How to detect users who create activities by manually uploading files (.tcx, .fit, .gpx)

[TruyenACE]

Hello all!,

I'm using the Strava API to retrieve a list of activities for employees.

API: https://developers.strava.com/docs/reference/#api-Activities-getActivityById

I'm trying to figure out how to identify activities that are created by manually importing files on the Strava website (.tcx, .fit, .gpx). Some employees have exported activities, edited the files, and then re-uploaded them.

Based on the information returned by the API, what should I rely on to determine this?

I've tried to check the fields: external_id and device_name. For example, if the external_id is track(1).gpx and the device_name is Strava GPX, but upon closer inspection, if users are using Samsung or Amazfit watches, the external_id also has the value .gpx. I'm not sure if relying on device_name being Strava GPX ensures 100% certainty that the user uploaded the file on the website.

Thank all.

[Jan_Mantau · Accepted solution]

You can only be sure a user didn't use the website upload function when the external_id doesn't contain a filename. But if it does, there's no way to distinct a file upload directly from the device or app from a manual file upload. As there are many normal cases where an activity was edited before upload (i.e. combining files, removing peaks) it shouldn't be a problem when a user does that. If that's about fraud detection it's more a social problem in the company you can't do anything about with software methods.