Use Strava? It’s just been updated with more features – and is stopping leaderboard cheats in their tracks

• Strava has been updated with new features for paying subscribers
• That includes AI-powered Routes and tappable locations
• The app’s leaderboards have also been purged of cheats

If you’re a fitness fanatic you’ve probably heard of Strava. The health tracking app is popular among athletes and enthusiasts alike, and it’s just been updated with a range of new features for subscribers.

According to a blog post on the Strava website, the new features “blend on-the-go flexibility with community-driven reliability,” meaning the app gives subscribers “smarter, community-powered tools to explore and compete with confidence.”

So, what do you actually get with the update? First, there’s a new Routes experience. Strava says this comprises “updated AI-powered Routes” that can offer suggestions based on the app’s Global Heatmap. That means more flexible and reliable options that are based on user contributions, the company claims.

From June, points of interest will be tappable, and this can allow you to find out more information about the place in question (such as an eatery or beauty spot). It also means you can create a route that either goes directly to the point of interest or incorporates it along the path, and this will show data like elevation and estimate arrival time.

Then from July, subscribers will be able to drop a pin onto a map in Strava and create an “efficient, activity-specific route from A to B.”

Leaderboard fairness

Beyond these new features, Strava says it's also taking steps to ensure that leaderboard times have been achieved fairly. To that end, the app’s machine learning model has been updated to reprocess the 10 most popular spots on the ride and run leaderboards. This has resulted in the removal of 4.45 million activities that were either filed with the wrong sport type or were recorded in vehicles. Strava says this means the leaderboards will now “reflect true performances.”

Strava is also adding more live segments, with double the number compared to previously. You'll be able to access these segments whether you’re a subscriber or not, but paid members will get a few added features here, including extra screens with comparison metrics.

If you love Strava and use it every time you head out on a run or a ride, these updates might have piqued your interest. Just make sure you take one of the best fitness trackers with you the next time you hit the road.

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