| As you may or may not know, Strava is in hot water these days for privacy concerns. Leaked data from exercising bodyguards revealed the movements of high-security personnel and world leaders, including Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin. User negligence is to blame here, but try telling that to the #MyDataNotStravas people. As Strava tightens up its API restrictions headed in to 2025, and hopes its latest Year in Sport Report (TL;DR: huge year for run clubs) cultivates general goodwill, we thought it was a unique time to highlight something Strava is actually doing right. Strava Metro is a program dedicated to leveraging the company's enormous dataset for good. For over 10 years now, transportation departments, park services and advocacy groups have used Strava's facts and figures to make meaningful changes for commuters and recreationalists. If you build it, they will bike, basically. This story charts the history of the project, explores the ethics of data collection and highlights case studies throughout the world, from London to Los Angeles. | 