Stay Safe with the Free Strava Beacon Feature
The Premium ‘Beacon’ GPS Tracker is Now Free
Beacon is a popular feature of the Strava app. It sends a text message, allowing recipients to track your location on a map in your browser window. This updates every 15 seconds.
Until now, Beacon was only available to paid subscribers. The ‘Premium’ tier costs £4 per month when you pay annually, or £5.99 per month when you pay monthly.
Beacon is Used for Safety and Fun
This popular feature has two distinct uses. Many runners and cyclists use it for fun. You can follow people, watching their progress in a race or leisure ride / run. It allowed friends or relatives to share your progress… whether this was in the local park or running the London Marathon.
Beacon also has a safety element. Runners or Cyclists out alone could be tracked. If the person you were tracking suddenly stopped and you heard no news, their location is known. This added to the feeling of safety, for both the athletes and their loved ones.
Strava: Beacon Free in Apps, Not Watches
There is one important caveat for users of Apple Watches or Garmin GPS devices. Strava has stated that due to the added complexity of integrating with these devices, you will need the premium subscription to enjoy Beacon.
For free users, toggling this option on and off is as easy as locating the slider under the ‘You’ section.
Image Credit: Strava.com
New to Strava? Here are the Key Functions
You can choose from 100’s of apps to track your fitness these days. Strava was one of the originals, it has expanded from running and cycling to include swimming and other forms of fitness training.
Features can be divided into three areas:
- Track and Analyse: Strava stake their claim to the World’s best tracking. This includes performance stats (which are fine tuned to your sport), heart rate and the ability to deep dive into your data. While it will track your heart rate on a treadmill or exercise bike, the main benefits are with outdoor sporting activities.
- Share and Connect: If you have seen maps with running or cycling routes posted on social media, the chances are they came from Strava. The Beacon feature which recently moved from premium to free is part of this area.
- Explore and Compete: The community is a big draw for Strava users. You can join or form clubs, link with others and compete to reach your fitness or adventure goals.
Wrapping Up: Beacon and Privacy Upgrades
Giving away Beacon is a great way to get more people into the Strava Network. While this is a win for users, many will join the premium tier for the other features. This is as close to a win-win as you could get. Strava recently overhauled their privacy settings, giving users more control within the app community and on social networks.
You can find out more (and get links to download the app) over at strava.com
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