Why we deliberately do not integrate with Strava
Updated:
Many athletes keep every session on Strava, so the question about an integration comes up often. The answer is: we deliberately do not connect to Strava. The reason is not technical - it is the terms on which Strava shares data with other apps. A coaching app by definition stores the training history and shows it to the coach, and Strava's current rules do not allow that. This page explains what those rules say, what follows from them for you and where we get the data from instead.
The key point in one paragraph
Since 1 June 2026 a new Strava API Agreement and Strava API Policy apply. Under them, an app may keep data taken from Strava for seven days at most, and only in a cache. Beyond that, it may not store the data or show it to anyone other than the athlete who connected it. A coach is a third party here. A tool that keeps Strava sessions for months and calculates training load from them for the coach is therefore working against the terms. We do not want to build your coaching on data that can disappear overnight.
What Strava's API terms say
We summarise the provisions that matter for coaching. The full text is behind the links above, and that text is what binds.
- A cache of seven days at most. The API Policy (section 6.2) forbids keeping Strava data in a cache for longer than seven days. Outside that short cache, the data may not be stored.
- Only the owner sees the data. The same section forbids providing or displaying Strava data to anyone other than the user of the app. The Agreement adds that the data may not be shared with other users or third parties without explicit consent.
- No permanent collections. Section 5.5 forbids accumulating Strava data, even through repeated authorised API calls, into databases or archives that go beyond the app's operational scope.
- Deletions within 48 hours. An activity deleted on Strava must disappear from the app within 48 hours at the latest (section 6.3).
- Access can end at any time. Strava may change or revoke API access without notice, and when the agreement ends the app must permanently delete all data taken from Strava (Agreement, sections 2.1, 2.2 and 4.4).
What this means for a coach
Coaching relies on history: the load of recent weeks, a comparison with last season, completed sessions set against the plan. Under the terms, that history cannot be built from Strava data.
If an app stores Strava sessions anyway and shows them to the coach, it does so against rules it accepted itself. Strava can enforce them at any moment: cut off access and require the data to be deleted. Then the sessions vanish from your calendar, and with them the load and form chart you base your decisions on. We would rather say this plainly now than explain an empty calendar later.
Where we get sessions from instead
From the source itself - the athlete's watch. The watch maker shares the data with the athlete, and the athlete decides whether to share it with their coach.
- A direct watch connection. The athlete connects their Garmin, Polar or Suunto account once in their profile. A completed session lands in the calendar with heart rate, pace, power, laps and route. See the Garmin Connect integration page.
- The plan in the other direction. A workout with steps goes from the calendar to the watch, so the plan-to-session loop closes without Strava. See Workouts on the watch.
- A file when there is no connection. A session from another device or an indoor trainer can be uploaded as a FIT, TCX or GPX file, with the same charts and zones. Details are on the Uploading a file from your watch page.
- The data stays in the calendar. What came from the watch does not expire after a week. The load history grows with the season.
The general description of importing is on the How import works page.
Frequently asked questions
Does my athlete have to give up Strava?
No. Strava can stay the place where the athlete shares sessions with friends. The watch sends the same session to several services at once, so it reaches both Strava and the coach's calendar. Only the source the coach uses changes.
Other apps connect to Strava. Why don't you?
We do not judge other products. We only say how we read the current terms: a coaching app needs a lasting training history visible to the coach, and Strava's API terms do not allow that. If Strava changes its rules, we will look at it again.
My athlete has sessions only on Strava. What now?
The best option is to connect the watch directly - then the next sessions arrive on their own. A single session can be downloaded from Strava as a file and uploaded to the calendar by hand.
Can data from the watch disappear too?
The data comes from the watch maker with the athlete's consent and stays in their calendar. The athlete can disconnect the watch or delete their data - that is their decision, not an outside platform's.
Start with one athlete
Create a coach account, invite an athlete and ask them to connect their watch. You will see their next session in your calendar, next to the plan, and their Strava stays where it was. Create a coach account.
