Garmin adds Strava’s safety features to its fitness trackers
Strava, the world’s largest social media network designed for athletes, announced today that it has extended its safety feature Beacon to a number of Garmin devices.
Beacon was released in August through the Android and iOS app. The service allows runners, cyclists, hikers and other athletes to keep up to three safety contacts informed of their whereabouts.
The contacts receive a text message with a unique URL when an activity is started. They can then click on the URL to access a real-time map of the athlete’s location without needing their own Strava account, thus giving them piece of mind their loved ones are staying out of harm’s way. Contacts can also see if the athlete’s battery power is waning.
“We received a lot of positive feedback when we introduced Beacon this summer,” Strava chief product officer Aaron Forth said in a statement.
“We also had lots of athletes say they wanted to use Beacon with their Garmin devices. We’re happy to see that Beacon has become so valuable so quickly, and excited to extend Beacon’s safety benefits to Garmin athletes.”
With today’s news, Beacon will be integrated into select Garmin cycling computers and running watches for Strava Premium members. This includes: Fenix 3, Edge Explore 820, Edge 520, 820 and 1000, and Forerunner 230, 235, 630 and 735XT.
To learn more about Strava, visit www.strava.com.
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I just got a new Garmin 230 and have used the LiveTrack feature. Seems to work pretty well and it can auto-start when you begin an activity, and you can list more than 3 people to get an email and such things. Interesting thing is the battery usage. May be nice to know if you know a person went out on a long run and their battery may die. What’s the compelling usage of this? I would have thought the article would go into more detail…
Also, put a running watch on your kid when they go out and us the app to track them better than just a phone app (as long as they are outdoors.hah)
Sorry, by compelling usage I mean to ask, what is compelling to use Stava’s Beacon (which is a premium pay for service on Strava) versus the free to use LiveTrack?
You need to run the Garmin Connect App on your phone for it to work, so maybe if you don’t want to use Garmin Connect? I have the accounts linked, so the watch uploads the data to Garmin and it all gets to Strava and I “stay safe” using LiveTrack if I want to.
I totally agree – there is a lot of overlap between the two services. Plus, Garmin LiveTrack also sends over additional sport metric data. I suppose, the battery percentage could be useful. If its showing something like 5-6%, the emergency friends won’t worry if the battery ‘suddenly’ dies. There are also other free alternative options you could potentially use.