Strava will comply with and apply Garmin's rules before November 1 to avoid disconnection

After weeks of public tension and an ongoing patent infringement lawsuit, Strava seems to have decided to comply with Garmin's requests regarding data attribution before the set deadline of November 1, 2025.

Strava gives in to Garmin and will apply the new attribution rules before November 1

According to Singletracks, an internal email sent on October 11 to developers using the Strava API confirms that the platform will introduce attribution to Garmin in its own system. The message states that data from Garmin devices must display a visible reference "in the form and manner required by Garmin's brand guidelines."

This change means that Strava will not only comply with Garmin's new rules, but will also require external developers using its API, such as Wandrer, Trail Care, or Veloviewer, to incorporate the same attribution when the data comes from a Garmin device, even if their applications do not directly communicate with Garmin Connect.

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The decision represents a significant shift from the company's stance just two weeks earlier, when its product director, Matt Salazar, posted a harsh criticism of the new conditions on Reddit, calling them "blatant advertising" that degraded the experience of Strava's over 150 million users. In that post, Salazar stated that Garmin had threatened to cut off access to its API if Strava did not comply with including the logo in all activities before November 1.

Despite the change in direction, Strava has not withdrawn its lawsuit against Garmin, filed in the District Court of Colorado and focused on alleged patent infringement regarding Segments and heatmaps, nor have there been any updates on the parallel lawsuit filed by Suunto in Texas for infringement of five hardware patents.

It seems that Strava prefers to comply with Garmin's rules to avoid a service cutoff, while keeping the legal route open to defend its intellectual property rights. Garmin, for now, has not made any additional statements, sticking to their usual "no comment" on ongoing litigation.