Strava vs. Garmin – It’s over. Humiliating climbdown starts.
Updated: 14 October 2025
Strava’s ridiculous and personally damaging lawsuit against Garmin appears doomed to failure or withdrawal as the company embarks on the first step of a humiliating climbdown.
Edit: 14 Oct – As predicted, Strava confirms it’s backing down (partially)
What’s just happened?
This week, the Strava vs. Garmin dispute has been the talk of the cycling world, with this site and every other source, from GCN to dcrainmaker, covering the story.
Strava initially started 2 patent infringement disputes (that appear groundless or pointless) and further alleges breach of contract by Garmin. The move’s commercial naivety riled Garmin and Strava users everywhere, and forums were ignited with condemnation and exasperation in equal measure.
Strava Chief Product Officer, Salazar, then poured petrol on the flames with a missive to Reddit, unbelievably claiming that the whole issue was actually about something else.
Salazar’s ‘something else‘, i.e. the thing that irked Strava, was that Garmin required Strava to attribute the data source method (Garmin API) and include a Garmin logo. Strava saw this as free advertising, which in some respects it is. However, the cycling masses were incensed by this, as only recently had Strava required its partners to attribute Strava in the same way—no one loves hypocrisy like an angry cyclist.
To make matters worse, Garmin’s guidelines don’t require a logo – it’s just that Salazar stated they did. In fact, they require a small sentence explaining how the data got there, albeit with the option of adding a suggested logo. Garmin doesn’t even require Strava to say it’s Garmin’s data. Just that it came from Garmin.
Now what has Strava gone and done!
In a new email sent to application developers today, Stava requires its partners to attribute Garmin from 1st November 2025. Exactly what Salazar claimed Strava didn’t want to comply with.
Garmin’s new API Brand Guidelines now require even downstream developers that do not connect directly with Garmin to include brand attribution when data is sourced from a Garmin device. [Strava API Policy, 2.4 Garmin Data Attribution, 11 Oct 2025]
This is a de facto admission by Strava of being wrong!
Strava partially capitulates
On 14 October, Strava confirmed to all media that it is complying with Garmin’s attribution policy.
Unfortunately, we aren’t able to comment on ongoing disputes. While we don’t agree with the extensive branding Garmin is forcing, uninterrupted connectivity for the subset of our community that uses Garmin remains our top priority, and we have also decided that we will give similar attribution to all of our device partners going forward to be fair.
Our aim is to make branding as unintrusive as possible, and we believe it is the right thing to do in light of the mandatory changes that Garmin is asking all developers to implement by November 1st. [Strava, official]
What Now
This is the first step of Strava’s climbdown
Strava’s position is untenable on more levels than you find in the average skyscraper.
No one really knows the merits of the Strava case against Garmin for breach of contract, but I expect the patent infringement cases to be dropped soon. The fallout has already been terrible and will impact Strava’s ability to secure a decently priced IPO in 2026.
Garmin VO2max – how to use Garmin’s tools to optimise it and 5 reasons why you’re doing it wrong
Breach of contract? That case could continue.
Worse, the public charge of hypocrisy against Strava is more damaging than any charge it brings against Garmin. In the Court of Public Relations, Strava has already well and truly lost, and its position is irredeemable.
If Strava has any sense, they will announce an end to this sorry affair first thing on Monday morning. Any sensible company would do that. But hey, Strava, right?
It’s all over bar the shouting.
Source
Reddit via @chiraqe plus numerous sources as originally attributed in the linked posts.
With 20 years of testing Garmin wearables and competing in triathlons at an international age-group level, I provide expert insights into fitness tech, helping athletes and casual users make informed choices.
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Garmin sux.donkey balls
I protested by cancelling my premium subscription to strava and stopped my Garmin data heading to strava. I suggest others do the same.
Why did you do that ( if you really did) you only hurt yourself. Pointless virtue signalling
What if is Garmin going down the drain? Bad ergonomics in the software. Too expensive. Too complex. Cluttery screens. Screen going black when you need it.
Look at Gopro and learn
i cover many of those issues on this site and, yes, garmin has lots to solve.
its financials clearly show it is not going down the drain anytime soon. I cover the strategic issues here as well (eg Apple watch threat, and lack of true ios integration, and bad UI), so its potential demise is years away.
Storm in a teacup
Cancelled my £60 a year Strava at the weekend. This whole nonsense “woke me up” to realise it was a waste when I have Garmin for free
quite a few people are saying that
What strava did it’s a dumb idea, I wont leave Garmin for Strava.