If you go running, cycling or just walking, it is likely that you have an application on your mobile to record the activity. There are many programs that measure the distance, the time you have done sports, the heart rate and more statistics. Now, can you have privacy problems? In this article we echo a function that comes with Stravaone of the best-known applications of this type, and that they can use to find out where you live.
This is a report by security researchers at North Carolina State University. They have discovered a privacy risk due to the Strava app’s heat mapping, a feature that may cause them to find out where a person lives and know the address.
Strava can leak your address
A few years ago, specifically in 2018, Strava included a new feature that it called heat map or heatmap. What it does is add, anonymously, the activity of athletes who go for a run, ride a bike, etc. The idea is to help you find new trails, see which are the most crowded places, etc.
The problem, as security researchers point out, is that this feature can allow users to be tracked through those heat maps and combined with metadata from individual users. To do this, they have carried out a study for a month in which they have compiled data that was public via the Strava heat map. From there, they used images to detect the start and end areas of the activity, with the idea of linking that street with the user’s home.
Thanks to OpenStreetMaps, they were able to use those images and zoom in to identify the individual addresses. The next thing they did was to track users using a poorly documented search function in Strava and locate users who registered a specific city as their location.
With all this, by comparing the start and end points of activity and personal data, they were able to achieve direction. They add that many profiles are public and that, in addition, users upload profile photos of themselves. Therefore, it is not difficult to find out the address of a specific user. The results gave an accuracy of approximately 37.5% and a margin of error of about 100 meters.
Improve your privacy
Whether you use Strava or any other app, it’s always important to improve your privacy. One thing you can do is turn your profile in private. With this, you will prevent anyone from accessing the information you indicate. Only the contacts that you have added, which will be your friends and family, will be able to see all of this.
It is also important that you check if you have applications updated. Vulnerabilities may appear that put your security at risk. Always install the latest patches that are available and make sure that you do not have an outdated system, as that can lead to many problems that expose your data.
On the other hand, to improve privacy it is good to have a good anti virus. It can detect the entry of malware and remove it in case you accidentally download a malicious file. There are many options available, but it is always a good idea to install one that is guaranteed to work correctly.
In short, as you can see in case you have Strava installed, there could be a function that allows a third person to know where you live. You can cross data and take advantage of this feature to get that information. However, total anonymity does not exist on the Internet.
