Strava’s Beacon, a location sharing feature, is now free for all users

Solo rides just got a bit safer. Strava, the fitness app popular with runners and cyclists, has made one of its top features available for free to non-paying users. Whether you are a subscriber or not, Strava’s Beacon has you covered with peace of mind.

Beacon is now free for all users

Behind many distance athletes there is someone who wonders when they will be home for dinner. Beacon allows users to share real-time location updates with trusted contacts to expose ETAs and help athletes stay safe. To date, this feature has only been available to paying subscribers. Now anyone of the 90 million athletes who use Strava can use Beacon for free on the mobile app.

For security reasons, it seems to go without saying that Beacon will be universally available, and we’re glad that Strava is agreeing to that. This news follows the latest updates to Strava’s Activity Edit and Edit Map Visibility features, all of which underscore Strava’s commitment to athlete safety.

We weren’t thrilled with how Strava has managed its membership features in the past, but this is definitely a step in the right direction.

This is how Strava Beacon location sharing works

Beacon enables athletes to let their loved ones know that they are safe and healthy while exercising. The idea is simple. Selected safety contacts check in the location of a cyclist or runner and ensure that nothing is okay. For example, if a workout is taking longer than expected, they can use beacons to see if they need to report. Are you possibly injured or have you just made a pit stop at the drugstore? Is your location showing that you have stalled in some strange place or are you almost home?

Beacon eliminates the guesswork. It generates a random url that works in any web browser and allows loved ones to keep track of things. Strava users can choose up to three security contacts that will be automatically notified each time they are recorded, or they can manually send the URL via SMS. Either way, the nice thing is that recipients don’t have to sign in to Strava or install the app. You can just open the link and access the live location sharing instantly. That means even your least tech-savvy friend will likely be able to get along with it.

Depending on your cellular service, your location is updated about every 15 seconds so your friends or family are where you are and how your activity is progressing.

Also read: The best fitness trackers

Who else has to pay?

There are a few exceptions to the freebie. While Strava Beacon’s location sharing is now free for all mobile app users, it will remain a paid feature on devices like the Apple Watch or Garmin bike computers. If you want to use Beacon but want to exercise without your phone, you may still have to jump in for that Strava subscription.