AI companies have grown into data-hungry organizations as their models require larger data sets to train. To meet that need, many AI startups are flouting long-standing Internet norms — like respecting robots.txt files, which show automated search engines which parts of a website are off limits — and aggressively scraping data. This has forced websites to restrict access to their data and, in some cases, strike licensing deals with AI companies. Social fitness and running company Strava is moving in this direction by restricting its website and introducing developer access fees.
To stop scraping, the company is increasing security on its website and will now only allow authorized users to view certain data. Previously, users were able to see information such as public profiles and fitness club listings without logging in. The company puts all that data behind authentication to protect it from unauthorized AI scraping.
On the API front, developers can start building apps on Strava with a free, tiered access plan – they apply for basic access first, then request more as their app grows. Now the company is adding a flat fee of $11.99 per month for all developers, although it notes that the price may vary by location.
Strava said its developer community has grown from 185,000 members last year to 241,000 this year, and the company plans to continue supporting them. As part of that, Strava also plans to add support for the Model Context Protocol (MCP), a growing standard that allows AI assistants and applications to access external data in a structured way, giving Strava more control over exactly what’s being shared and how.
The company also plans to remove API endpoints – separate access points that allow external applications to pull certain data, such as club details – to protect user data. Strava had already tightened API rules in 2024, prohibiting its use in AI training and restricting third-party applications from displaying other users’ data. Those changes drew backlash from developers who said their apps would be severely affected.
While some developers may accept paying a subscription fee, sunsetting certain API endpoints may still impact dependent apps. Strava is giving developers a 90-day grace period before making these changes.
In an interview with TechCrunch, Michael Martin, CEO of Strava, said that unmarked AI scratches could be the death of the public Internet.
“AI companies are brutally destroying social websites, because of their endless need for training data, which reduces the performance of the site as a whole,” said Martin. We have had many instances over the past few months where performance has slowed down and, in some cases, been corrupted. Besides hacking public sites, they are also trying to use our API to gain access to our data, ignoring API terms.”
He noted that Strava has declined to bypass leading AI labs seeking data licensing deals. He pointed out Perplexity, which says that the AI search startup has moved its scrubbing through integration resources to hide its origins despite being turned away. This is consistent with the fact that Perplexity has been accused of similar behavior elsewhere in the past.
Martin also flagged server overload caused by poorly coded vibe-coded apps, whose API calls are often misconfigured and generate a disproportionate load on Strava’s systems. It’s a pattern: when Meta banned third-party chatbots from WhatsApp last year, it made the same argument about system overhead.
The timing almost didn’t happen. Strava privately filed for an IPO earlier this year, and its move to protect its data may be aimed at showing the data discipline to potential investors. The comparison to Reddit’s 2024 crack at API access is another one Martin was quick to address. Unlike Reddit, which has API access priced at a number of calls (making it inaccessible to many app developers), Strava is betting low on keeping the developer ecosystem intact.
“We want users to feel like they own their data and feel comfortable with how we manage and protect it. But we want developers to continue to thrive and grow,” Martin said.
If you shop through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This does not affect our editorial independence.
