Academic research use of the Strava API – longitudinal cohort study (Brazil)
Hi everyone,
I'm a master's student at a university in Brazil, building a non-commercial app for a prospective cohort study on running-related injuries (up to 200 recreational runners, followed for 52 weeks, with ethics committee approval).
Participants connect their own Strava accounts with informed consent. We import only activity summaries (date, type, distance, time, elevation, heart rate) from the connection day onward. We use webhooks, store no maps, GPS data or photos, and make no AI/ML use.
Reading the API Policy (June 2026), some points seem to conflict with research use:
- the 7-day caching limit (§6.2), while the study needs the data for 52 weeks;
- data displayed only to the athlete (§2.3, §5.10), while the research team needs to analyze it with the participant's consent;
- restrictions on aggregated analysis (§5.4).
Has anyone had an academic or research project approved under the Standard tier? Is there a research exception or a specific agreement for this? Any guidance from the Strava team would be very welcome.
Thank you!
