Strava’s new ‘Recent Photos’ functionality employs photos uploaded by users to provide more information on trail conditions when planning routes.
Drawing from a pool of 2.3 million photos, users can filter images uploaded to the platform from the day the route was planned, the day prior to that, or as far back as the past month.
It is not clear if the photos will remain attached to suggested routes indefinitely or whether they will expire after a month.
Trail photos are displayed as you plot a route, which differs from Komoot Trail View. This enables users to select a green dot and see photos uploaded by others while planning.
Strava Recent Photos is only available to paid subscribers in the mobile app. Free users will be able to see photos on saved routes and routes sent from a subscriber.
Strava says it will use a machine-learning algorithm to reject irrelevant photos (which is just as well – most of the BikeRadar team only upload photos of sweaty red faces at the top of climbs and after-ride pints).
Photos from activities or accounts with privacy restrictions will not be included.
Strava also says photos served in the routing section of the app will not be connected to the accounts of the riders who uploaded them.
Athletes can opt out of the new functionality by changing their privacy settings.
