tech
Strava declares war on scrapers ahead of IPO
Strava will charge a flat monthly fee from developers to access its API.
TL;DR
- AI companies are increasingly scraping data aggressively, bypassing conventions like robots.txt.
- Strava is enhancing website security by requiring authentication for previously public data to prevent unauthorized AI scraping.
- A flat monthly fee of $11.99 will now be charged for developer API access, replacing the previous tiered system.
- Strava plans to support the Model Context Protocol (MCP) for structured data access by AI assistants.
- Certain API endpoints are being retired to protect user data, following earlier restrictions on AI training use.
- CEO Michael Martin stated that unchecked AI scraping is degrading website performance and could be detrimental to the public internet.
- Strava has refused data licensing deals from AI labs, with Perplexity specifically mentioned for allegedly obscuring its scraping origins.
- Strava is preparing for an IPO, and these data protection measures may be intended to appeal to investors.
- Unlike Reddit's API pricing, Strava's flat fee aims to maintain its developer ecosystem.