Motivation Enters the Chat: Strava Introduces Messaging Feature

Starting today, athletes can coordinate and celebrate active lives on a singular platform with the first phase of its Messaging feature

SAN FRANCISCO, December 4, 2023 – Strava, the leading digital community for active people with more than 100M athletes, announced a new feature today, Messaging. Based on the platform’s research revealing that athletes perform better together, Strava introduces an efficient avenue for athletes to coordinate adventures, connect for inspiration or tips, share their journey, and more—all within a unified platform.

The inaugural version of the feature launched today and offers two core options: direct (one-on-one) and group messages, enabling seamless coordination, connectivity, and celebration of accomplishments and progress. Additional features integrated into Strava Messaging include:

• Share an Activity and/or Route: Easily share Activities and Routes to messaging to help assist in coordination and celebration.

• Group Message Customization: Message creators can personalize the name of group chats for a more tailored experience.

• Have Fun: Athletes can bring motivation, hype and even some friendly competition through message reactions, gifs, and replies.

Strava Messaging bridges the gap between tactical planning and meaningful engagement, embodying Strava's commitment to empowering athletes and fostering a thriving community. It's a catalyst for real-time connections and discussions to transform the athletes’ experiences. 

"Running isn't just a sport; it's a journey that unites us in remarkable ways," shared Toni Harris, the first female to be awarded a college football scholarship as a non-specialist (safety) in college football history. "As I geared up for my first marathon, the New York City Marathon, Strava became my sanctuary for raw authenticity. With its Messaging feature, it was about a community who are pursuing a shared goal and striving for our best. Through this, I found lasting connections and friendships that reminded me that while I am running 'alone,' there's an entire community cheering me on."

Nicole Mendes, a member of the Mexico women’s national softball team who also ran her first marathon recently, added: “The running community is truly remarkable. In just two and a half months, Strava connected me to a community that filled my journey with an incredible sense of joy and camaraderie. The addition of Messaging created a powerful sisterhood—a commitment to supporting each other every day, surpassing not just 26.2 miles, but going above and beyond.” 

Athletes on Strava can customize the Messaging feature based on their desired experience on the platform. For example, athletes can set their preferences on who can invite them to a Group Message or who can Message them directly. Settings will be automatically set based on an athlete’s profile visibility but can be adjusted to receive messages to and from ‘Following,’ ‘Mutuals,’ or ‘No One,’ under settings in the Strava app.

Now supporting more than 50 different activity types, the platform continues to grow with features like the recently announced Flyover, on-platform sharing for Groups and Clubs, and an improved posts composer making it easier to create Club content. To learn more about Strava Messaging, click here. For more information on Strava, to create a free account, or to start a free subscription trial visit www.strava.com.

About Strava

Strava is the leading digital community for active people with more than 100 million athletes, in more than 190 countries. The platform offers a holistic view of your active lifestyle, no matter where you live, which sport you love and/or what device you use. Everyone belongs on Strava when they are pursuing an active life. Join the community, find motivation and discover new experiences with a Strava subscription.

Our favorite stats:

• More than 8 billion activities shared on Strava

• Community members in over 190 countries

• 40 million activities uploaded per week

• Over 30 million Segments

• Over 3,000 professional athletes on Strava

• Almost 10 billion Kudos given last year

• Over 10 million photos and videos shared per week

• Over 3,200 partner organizations making their communities better with Strava Metro