigger/custom exclusion zone.

And for that reason I'm out! Sadly.

[i]do a bigger/custom exclusion zone.[/i]

I've defined about a dozen exclusion zones around various addresses near me - it covers half of the city.

or just switch to a private account?

@wwaswas

You have a point. But when every ride ends either side of the village it dont take long to work out where I'm at.

Also, general note if you junk your account all the segments you might of created remain.

I guess delete segements first, then routes. And make a back up of your routes just in case you go back to Strava.

and Private Account is an option but how can I compete 😉

You know you can crop the ride to finish a bit earlier of you are of the tin foil hat persuasion that every local bike thief has the knowledge and skills to work out where someone's house with a bike 'may' be.

can't you just switch your Garmin/Phone /GPS device on when you are a mile down the road if it worries you that much??

As Hob Nob says, I just crop the ride, only takes a minute or so. Haven't even setup an exclusion zone given the ride cropping

I just did a search of local in village who rides (road bike). Just from his name and route patterns I could identify the road he is on. Another local is a very regular rider and same pattern arises.

Not tin foil hats me. Just something I don't want to be involved with any more.

Have you just use Strava to identify the location of someone you already know the residence of?

I've got a dozen overlapping exclusion zones around home. You'd be able to track me down to somewhere within a 2 mile radius. Which means you'd have to be pretty damn determined to find me

Its not difficult

I guess if you live in an isolated house and any reasonable exclusion zone would cover half of every ride I can understand it.

Strava isn't mandatory (yet) so it's personal choice on the risk.

Strava privacy zones aren't quite as static as some of you seem to think - the centre always stays where you put it, but the zone size varies randomly from day to day by a couple of hundred metres.

I was trying to set a privacy zone that covered my office, but not a nearby segment end and this drove me nuts for a couple of days!

That's not going to help if you live in a really small village though.

They'd have a job finding my place from my gps traces!! The exclusion zone starts at the end of the only road into my estate so leads to roughly 500 addresses. If they did manage to get the data it leads to my block which has 40 addresses. Unless they do door-door knocks they will be disappointed 😆

More likely to have it nicked when I'm washing it or at the trail head tbh, just be sensible and you'll be a harder target than someone else.

I don't use my surname on Strava. If I were that way inclined it would be quite easy to trace me through a combination of Strava & a phone book, especially if you have an uncommon surname. The exclusion zone doesn't help in that case.

Which means you'd have to be pretty damn determined to find me

Just follow the puff pastry trail...

I use my real name, with an uncommon surname.

My bikes are listed as the actual make and model.

I have no privacy zone set up.

I commute regularly.

But I counteract all this by leaving an Orange MTB unlocked outside my front door 24/7, except for when I'm riding it obviously. So, if it gets knocked I'll know the four 'better' bikes in the house are at risk, and I'll move house.

Simple 😀

Has there been a documented case where it was proven the thief used Strava to find you?

100 Strava Posts

That has worked great for my new account.

"That's a great tip Stato! "

It's not my privacy settings giving away my house that I worry about, it's my privacy settings giving away mates's houses and vise versa that concerns me. Does everyone have privacy zones set around their mate's houses and do your mates have your house set as a privacy zone? Not hard to join the dots.

So, just to be absolutely clear, if my mate and I ride from my house, my ride gets cropped for the exclusion zone but his goes from and to my house ?

If that's correct then that's useless.

(Reconsidering strava...)

Believe so, last time I checked anyway.

If that's correct then that's useless.

No, your mate is useless.

Does everyone have privacy zones set around their mate's houses and do your mates have your house set as a privacy zone?

Yes, why wouldnt you, just tell them what postcodes/details to enter on the security pages.

I just moved house and the previous owner was a biker. Looking at strava there are loads of routes that begin/end in my garden. Can I report or get them blocked somehow? I'd rather my own bikes didn't get knocked!