Fitness-tracking platform Strava is tightening access to user data and introducing new developer fees to curb AI-driven scraping ahead of its anticipated public market debut, according to reports published Sunday.
The San Francisco-based company said developers seeking access to its application programming interface (API) will now pay a flat monthly fee of $11.99, marking a significant shift from its previous tiered system that allowed many developers to begin building applications for free.
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Strava is also placing previously public information, including athlete profiles and club listings, behind authentication requirements, meaning users must be logged in to access certain data. The company said the changes are intended to protect user information and reduce unauthorized data collection by AI companies and automated scraping tools.
Chief Executive Michael Martin told TechCrunch that aggressive data scraping by AI firms has increasingly strained online platforms. He said that unauthorized access attempts and excessive API activity had recently negatively affected performance and user experience.
The company reported that its developer community expanded from approximately 185,000 members last year to 241,000 this year, a surge it partly attributed to the rise of no-code AI tools and rapidly generated applications. Strava said developer applications to its platform had increased sharply, while some third-party intermediaries violated usage policies.
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In addition to charging for API access, Strava plans to retire certain API endpoints over the coming months and introduce support for the emerging Model Context Protocol (MCP), which allows AI assistants to access external data through structured permissions. The company said the move would give users and developers greater control over how information is shared.
The changes come as Strava prepares for a potential initial public offering. The company confidentially submitted IPO paperwork earlier this year, though details regarding valuation and offering size have not been disclosed.
The decision reflects a broader trend among technology platforms seeking to protect valuable datasets as artificial intelligence companies increasingly compete for large-scale training and analytics data.