It may not be a complete surrender, but indications suggest that the Strava app will be in compliance with Garmin’s updated API terms by November 1st despite the company’s public pushback and retaliatory lawsuit. An email sent to Strava developers on Friday, October 11, provides an update to Strava’s own API that acknowledges Garmin attribution will soon be required. As of press time, the Strava app does not include Garmin attribution in the main news feed or on charts produced using Garmin data.
Garmin Data Attribution: Activity data obtained through the Strava API may include data that requires attribution to Garmin. Therefore, if your application displays information derived from Garmin-sourced data, you must display attribution to Garmin in the form and manner required by Garmin’s brand guidelines.
Requiring their own API users to comply with the new Garmin requirements suggests Strava will be making changes to their app as well. However, there is no indication that Strava is withdrawing its patent lawsuit against Garmin. It is possible that Strava will implement the changes requested by Garmin by the deadline to avoid any service interruptions while the company continues to negotiate another solution.
Developers use the Strava API to access data that generally comes from another source
An Application Programming Interface (API) offers developers a backend data connection between two services. Strava makes use of an API to get fitness data from users’ Garmin devices through a service called Garmin Connect. As a user of that API, Strava is bound to the terms set by Garmin. Garmin can limit or restrict access to developers who do not comply with the company’s policies.
Strava has its own API that allows developers to create applications using Strava data, for example Wandrer, Trail Care, and Veloviewer. These developers are now required to include proper Garmin attribution in their apps, even if they do not directly interface with Garmin’s API. It will be up to the developers to determine which Strava data was collected using a Garmin device, and to provide attribution in their apps as well.
The Garmin Developer Guidelines explain it this way:
All commercial uses of Garmin device-sourced data that is shared, exported or transmitted beyond an application must include a Garmin attribution. This includes sharing data via file formats (such as CSVs or PDFs) or digital interfaces (such as APIs or webhooks). It is the developer’s responsibility to enforce downstream attribution in systems beyond its control through technical measures or contractual terms.
In their email to developers, Strava suggests that developers contact Garmin directly with any questions. Strava CEO Michael Martin recently told the Financial Times that the company intends to go public “at some point,” though a more specific timeline was not provided.
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