At Strava, we care deeply about developers, and the health of the developer ecosystem. There are now 241,000 Strava API developers, up from 185,000 last year. At its best, the Strava API allows users to utilize their favorite wearable, developers to build innovative businesses, and users to interact with and build personal tools with their own data.
The tech landscape has shifted significantly in recent years, and Strava’s Developer Program must evolve along with it. AI companies are aggressively attempting to scrape platforms for training data, abuse APIs through intermediary layers, and provide zero-code AI tools that produce apps that hammer APIs. We have felt this firsthand - developer applications to our program are up 448% year-to-date, API intermediaries have violated policy terms, and scraping attempts have degraded platform performance for everyone. The serious patterns of abuse that we have identified have caused us to pause and reformat how we assess applications.
To our developers who have been patiently waiting, we would like to thank you for applying to join our developer program. With applications up significantly, wait time has increased. To address this, we have created clear developer tier classifications: Standard and Extended Access (learn more). Starting today, all current and future applications will automatically receive access to the Standard developer tier. This allows you to serve up to 10 athletes and start building immediately, completely eliminating the previous queue. Extended Access Tier developers get prioritized developer support, higher rate limits, greater user capacity, and eligibility for our Partner APIs – with no Strava subscription required.
We're also excited to begin rolling out an official Strava MCP. Strava’s MCP is a flexible, AI-native tool to slice your own Strava data any way you see fit, including subscriber data, with no developer skills required. It's included with a Strava subscription. If you've been using the API primarily to analyze your own data, this is built for you.
The full set of changes is below. Two things that aren’t changing: every Strava athlete can still access and download their data for free, at any time – and wearable and device integrations are not affected.
New API terms + Developer Tiers
Effective June 1, 2026
- New tiers & updated terms. To support our revised Developer Program and provide you clarity of where you stand and what level of support you are entitled to, we are launching new developer tier classifications – Standard and Extended Access (learn more), as well as an updated API Agreement and a new API Policy. Visit your API settings dashboard to check your tier.
- New entry level development access. Standard Tier developers can now self-upgrade to a new level of access (up to 10 athletes, higher rate limits) directly from your API settings dashboard - no formal review required.
- Subscription required for all new Standard Tier developers. A Strava subscription will be required to access the API as a Standard Tier developer. Existing active Strava developers will be provided a transition plan, as covered below.
- Intermediary platform access restricted. Apps routing Strava data through third-party intermediary platforms are no longer supported. These platforms prevent us from verifying how athlete data is being accessed and used downstream, creating unacceptable security risks. Direct integrations are not impacted. If your app is one of the small number of apps affected, you will receive a separate email with next steps.
Effective June 30, 2026
- Subscription required for existing Standard Tier developers. A Strava subscription will be required to access the API as a Standard Tier developer. Active developers* without a current subscription are entitled to 3-months free. If you’re eligible, you will have received a code via email. Extended Access Tier developers are not affected.
Effective September 1, 2026
- Three Club endpoints deprecated. The Club Activities, Club Administrators, and Club Members endpoints will be deprecated, as their community engagement does not support their maintenance.
- Segments Explore endpoints deprecated. Access will be maintained only for approved applications in our Extended Access Tier with qualifying use cases. If your app qualifies, you will receive a separate email notification.
Effective June 1, 2027
- Technical changes required. Authorization tokens must be sent in request headers (not form params). The API base URL is changing from https://www.strava.com/api/v3 to https://www.api-v3.strava.com. A new oauth/revoke endpoint is available today -- the oauth/deauthorize endpoint will be retired June 1, 2027.
More Information on API changes and FAQ can be found at the link here.
*Active developers are classified as those who have made an API request in 2026