Most fitness apps often need to allow access to your location in order to better track your progress and share it with friends. Ideally, we encourage each other to work harder. But there is a dark side to these apps that we don’t want to think about.
Vise (opens in new tab) reported that popular hiking app AllTrails will make hiking data public by default, making it searchable on Google. This exposed the location data of senior White House officials. At the same time, Strava’s public policy exposed the location of a secret military base.
Beyond the obvious national security concerns smartphones offer, there are more mundane concerns. That means someone can use your app data to find out where you live. So, starting with AllTrails, we’re launching a series on how to protect your privacy in popular fitness apps. Here’s how to keep your AllTrails account private, or at least secure.
How to change AllTrails privacy settings
1. AllTrails App or go to alltrails.com (opens in new tab).
2. In the app, profile Tap a tab, then tap setting Gear icon on the top right. Or, on the website, hover over and click your profile icon in the top right. setting.
3. Under accountfind and select Privacy settings.
Here you can change most of the settings into 3 set options. public, followers onlyagain just me. This can be changed with the following option:
- Your community (users you follow, users who follow you)
- completed trail
- custom activity
- Created or downloaded maps
- List (favorite activities, trails, maps)
If you select only followers, you can also enable need follow request This prevents someone from finding you through mutual friends and starting following you without your permission.
Second, note that users can search for users by default, see their profile picture, name, and location. Therefore, we recommend anonymizing this data so that it cannot be easily found. This makes the app less social, but makes your data more secure.
4. In the app, … button to select edit profileOn the website, simply select edit profileYou can then change your first and last name.strike keep when you are done.
5. In the same view, the current city is displayed below position again Member locationSelect it and switch to the new one default city (must have one in the file). Please note that this will change the recommended hikes in your area.
6. Tap or click your profile icon to Browse photos/Browse filesThis allows uploading new unrecognizable images.
By the way, AllTrails has an option to sync with Garmin Connect, and your Garmin activities will show up in AllTrails by default. These imported activities will use the same “default privacy level” as your AllTrails account, even if the Garmin Connect app is set to a different privacy level. So if you use a Garmin watch, make sure there are no conflicts between the two.
Change privacy settings for specific AllTrails activities or maps
In general, you may be okay with exposing your data to the public, but there are times when you may want to hide it. Clear For example, activities near where you live. If so, follow these steps:
1a. On the mobile app, Saved tab.The map is located at List > My Map again Activity content under that header name.
1b. On the website, hover over and click your profile picture. profileSpecific tabs for maps and activities are displayed.
2. Select the specific map or activity in question. in the app, … button, then Edit Map/Activityon the website, select Edit Map/Activity From the left sidebar.
3. you privacy level Optional: Change from Public to Followers Only or Private.
How to Delete AllTrails Google Search Results
AllTrails does not allow Google search results to be disabled for AllTrails results. So we recommend renaming it in the app so it’s not easily found.
Otherwise, with the above privacy settings, especially for the community[自分のみ]must be enabled. According to AllTrails, doing this will add a “no-index” tag to your account, preventing Google from finding it. This saves us from having to worry about the name change, but we also lose the ability to use his AllTrails in a social way.
Finally, if you would like to permanently delete all AllTrails information, there is a “Delete Account” option in your account settings.
Now that you know how to keep your AllTrails account private, you can keep your activity private or only visible to people you trust. The next step is to do the same with your other favorite running or hiking apps, etc. A true “hike” usually starts far from home, but most people start running straight from home. So a public account is a map to your home.
If you’re worried about location tracking in general, keep in mind that your Android phone is likely tracking you regardless of your app settings. Google has been sued several times over the past year for misleading users about how much location data it stores. So if you want to go on a hike (or anywhere) without being tracked, leaving your phone at home might be the best thing to do.
Again, hikers sometimes want to track their location in case they get hurt and need help. Devices like the Garmin InReach Messenger use satellite connections to do just that. So it’s a matter of your priorities.
